Behavior disorder teams: An efficient institutional strategy

Recent trends toward deinstitutionalization have lead to an increased prevalence of behavioral and physical handicaps within institutional populations. At the same time, funding allocations have remained constant or have reduced creating an ever increasing need for the most efficient and cost‐effective delivery of services. The present article traces the evolution of a program designed to create in‐house panels of experts in an intermediate care facility for nonambulatory, severely and profoundly retarded children. The model is proposed as a means of improving quality of care and staff expertise and reducing the need for outside consultation.