Abstract
The census in state hospitals nationwide reached its peak of 560,000 in 1955 and has gone down steadily since then to its current low of under 140,000 (Meyer, 1974–1975) (Figure 1). This represents a 70-percent reduction nationwide, a rate mirrored in most states. Some have exceeded it; for instance, Massachusetts has gone from 24,000 to under 3,000. New York State (Figure 2) had a slow slope for some time and then, in the late 60s, it accelerated a great deal. Now the trend has again slowed. The reasons for this phenomenon are many.
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Talbott, J.A. (1984). The Chronic Mental Patient: A National Perspective. In: Mirabi, M., Feldman, L. (eds) The Chronically Mentally Ill. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-9825-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-9825-7_1
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