Deinstitutionalization Essay

In 1965, there was a histrionic change in the method that mental health care was delivered in the United States. The focus went from State Mental Hospitals to outpatient settings for the treatment of mental health issues. With the passing of Medicaid, States were encouraged to move patients out of the hospital setting (Pan, 2013). This process failed miserably due to under funding and understaffing for the amout of patients that were released from the State Mental Hospitals. This resulted in patients, as well as their families, who were in dire need of mental health services. This population turned to either incarceration (jails and/or prisons) or emergency departments as a primary source of care for their loved ones.

In the video, “The New Asylums”, it demonstrated how deinstitutionalization has left thousands of mentally ill patients in the hands of the prison system. As the mental health hospitals closed down, the police department and prison system has become responsible for the mentally ill people that are on the streets. There was a firm point made about the release of mentally ill patients- “When hundreds of thousands of mentally ill are released, they do not magically become healthy. They went to the streets, became homeless, and turned to a system that cannot say no.” The video also stated that today, there are nearly 500,000 mentally ill people being held in jails and prisons throughout the country. Furthermore, there was no safety net for those

Prisons are home to 33,000 mentally ill patients in California, alone. Filling 30 percent of California’s overall prison population, the prisons are becoming unconstitutionally crowded (Source C). In a Federal District Court ruling in Sacramento, “Judge Lawrence Karlton noted that the treatment of the seriously mentally ill continues to violate prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment” (Source C). Poor staffing is not fully to blame for inadequate care, insufficient treatment space, and suicide rates. When President Kennedy began the community mental health centers movement, he deprived the mentally ill of shelter which forced patients to live in the streets (Source A).

Deinstitutionalization was intended to decrease dependence on large, segregated, restrictive institutions and support the development of community mental health treatment. It began with high expectations that modern medications and treatments could assure people with serious mental illness a successful life in the community. However, by the time community treatment was effective, it was too late for many people. A large number of patients released from state hospitals into the community became homeless. Although homelessness among this population is closely related with deinstitutionalization, it is not the result of deinstitutionalization. It is more attributed to the way in which

Prisons and jails in the United States house more than a quarter of a million mentally ill offenders at any given time (Torrey et al., 2014). Some of this is due to the substantial decrease in mental hospitalizations, which occurred when many facilities closed for inhumane treatment of patients (Swanson, 2015). Proper care of the incarcerated mentally ill is imperative, as these inmates are at risk of being abused and having their mental health deteriorate (Torrey et al., 2014). Often, these offenders will “leave prison or jail sicker than when they entered” (Torrey et al.,

Given the number of incarcerated inmates who suffer from some form of mental illness, there are growing concerns and questions in the medical field about treatment of the mentally ill in the prison system. When a person with a mental illness commits a crime or break the law, they are immediately taken to jail or sent off to prison instead of being evaluated and placed in a hospital or other mental health facility. “I have always wondered if the number of mentally ill inmates increased since deinstitutionalization” Since prison main focus is on the crimes inmates are incarcerated; the actual treatment needed for the mentally ill is secondary. Mentally ill prisoners on the surface may appear to be just difficult inmates depending on the

Mental Illness in the Concrete Jungle Mental illness is a growing issue all across the world. The correctional facilities are constantly being bombarded with mentally ill inmates being assigned to their facilities. However there is a problem with this situation because the corrections system is not educated on how to handle these individuals. The mentally ill inmates are not able to get the right amount of care that is needed to help with their illness. Prison is a chaotic place where the mentally ill do not have adequate access to a stable living environment, medical treatment, and programs to help them cope with their illness.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it has been estimated that 40 percent of adults with Schizophrenia and 51 percent of adults with severe Bipolar disorder receive no treatment within a one year period (2016). These staggering statistics are surmounted by the 20-25 percent of the American population that are homeless (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 2009). These alarming statistics illustrate the need to address the social problem of mental health and homelessness and the need to develop programs to combat this epidemic. There are many factors that contribute to this social problem, such as the lack of funding that is appropriated to assist those with severe mental health diagnosis. Serious mental illnesses

Deinstitutionalization, the name given to the policy of moving people with serious brain disorders out of large state institutions and then permanently closing part or all of those institutions, has been a major contributing factor to increased homelessness, incarceration and acts of violence. By moving these people the responsibility of housing them went from the state to the federal government. States began moving brain ill patients that were going through rehabilitation from hospitals to nursing home with no rehabilitation. By the mid-1980s, 23 percent of nursing home residents had a mental disorder. Approximately 200,000 individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are homeless, which is about one-third of the estimated 600,000 homeless population. Nearly 300,000 individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, of

Due in part to the community's lack of preparedness and resources, the needs of many of the deinstitutionalized has not been meet. Therefore many of the mentally ill have ended up exchanging hospitalization for institutionalization in prison or jail." This situation left many mentally ill on the streets with no one to look after them except the nation's police. Another reason for the increasing number of mentally ill individuals in the community is the expense of mental health services. Many individuals are unemployed and therefore without income. Many are not covered by health insurance and the individuals who do have insurance are often smothered under restrictions on coverage for mental illness. Others face time limits on in-patient treatment that will have rewarding effects. Others have difficulty accessing government-funded health coverage. Others depending upon their condition are not even aware that this program exits. Regardless of the reasoning police, as well as judge's and probation officers are on a daily basis faced with the increasing number of mentally ill individuals that are rotated amongst the system.

Mental sicknesses, like schizophrenia, brain diseases and other living conditions have affected many individuals in the United States from the past until now. Yet in the US, the institutions that usually treat people with these illnesses are not hospitals or psychiatric facilities, but rather jails and prisons. The United States have adopted a system that seems to incarcerate the mentally ill rather than treating them within help centers. “In 2012, there were roughly 356,268 inmates with severe mental illnesses in prisons and jails, while only 35,000 people with the same diseases were in state psychiatric hospitals.” Incarcerating the mentally ill in correctional facilities rather than treating them in health

Homelessness has been a problem in the United States for well over a hundred years. Major economic downturns have always had a large role in effecting the homeless population. However, the deinstitutionalization of the psychiatric hospitals in America has greatly increased the size of the mentally ill homeless population, particularly in large urban areas. This increase in homelessness among people with

Due to understaffed and underfunded in the psychiatric hospitals, harsh criticism toward the institutionalized care increased. It was also because of changes in the attitudes of staff and abusive practices in the hospital (Leff, 2001, p. 25). The movement of deinstitutionalization reforms from the asylum-based to community-oriented care. Mentally ill people moved from psychiatric institutions to community mental health centers. Even though there were positive reports about the outcome of community-based mental health programs, other reports found opposite. “Many experts hope that by improving community-based programs and expanding inpatient care to fulfill the needs of severely mentally ill patients, the United States will achieve improved treatment outcomes, increased access to mental health care, and better quality of life for the mentally ill” ("Early History," 2000-2013, p. 2).

The facts are the mentally ill in prisons today present a serious challenge to a staff who is trying to manage treatment concerns with concerns from the administrators and so far there has been no resolution to this growing problem. (Mental Illness, Human Rights, and US Prisons,

Jails have been described as “de facto mental hospitals” because they have filled the void created when state psychiatric hospitals began closing in the early 1960s through a process known as deinstitutionalization. Supporters of deinstitutionalization thought the process would help individuals suffering from a mental illness live more self-reliantly while being treated by community mental health programs. However, the federal government did not provide the necessary funding to meet the mounting demand for these programs, leaving numerous untreated. Individuals with serious mental illnesses are often poor or homeless and are likely to have substance abuse problems. Therefore, when they are left untreated, they are more likely to commit minor crimes that have been the focus of law enforcement in recent years (H. Richard Lamb and Linda Weinberger).