Deinstitutionalization in the U.S. unfolded in two distinct waves: a 1950s wave targeting long‑stay psychiatric patients and a later wave (~late 1960s–1970s) that focused on people with developmental disabilities, each driven by different catalysts (antipsychotic drugs and civil‑rights litigation/consent decrees, respectively). Treating these as separate policy phenomena clarifies why harms and service gaps have different legal, clinical, and fiscal footprints.
— Recognizing the two‑wave structure changes how policymakers attribute causes, design remedies (health vs. disability services), and assign legal responsibility for downstream harms like homelessness and incarceration.
2026.10.04
100% relevant
Article statement that the U.S. experienced two waves — first beginning in the 1950s (mental illness) and a second about 15 years later focused on developmental disability — and the Willowbrook litigation/consent judgement example.
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