This book summarizes the changes in public long-term services policy toward individuals with developmental disabilities between 1961 and 2011. It highlights the shared roles the federal government and the states have played in disability policy in the United States. It highlights the emergence of the Medicaid program as the primary funding source for I/DD long term services. The book offers a perspective on the evolution of public policy which is missing from most past renditions of disability history. This book serves as a textbook, training guide, or simply as a general introduction to the history of intellectual and developmental disabilities policy in the United States.

Since 1876, the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) has been providing worldwide leadership in the field of disabilities. AAIDD is the oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization of professionals and citizens concerned about intellectual and developmental disabilities.

AAIDD publishes books for professionals in developmental disability in the areas of:

-Supported living
-Definition of intellectual disability
-Disability funding
-Positive behavior support
-Palliative care
-Quality of life
-Health