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This program helped facilitate the act of deinstitutionalization. In which many developmental center institutions (such as Broadview Developmental Center) closed doors and their funding then shifted to community based programs for those individuals with MR/DD (or mental retardation/developmental disabilities.)It provided the first Medicaid long-term services and supports benefit specifically for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Upon successful auditing and submission of these eight areas, will then a service providing for MR/DD individuals be ICF/MR certified. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued regulations regarding seclusion and restraint. These regulations are called “Conditions of Participation (CoPs).” CoPs serve as the basis of survey activities for the purpose of determining whether a facility qualifies for a provider agreement under Medicare or Medicaid. There is a set of CoPs for each type of provider or supplier subject to certification. Providers must meet the applicable CoPs for them to be able to provide and continue to provide Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

Medicaid Home and Community Based Services

The Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) was authorized in 1981 as an alternative to the institutional standards of the ICF/MR program. This service complimented ICF/MR by helping with the financial shift from institutions to community based service.

Medicaid, the nation’s primary health insurance program for persons with disabilities and low-income populations is provided for most people with significant disabilities who have greater medical needs and often require assistance with the activities of daily living throughout their lifetimes. It is overwhelmingly the largest funding source of both acute health care and long term services and supports for most of our constituents. Although Medicaid is a federal program, its benefits are defined and distributed at the state level.

Organizational options

The developmentally disabled can turn to certain organizations to aid in their search to gain information regarding the options for their care. An option is the Arc of the United States, a grassroots organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Arc, started in 1950 by a group of parents of disabled individuals and other citizens, to seek out options for individuals suffering from, what was know at the time as "mental retardation". At the outset, the organizations goal at this point was to alter perceptions of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and to educate parents and others regarding the potential of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Since the beginning, The Arc has adapted to the changes that people with disabilities face across their life span. The Arc has seen several name changes, advocated for the passage of state and federal legislation on behalf of people with disabilities and established a network of state and local chapters that range from small voluntary groups to large, professional organizations.

State chapters of The Arc can be found in 39 states across the United States, with over 730 local chapters.

Renaming Mental Retardation

Professionals in the field of intellectual disability/mental retardation have raised discussion about the construct of disability, how intellectual disability fits within the general construct of disability, and the use of the term intellectual disability.

The term intellectual disability is being used instead of mental retardation is exemplified by organization names (e.g., International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities, President's Committee for People With Intellectual Disabilities)and more recent published research.

Presently, intellectual disability diagnosis covers the same population of individuals who were diagnosed previously with mental retardation in number, kind, level, type, and duration of the disability and the need of people with this disability for individualized services and supports. Simply, every individual who is or was eligible for a diagnosis of mental retardation is eligible for a diagnosis of intellectual disability.

The concept of a disability is "focused on the expression of limitations in individual functioning within a social context and represents a substantial disadvantage to the individual. Disability has its genesis in a health condition that gives rise to impairments in body functions and structures, activity limitations, and participation restrictions within the context of personal and environmental factors." This relates to the term intellectual disability evolved to "emphasize an ecological perspective that focuses on the person–environment interaction and recognizes that the systematic application of individualized supports can enhance human functioning."