Growth in residential services in Australia and the United States: 1997–2002*.

The article focuses on the growth of residential services in Australia and the United States during 1997-2002. The most significant factors increasing demand for services and supports for people with intellectual disability are growth in national population and changes in the demographic structure of the population, particularly aging. To identify the extent of real growth in residential services, the researches compared annual changes in service provision with growth of national population in Australia and the United States since 1997. By 2002, the number of consumers of Australian residential services had increased by 5.69% relative to 1997, and the Australian population had grown by 6.15% in the same period.