Name
Poster 12 - The Failures of Deinstitutionalization: Lessons learned & a path forward
Date & Time
Friday, October 17, 2025, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Description

Deinstitutionalization was intended to shift individuals with severe mental illness from large state hospitals to community-based care. However, gaps in the system have led to a crisis - rising homelessness, incarceration of mentally ill individuals, overwhelmed emergency departments, and a lack of long-term care.

Speakers
Samantha Darnell-Tracy DBH, MS, LPC, Director, Health Reform Solutions, Cape Girardeau, MO
Content Level
Advanced
Tags
Behavioral Medicine Topics such as insomnia or medication adherence, Collaborative Care Model of Integrated Care, Policy, Quality improvement programs
Session Type
Poster
Slideshow link
View Slideshow
Objective 1
Understand the history and intent behind deinstitutionalization, including its policy drivers.
Objective 2
Recognize the unintended consequences, including the revolving door of hospitalization, criminalization, and homelessness.
Objective 3
Explore solutions, including policy reform, integration of care, and the role of modernized state hospitals.
Content Reference 1

Farkas, M. & Coe, S. (2019). From residential care to supportive housing or people with psychiatric disabilities: Past, present, and future. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10(862).

Content Reference 2

Pepper, B. (1987). A public policy for the long-term mentally ill: A positive alternative to reinstitutionalization. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57(3), 452-457.

Content Reference 3

Spaulding, W.D., Sullivan, M.E., Poland, J.S., & Ritchie, A.J. (2010). State psychiatric institutions and the left-behinds of mental health reform. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(3), 327-333.

Content Reference 4

Vanable, J. (2021). The cost of criminalizing serious mental illness. National Alliance on Mental Health. Mar. 24, 2021.