Deinstitutionalization and Welfare Policies

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Band 479, S. 132-155

Abstract

Before the US began creating a federally based welfare state in the 1930s, most publicly funded responses to social problems had an institutional basis. The ways in which welfare programs initiated fifty years ago have influenced institutional trends, & are likely to continue to do so, are examined using previous survey research. Four special problem groups are assessed from a historical perspective: (1) the dependent aged & the movement from local almshouses & state insane asylums to nursing homes; (2) the mentally ill & the movement from state hospitals to a variety of local medical & nonmedical residences; (3) the developmentally disabled -- formerly the mentally retarded -- & the movement from state schools to private community residential facilities; & (4) the dependent/neglected & delinquent youth & the movement away from orphan asylums & training schools to group homes, treatment centers, adolescent psychiatric units, halfway houses, & outdoor camps. Recent trends & projections, as well as present & future policy issues, are assessed. 4 Tables. HA