"They're Not Like You and Me":

This article examines caretakers' definitions of residents at public institutions for the mentally retarded. The attendants at these institutions are officially responsible for the daily care of residents, maintenance of wards or living units and, increasingly, the provision of "therapeutic activities" and programming. Attendants often have been the target of institutional reform efforts. New policies prohibiting abuse of residents have been written; new mandates to provide programming have been handed down; new staff training programs have been implemented. Yet, at the institutions in this study, these reform efforts have not resulted in significant changes in attendants' definitions of residents.