State Institutions: Thirty Years of Depopulation and Closure

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, a number of social, political, and economic forces have influenced public policy decisions regarding residential services for persons with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities (MR/DD). One of the most striking outcomes of these forces has been a steady decrease of persons with MR/DD residing in state institutions. In this paper we show the changes over the past 30 years in state institutional populations, interstate variability, movement of individuals into and out of state institutions, costs of state institutional care, and state institution closures as a result of social policy.

Caregivers as Managers of Subjective Wellbeing: A Homeostatic Perspective

“…What should guide the nature of the services that are provided? Should they reflect societal philosophical ideals such as normalization and integration (for reviews see Allen 1989; Emerson & Hatton 1996; Anderson et al. 1998; Felce 1998; Young et al.…”

Dental care issues for the adolescent special needs population

“…In the 30 years before 1997, the number of disabled adults living in institutions decreased by 75% (2). Although the arguments for a more normalized existence are quite moving, one negative result has been the loss of central access to dental care that was at one time provided by resident dental providers in the larger institutions.…”

Why Is Providing Dental Care to People with Mental Retardation and Other Developmental Disabilities Such a Low Priority?

“…8 In the 30-year period through the end of the 1990s, the number of institutionalized residents with MR/ DD decreased by 75%. 9 The number of residents with MR/DD residing in psychiatric institutions decreased by 91%. 9 Specifically, in the mid-1960s, there were more than a quarter of a million individuals with MR/ DD in state institutions.…”

“…9 The number of residents with MR/DD residing in psychiatric institutions decreased by 91%. 9 Specifically, in the mid-1960s, there were more than a quarter of a million individuals with MR/ DD in state institutions. 9 By the late 1990s, there were fewer than 58,000 residents with MR/DD in state facilities.…”