The article discusses the contrasting fates of mental health facilities in the U.S. and France, illustrated by the closure of Allentown State Hospital in 2010 and the expansion of services in Billiers. Isabel M. Perera's new book, 'The Welfare Workforce,' examines why mental health care in affluent democracies diverges, highlighting that while the U.S. closed psychiatric hospitals without adequate replacements, other countries established robust public mental health care systems. Her comparative analysis emphasizes the role of government employees in shaping these crucial social policies.
In some countries, such as the United States, policymakers closed hospitals but failed to replace them with adequate social and medical supports.
Every affluent democracy deinstitutionalized, a process that peaked in the 1970s and 80s. Was that the right thing to do? Psychiatric deinstitutionalization certainly had a humanitarian justification.
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