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This paper reports on the manual AQUA‐UWO, an instrument for quality development in supported living services developed by a research group at the Centre for Planning and Evaluation of Social Services at the University of Siegen in Germany. The extension of supported living services in Germany is still marked by conceptual and financial uncertainty. Debates about the concept and quality of supported living are still not advanced. Against this background, AQUA‐UWO identifies key issues for supported living and formulates professional standards for work in, and management of, supported living. Service user rights for self‐advocacy and self‐determination form the basis of quality assurance and development of supported living services. The first part of the instrument covers conceptual foundations, quality comprehension and methodical procedures. The second part covers key issues, identifies working procedures and clarifies quality standards. The third part includes materials which can be used to support the process of quality development.

This article gives an overview of the services provided for people with intellectual disabilities in Germany. On principle we assume that the field of services in this country, its problems, strengths and opportunities for development, can be understood only if one is familiar with the development pathways and specific historical experiences. Church welfare and powerful voluntary welfare organisations, traditional psychiatry and its ‘oligophrenic’ ideal, the division of state funding competencies into local and centralised levels and the commitments of a new generation of parents organised in the association Lebenshilfe were important factors for the development of the current structures. These can be characterised by the persistence of residential facilities, although it has been the legal mission of the social administration since 1984 to give priority to the expansion of non‐residential services. Specific financial mechanisms promote institutionalisation from the perspective of the local authorities and impede the implementation of integrative approaches in the community.