Description
The Survey of State Developmental Disabilities Directors provides aggregate data (non-population) on residential facilities and residents within each state.
Questionable source (Data limitations)
States vary in the types of information they gather and maintain. Some operational definitions governing certain data elements may differ by state, e.g., admissions, discharges and deaths. Limitations are fully described in the annual online reports.
Data Years Available
2001-present
Periodicity
Annual
Mode
A mailed questionnaire and phone follow-up.
Selected Content
Data provide a description of residential settings, sizes and the number of residents. No demographic data are collected.
Population covered
The U.S. civilian institutionalized population with DD/ID and other types of co-occurring disabilities – adults
Methodology
A five part questionnaire is mailed with a cover letter to each state’s DD program director or state-designated key data informant. Telephone follow up begins two weeks after the questionnaire mail out to confirm who has been designated to compile the data and to answer questions about the data requested.
Response rate and sample size
In 2009, administrators from 50 states and D.C. were sampled; 51 responded.
References
Research and Training Center on Community Living. Residential services for persons with developmental disabilities: status and trends through 2009. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, 2010.