Direct assessment of quality of care in secure residential treatment facilities for criminal offenders with intellectual disabilities

Direct assessment was used to evaluate quality of care in 2 secure residential treatment facilities for criminal offenders with intellectual disabilities. This population and type of setting have not been previously studied in this context. Observations were conducted of environmental condition, resident condition, resident activity, and staff member activity at various times of day over a period of 3 weeks in Facility 1 and 2 days in Facility 2. An additional analysis was conducted to determine the optimal number of observations needed to obtain a representative sample. Results indicated high levels of quality in terms of environmental condition and resident condition in both facilities. Data on resident and staff activities were more variable but generally consistent with previous research. Implications for the optimal number of observations are discussed, as well as limitations and future directions for research.