The primary goal of this project is to explore the process of deinstitutionalization, using Willowbrook as a test case. Under a Federal Court order of April, 1975, Willowbrook is charged to reduce its population from 5,400 to 250, and to effect this reduction by transferring its patients to "least restrictive alternatives," namely, community facilities. This project will analyze and evaluate the efforts to implement the Federal Court order. It will explore the following questions. First, will deinstitutionalization actually occur; will a commitment to change be translated into practice? What kinds of community alternatives will be created, and how will they be administered? Will they meet standards of quality both in physical care and delivery of services? Will the developmental progress of the individual be enhanced in alternative settings? Second, how will the communities and the families of ex-patients respond to deinstitutionalization? Third, the project will examine the public roles of the major political and legal groups invloved in this process. How will the Court-appointed Review Panel, responsible for overseeing and auditing the process, discharge its obligations? How will the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene, the civil service unions, and the parent and professional organizations respond? How will the Court decide among the various claims of the these groups? Fourth and finally, this quantitative and qualitative analysis is designed to illuminate the several policy implications of deinstitutionalization. The project's ultimate goal is to clarify for policy analysts and policy makers the implications of the Willowbrook experience so as to inform future efforts at deinstitutionalization.