Community Mental Health Act
Encyclopedia
The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 (CMHA) (also known as the Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act, Mental Retardation Facilities and Construction Act, Public Law 88-164, or the Mental Retardation and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963) was an act to provide federal funding for community mental health centers in the United States. This legislation was passed as part of John F. Kennedy
's New Frontier
. It led to considerable deinstitutionalization.
In 1955, Congress passed the Mental Health Study Act, leading to the establishment of the Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Mental Health. That Commission issued a report in 1961, which would become the basis of the 1963 Act.
The CMHA provided grants to states for the establishment of local mental health centers, under the overview of the National Institute of Mental Health
. The NIH also conducted a study involving adequacy in mental health issues. The purpose of the CMHA was to provide for community-based care, as an alternative to institutionalization. However, some states saw this as an excuse to close expensive state hospitals without spending some of the money on community-based care.
The CMHA proved to be a mixed success. Many patients, formerly warehoused in institutions, were released into the community. However, not all communities had the facilities or expertise to deal with them. In many cases, patients wound up in adult homes or with their families, or homeless
in large cities, but without the mental health care they needed.
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's New Frontier
New Frontier
The term New Frontier was used by Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the 1960 United States presidential election to the Democratic National Convention at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the Democratic slogan to inspire America to support him...
. It led to considerable deinstitutionalization.
In 1955, Congress passed the Mental Health Study Act, leading to the establishment of the Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Mental Health. That Commission issued a report in 1961, which would become the basis of the 1963 Act.
The CMHA provided grants to states for the establishment of local mental health centers, under the overview of the National Institute of Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health...
. The NIH also conducted a study involving adequacy in mental health issues. The purpose of the CMHA was to provide for community-based care, as an alternative to institutionalization. However, some states saw this as an excuse to close expensive state hospitals without spending some of the money on community-based care.
The CMHA proved to be a mixed success. Many patients, formerly warehoused in institutions, were released into the community. However, not all communities had the facilities or expertise to deal with them. In many cases, patients wound up in adult homes or with their families, or homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
in large cities, but without the mental health care they needed.
Further reading
- Arce, A. Anthony , Vergare, Michael J., "Homelessness, the chronic mentally ill and community mental health centers", Community Mental Health Journal, Springer Netherlands, Volume 23, Number 4 / December, 1987.
- Institute of Medicine (U.S.) Committee on Health Care for Homeless People, Institute of Medicine (U.S.), "Homelessness, Health, and Human Needs: Health Care and Human Needs", National Academies Press, 1988, ISBN 0309038324. Cf. p. 97.
- Kramer, Morton, "Statistics of Mental Disorders in the United States: Current Status, Some Urgent Needs and Suggested Solutions", Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General), Vol. 132, No. 3 (1969), pp. 353–407, Blackwell Publishing for the Royal Statistical Society
- Rochefort, David A., "From Poorhouses to Homelessness: Policy Analysis and Mental Health Care", Westport, CT: Auburn House, 1993
- Rudin, Edward, McInnes, Robert S., "Community Mental Health Services Act — Five Years of Operation Under the California Law", California Medicine, 1963 July; 99(1): 9–11.
- Sharfstein, Steven S., "Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health?", Psychiatric Services, 51:616-620, May 2000, American Psychiatric AssociationAmerican Psychiatric AssociationThe American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
- Stavis, Paul F., "Homeward Bound: The Developing Legal Right to a Home in the Community", Quality of Care Newsletter, Issue 48, April–May 1991, New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities.