This account of recent developments in community based services for mentally handicapped people in this country derives from a study of available literature, focussing particularly on that published between 1975-1981. The main part of the report describes the kind of schemes and projects that have been developed to meet the needs of mentally handicapped people and their families at different stages of the life cycle; during the first year of life; in the pre-school period; during the school age years; at school-leaving; in adulthood and in old age. The final chapter explores the implications which these developments have for professional caregivers and draws some tentative conclusions.