Effects of Desegregation of a State Hospital System on Rates of Treated Mental Illnesses

Abstract

SEGREGATION OF white and Negro mental hospital patients was traditional for many years in the South and in most States bordering this area. In some States, this division was required by law while it persisted in others by local custom. Specific patterns varied, with some States providing separate hospitals for the two racial groups while others maintained separate buildings, units, or wards within the same facility. Beginning in the late 1950's, partly by administrative decision and partly by local legal action, programs for desegregation of these facilities gradually developed. All States have now desegregated their publicly operated mental hospitals. Efforts to achieve specified levels of inte-Dr.