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Instructional modules are self-contained units that include all the information and materials necessary for mastery of one or more competencies. One module design consists of seven components: a) a description of the field in which competency is to be demonstrated; b) the concept and rationale for including the module in the total program; c) the specific skill to be developed; d) objectives, or a delineation of anticipated student behavior; e) the specific objects, readings, instruments, and other instructional materials which will facilitate competency development; f) the learning activities to be undertaken by the student in order to achieve the module objectives; and g) assessment procedures and evaluative instruments that relate specifically to the behavioral objectives of the module. Analytical attributes of an instructional module are its conceptual level; content area; learning and instructional modes; access skill focus (observation, listening, and/or reading); competency target (age or grade level); and estimated completion time for the module. There are several approaches to module development, but in general, the most effective is cooperative development by two or more instructors who pretest and refine the module before including it in the total program. (HMD)

Teacher centers in America can provide the vehicle for the improvement of education through a) the professionalization of educators, b) the education of the public, and c) the repoliticization of education. Teacher centers can serve as the point of input for the knowledge necessary for the professionalization of educators and can function as the interface between educators and the consuming public in the development of goals and objectives for the educational system. A real education profession cooperating with a knowledgeable public (via teacher centers) can begin to develop a responsive decision-making system involving all the necessary constituencies, which will be able to make defensible decisions about educational alternatives that will meet the needs of children. The teacher center movement in America has the potential to become the focal point of improvement in American education. (HMD)

Evaluated were 1,666 juvenile imates committed to the Texas Youth Council. The study was part of Project CAMIO, a Texas effort to determine the incidence of criminal incarceration of the mentally retarded (MR) and to identify laws, procedures, and practices which affect the prosecution and imprisonment of the MR offender. Information was gathered on intelligence, age, race, sex, drug and alcohol history, prior delinquency record, and current commitment information. Findings indicated that approximately 12.9% of the males and 16.6% of the females were retarded (compared to a 3% incidence in the general population). More MR than non-MR inmates were from minority groups, had poorer school attendance records, came from financilly impoverished families, and came from large families. MR offenders were less likely to have a history of drug and alcohol use than non-MR offenders. MR offenders were granted probation significantly less frequently than non-MR offenders. Current commitment offense was less likely to have involved codefendants with MR offenders than with non-MR offenders. Additionally, the investigation revealed that one out of seven retarded youths were improperly committed, since there is a Texas law prohibiting incarceration of MR juveniles within Youth Council facilities. (DB)

Studied was the relationship of the mentally retarded (MR) and the juvenile court through an attempt to determine the incidence of MR juveniles adjudicated by the juvenile court in one metropolitan county in Texas, to determine the attitude of juvenile probation officers toward the MR delinquent, and to determine the availability of community resources for the care of MR delinquents. Intelligence tests administered to all (48) juveniles adjudicated during a 4-month period revealed that the incidence of MR was about five times higher than in the general population. The MR juveniles tended to come from poorer homes, to have been first arrested at an earlier age, but arrested fewer times than the non-MR juveniles. After one year on probation 2/3 of the MR juveniles compared to 1/2 of the non-MR juveniles, were committed to state training schools. Juvenile probation officers queried appeared to view the prognosis for the MR delinquent as poor, to be unfamiliar with mental retardation, and to view state residential facilities for the retarded as of little assistance to the court. The officers indicated the most significant problems were the lack of community resources and the uncooperative attitudes of parents. Interviews with directors of community based programs showed that directors of agencies for the MR were reluctant to extend services to the delinquent and that directors of agencies dealing with delinquents were reluctant to extend services to the retarded. (DB)

Evaluated were 500 male inmates admitted to the Texas Department of Corrections over a 2-month period. The study was part of Project CAMIO (Correctional Administration and the Mentally Incompetent Offender), a Texas study to determine the incidence of criminal incarceration of the mentally retarded (MR) and to identify laws, procedures, and practices which affect the prosecution and incarceration of the MR offender. Evaluation of the inmates was undertaken to determine the incidence of MR individuals committed to the Department of Corrections and to determine the relationship between intelligence and aspects of the social and criminal histories of MR offenders. Administered were five intelligence tests and two tests of educational achievement. The MR incidence among Ss was found to be approximately 10% (more than three times the rate within the general population). Evaluation of background characteristics indicated that MR inmates tended to be older, to have no military service, and to be members of minority groups. The non-retarded inmate was more likely to have been granted probation as a juvenile offender or as a previous adult offender, MR and non-MR offenders tended to have similar criminal records, though MR offenders were more likely to have been convicted of crimes of rape and burglary. Findings indicated the most significant difference between MR and non-MR inmates to be in the more frequent granting of probation to the non-MR. (DB)

Surveyed were the correctional systems of 45 states and the District of Columbia to assess the levels of diagnosis and treatment of mentally retarded (MR) offenders in correctional institutions as part of Project CAMIO (Correctional Administration and the Mentally Incompetent Offender), a Texas study 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. Findings indicated that approximately 90% of correctional systems employed psychometric means to determine the intelligence level of prisoners, that approximately 4% of prisoners were identified as MR persons, and that 10% of state systems did not provide any form of special treatment of MR offenders. Findings showed improved treatment for MR offenders over the last ten years and suggested that a court decision ordering state correctional systems to either provide appropriate treatment or release the MR offender would have less impact than in years past. (DB)

Reviewed are statutory and case laws affecting arrest, prosecution, and treatment of the mentally retarded (MR) offender as part of Project CAMIO, (Correctional Administration and the Mentally Incompetent Offender), a Texas study to determine the incidence of criminal incarceration of the MR and to identify laws, procedures, and practices which adversely affect the prosecution and imprisonment of the MR offender. It is concluded that the proper handling of the MR offender requires the amendment or elimination of laws dealing with the defendant's competency to stand trial and the use of insanity as a defense in a criminal prosecution. Noted is effective commitment without right to bail during the mental examination period, the indeterminate or lifetime commitment without a finding of guilt for MR offenders, and a disparity between commitment and release procedures which serves no legal or therapeutic purposes. Issues are discussed in terms of incompetency laws, treatment of MR persons found incompetent, procedural problems such as the psychiatric examination and the incompetency hearing, and MR and criminal responsibility. Explained are 12 recommendations such as termination of the automatic commitment of defendants who require a competency examination and the prosecution's obligation to prove the MR individual's potential danger to society or himself prior to commitment due to incompetency. (DB)

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)

This historical review of theories on criminality and mental retardation is part of Project CAMIO (Correctional Administration and the Mentally Incompetent Offender), a Texas study to determine the incidence of criminal incarceration of the mentally retarded (MR) and to identify laws, procedures, and practices which affect the prosecution and imprisonment of the MR offender. The review indicates that prior to the 19th century there was little effort to discriminate between the MR individual and the criminal offender, that early studies suggesting that MR predisposes a person to criminal acts have been replaced by evidence that the high percentage of MR individuals in the criminal justice system is due to administrative and legal factors, that advances in testing techniques and causal theories have led to correctional programs concerned with multivariate causes, that current correctional treatment sees the offender as a unique individual, that prejudicial attitudes toward the MR still exist within the criminal justice system, but that a growing philosophy concerning the right to treatment should facilitate the handling of the MR offender. The discussion examines MR from ancient times to the present and then reviews the relationship between MR and crime in terms of legalities, theories of MR and crime (such as religious, genetic, or environmental), and treatment of the defective offender. (DB)