The files of this study focus on what residential facilities for people with mild intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual disability and severe challenging behaviour, as well as their external stakeholders, do to promote safe community participation by service users, taking feelings of safety of service users and their environment into account.

Data for the study were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with professionals involved in the project Pro. In total, eleven semi-structured interviews, one double interview and six focus groups were held. The interviews were conducted using an interview guide, while several predefined statements were shown to encourage focus group participants to join in the conversation. Alongside this, four stakeholders from outside of Pro residential facilities who are involved in public safety provision participated in an interview. Data were thematically analysed.

The participants in the interviews and focus groups included 42 support staff members from six teams, one team leader, four managers, six psychologists, two managing directors, three board members, and six other professionals (e.g. head of treatment, quality advisor). Participants worked at one of the organisations involved in the project Pro. Pro consists of six Dutch organisations, including three residential service organisations for people with intellectual disabilities, two care administrative offices and the Centre for Consultation and Expertise (CCE). Pro was established in order to prevent a constant stream of transfers between care settings and to enhance the quality of life of 24 people with mild intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning combined with psychopathology, who exhibited severe CB and of whom many have had a forensic background. Of the stakeholders from outside of Pro residential facilities, three were police officers and one was policy advisor at the municipality.