Hi Rambi...you are right...Did some investigation tonight about decriminalization....There is lots about it... The push toward this policy began in the 1970's.....
hsri.org
The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) was established in 1976 with the express purpose of assisting states and the federal government to enhance services and supports to people with mental illness and people with mental retardation, and to support the development of alternatives to congregate care facilities. The Institute, a non-profit organization, was active in the 1970s in the assessment of the impact of federal programs, such as Supplemental Security Income, housing subsidies, and vocational rehabilitation, and their application on the expansion of community services for people with disabilities. HSRI staff also participated in the implementation of the Community Support Program at the National Institute of Mental Health, and in the design of a housing research agenda for people with disabilities. At the close of the decade, Institute staff completed a book on the community movement in developmental disabilities titled: Deinstitutionalization of Developmentally Disabled Persons: A Conceptual Analysis & Guide (Bradley, 1978).
During the 1980s, HSRI expanded its interests to include quality assurance, needs assessment, multi-site evaluations, and family support. In the area of quality assurance, HSRI developed a wide-ranging report on quality assurance for the Department of Health and Human Services, Assessing and Enhancing the Quality of Services: A Guide for the Human Services Field. In the area of needs assessment, HSRI designed the "Quadrant Method" for The National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) to assist in the determination of the potential numbers of people with severe and persistent mental illness requiring services. HSRI also developed an analysis of state fund allocation formulas and models for NIMH, and developed computer simulation models for allocating mental health resources and planning mental health services.
HSRI staff conducted a multi-state study of the experiences of people receiving community support services as part of the Community Support Program Follow-Up Study. The Institute, in collaboration with Developmental Disabilities Councils around the country, took part in a major set of initiatives during the decade of the 1980s having to do with the development of programs and policies promoting family support.
The 1980s were a period of intense examination of deinstitutionalization activities around the country. The Institute participated in formative and summative evaluations of this movement in states such as Pennsylvania (the Pennhurst Longitudinal Study), New Hampshire, Michigan, Maine, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.
During the decade of the 1990s, HSRI staff worked with a number of states to evaluate and describe the best practices in family support. The Institute became a Technical Assistance Center for the evaluation of system change in mental health and a coordinating center for the SAMHSA Managed Care for Vulnerable Populations Project. HSRI continued to offer support for state and local mental health systems and developed considerable expertise in coordinating evaluation implemented in multiple sites. In recognition of the movement to managed care, Institute staff also turned their attention to the development of participant-driven managed care approaches to the provision of long term supports for people with disabilities, as well as to the use of performance indicators to monitor and improve system performance. Similarly, in the field of child welfare, HSRI staff assisted states interested in assessing managed care applications and performance measures.
In the late 1990s, the Institute also became active in the self-determination movement through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to evaluate pilot sites charged with implementing participant driven supports. To support self-advocates to become more empowered, the Institute designed a curriculum to enhance self-determination skills.
In the first decade of the 21st Century, the Institute's mission continues to focus on improving the lives of people with disabilities. Through the Core Indicators project, staff are exploring the application of national performance standards. As a center for technical assistance in family support, the Institute is assisting in the dissemination of best practices. As a continuing technical assistance center for evaluation of system’s change in mental health, the Institute is leading the way in the application of practical strategies to assess and improve services and supports to persons with mental illness. Finally, as a coordinating center for the evaluation of managed care for vulnerable populations, the Institute is assisting in the dissemination of valuable research necessary to ensure that public systems continue to be responsive to the needs of those they serve. |
