Abstract
Four separate surveys were conducted in a small rural northeastern state to determine the status of secondary and adult services and service provider training needs. Secondary level special education service providers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, adult developmental disabilities service providers, and adult prevocational/vocational service facilities were surveyed. Overall results of the four surveys indicated that there was a need to further develop services and insure that specific agencies are responsible for those services, develop secondary and adult community-based programs that lead towards increased independence in living and vocational situations, provide comprehensive inservice training and technical assistance to adult service providers, delineate competencies needed to be a community mental retardation professional, develop comprehensive employment options (sheltered, transitional, and competitive), improve coordination and cooperation among agencies providing services, and determine exit criteria for movement through the service systems so that severely handicapped individuals can systematically progress to the least restrictive vocational and living arrangements possible.
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