The Delinquent in a State Residential Facility for the Mentally Retarded Project CAMIO, Volume 6.

Evaluated were 430 new juvenile and adult admissions to a state residential facility for the mentally retarded (MR). The study was part of Project CAMIO (Correctional Administration and the Mentally Incompetent Offender), a Texas effort to determine the incidence of criminal incarceration of the MR and to identify laws, procedures, and practices which affect the prosecution and imprisonment of the MR offender. Investigated were the incidence of Ss' prior involvement with the criminal justice system and the incidence of anti-social behaviors while at the institution. Most common antisocial behaviors identified were tantrums (one of every four individuals) and assaultive behaviors (one of every four juvenile males). Only 10% of the Ss had had any prior contact with the criminal justice system. Results suggested that the high incidence of anti-social behaviors among residents requires the development of specialized programs within institutions for the retarded and that MR delinquents are more likely to be committed to state correctional institutions than to state facilities for the MR. (DB)