Mental health study act of 1955

Running head: THE FIVE LAWS and the HUMAN SERVICE MOVEMENT 1

LAWS 4

Laws: The Five Federal Laws and the Human Service Movement

Chanda Crews

HHS 435 Cont Issues, Trends, Health Law Ethics in H & HS

Professor: Cora Clavel

November 28, 2017

The Five Federal Laws and the Human Service Movement

The Establishment of the National Institute of Mental Health (1946). In 1946 President Harry Truman signed the National Mental Health Act to pave the way for the establishment of National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) ("National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)", 2017). The intent for the establishment of this institute was aimed at transforming the understanding and treatment of mental disorders through clinical and basic research, thereby facilitating effective prevention, recovery, and cure ("National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)", 2017). During this time, cases of mental illnesses were prevalent, and this law was passed in an attempt to meet the growing public health concerns. It aimed at fostering innovative thinking to facilitate the use of a full array of novel scientific perspectives to advance more understanding of the evolving science of brain, behavior, and experience. This law was formulated on the basis that further enhancement of scientific research will benefit all people with mental disorders.

The Mental Health Study Act (1955)

The Mental Health Study Act also known as the Public Law 84-182 was passed in 1955 to facilitate a thorough, objective and nationwide analysis and evaluation of the economic and human problems of mental health (Burger, 2017). This Act prepared the way for the establishment of Joint Commission on Mental Illness and health.

The Community Mental Health Centers Act (1963)

The Community Mental Health Centers Act was signed into law in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. The adoption of this act was aimed at establishing comprehensive community mental health centers throughout the nation (Community Mental Health Act, 2017). It was intended to drastically alter the delivery of mental health services and bring about a new era of improvement in mental health care. It targeted to decentralize mental health services from hospitals and other few institutions that offered these services back to the communities where everybody can readily access.

Also, this law was aimed at establishing a more effective psychotropic medication. The new approaches brought about by the implementation of this law facilitated the success of community-based care for people with mental illnesses. This approach was supported by a growing body of evidence that showed mental illnesses could be treated in a cost-effective manner in community settings than in traditional psychiatric hospitals.

The Economic Opportunity Act (1964)

The Economic Opportunity Act was adopted in 1964 to initiate the creation of local community action agencies to supplement the campaigns carried out to fight poverty. The established agencies are controlled directly by the federal government (Burger, 2017). This act was therefore intended to supplement, strengthen and coordinate efforts in furtherance of that policy.

The Schneuer Sub-professional Career Act (1966)

The Schneuer Sub-professional Career Act signed into law in 1966 provided federal funds to recruit and train entry-level human service workers. This law alongside the Economic Opportunity Act spurred the creation of the new field of human services (Burger, 2017). It was intended to bring new changes in human service sector following the shortfall of qualified human service workers as a result of decentralization and deinstitutionalization movements that started in the 1950s.

References

Burger, W. (2017). Human services in contemporary America. Boston, MA, USA : Cengage

Learning.

Community Mental Health Act. (2017). National Council. Retrieved 28 November 2017, from

https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/about/national-mental-health-association/overview/community-mental-health-act/

NIMH, (2017). National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Retrieved 28 November 2017, from https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/national-institute-mental-health-nimh

Running head: THE FIVE LAWS and the HUMAN SERVICE MOVEMENT

1

Laws: The Five Federal Laws and the Human Service Movement

Chanda Crews

HHS 435 Cont Issues, Trends, Health Law Ethics in H & HS

Professor

: Cora Clavel

November 28, 2017

Running head: THE FIVE LAWS and the HUMAN SERVICE MOVEMENT 1

Laws: The Five Federal Laws and the Human Service Movement

Chanda Crews

HHS 435 Cont Issues, Trends, Health Law Ethics in H & HS

Professor: Cora Clavel

November 28, 2017