Community Participation of Mentally Ill Adults in Foster Family Care.

Foster family care is one of a number of residential programs that has as an important goal the integration of residents into the life of the community. One hundred one family care homes for the mentally ill in two regions of New York State were examined. The extent of resident participation in community life is described. Participation was found to be related to three facets of the family care environment: extent of community participation of the care provider, extent of integration of the resident into the foster family, and extent of community acceptance of the resident. Furthermore, differences in resident participation with and without the care provider are noted. Integration of the resident into the family is suggested as a possibility for vicarious involvement in the community at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]