This fact sheet uses a question-and-answer format to summarize issues related to managed care and long-term services for people with mental retardation. Questions and answers address the following topics: the evolving concept of "managed care"; the application of managed care to provide cost-efficient long-term services for people with mental retardation; how a managed care model might be utilized to provide long-term services; how managed care may affect long-term services for people with mental retardation; concerns that principles of consumer and family direction may be compromised; the role of the states in the delivery of managed care services; potential problems in managed long-term care services (such as a decline in use of needed specialist services); ways in which managed care might result in a better quality service system; and the role of consumers and advocates in managed care services. (DB)