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Article: Community Mental Health Services
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Public Health
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The history of mental health services in the United States is one of good intentions followed by poor execution; of promises to deliver better services for less cost; and of periodic revolutionary change with neither the evidence to support the new programs or the financial investment to see if the new approach could be effective if carried out adequately. While it can be argued that community mental health services date back to the beginnings of American history, until the mid-1950s, public mental health in the United States was largely institutionally based and entirely state supported. Early in U.S. history, local communities ...