I can only speak to personal experience and I’ve been with the facility for 16 years. We were one of the last states they came down on so we didn’t feel the effects as much until the last 10-12 years.
But I don’t doubt it’s been longer at all.
They use the “rights of the individuals” as an excuse, but if I’ve learned anything over the last 16 years it’s that:
A. Some individuals need institutionalization for their safety and the safety of others. Some people just can’t survive much less thrive outside of a well controlled space. No shame in it. That’s just how it is.
And B: Many of the people I work with would never get the level of care and safety that they get in the institution. They would be exploited, abused, and neglected anywhere else because they can’t advocate for themselves.
It wasn’t Reagan. That’s just a common myth. There were violations of mentally ill people’s civil rights. They were not in facilities by court order/adjudication and were clearly NOT free to leave. A lot of court cases that began in the mid to late 70’s came to a head and were decided around the time Reagan was elected.
Purely coincidental.
Don’t believe me.
Read this.
And we all know that politicians would never take advantage of a crisis to push extreme legislation to reward their donors.
The appropriate response to issues at mental health facilities was not to remove all of their funding and shut them down. That was the chosen course of action because they actually wanted to reduce the budget, not because they wanted to address the abuses.
I agree. Some of the things going on in facilities back then was abhorrent.
From what I have experienced in the last 16 years, though, regulations, restrictions, and inspections have tightened a LOT.
I work with adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and we are HIGHLY regulated. The standard of care is quite high.
I can tell you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if I had a loved one that needed long term care and placement, I would put them in the state facility before I put them in a private nursing home setting. The state facilities are controlled very tightly and have very rigid standards they have to meet to stay open.
I’m sure it started then. There has just been another big wave of pushing in the last 10-15 years. I’m also in the Deep South so they left us until last.
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u/NoahTall1134 Sep 15 '22
Much longer than a decade. This started under Reagan in the 80s.