Volume 69 · 382
Public Law 84–182
Providing for on objective, thorough, and nationwide analysis and reevaluation of the human and economic problems of mental Illness, and for other purposes.
Approved July 28, 1955
Statutory text
JOINT RESOLUTION
Providing for on objective, thorough, and nationwide analysis and reevaluation of the human and economic problems of mental Illness, and for other purposes.
Whereas some seven hundred and fifty thousand mentally ill and retarded patients are now being hospitalized on any given day;
Mental Health Study Act of 1955.
and
Whereas 47 per centum of the hospital beds in the Nation are occupied by mental patients; and
Whereas the direct economic cost of mental illness to the. taxpayers of the Nation, including pensions to veterans with psychiatric disabilities, is over $1,000,000,000 a year and has been increasing at a rate of $100,000,000 a year; and
Whereas the emotional impact and distress suffered by millions of our people anxiously and justifiably concerned about the welfare, treatment, and prospects of mentally afflicted relatives is incalculable and is one of the most urgent concerns of our people; and
Whereas the Governors of the several States, through national and regional Governors Conferences and through the publications of the Council of State Governments, have-shown great initiative in their cooperative attempts to develop better methods of meeting the challenge of mental illness in their States; and
Whereas there is strong justification for believing that this constantly growing burden may well be due primarily to an outmoded reliance on simple custodial care in mental hospitals as the chief method of dealing with mental illness; and
Whereas there is strong reason to believe that lack of early intensive treatment facilities has created such a backlog of mentally deteriorated patients that it has become virtually impossible for the States to meet the need for mental hospital facilities; and
Whereas there is strong reason to believe that one of the greatest impediments to more rapid progress in the. field of mental health is a definite shortage of professional personnel in all categories; and
Whereas there seems to be a discouraging lag between the discovery of new knowledge and skills in treating mental illness and their widespread application, as is evidenced by the fact that whereas only about one-third of newly admitted mental patients are discharged from State hospitals in the course of a year, in a few outstanding institutions the recovery rate is 75 per centum or more; and
Whereas experience with certain community outpatient clinics and rehabilitation centers would seem to indicate that many mental patients could be better treated on an outpatient basis at much lower cost than by a hospital; and
Whereas there is strong reason to believe that a substantial proportion of public mental hospital facilities are being utilized for the care of elderly persons who could be better cared for and receive better treatment in modified facilities at lower cost; and
Whereas there is reason to believe that, many emotionally disturbed children are being placed in mental hospitals, which have no proper facilities to administer to their needs; and
Whereas mental illness is frequently a component of such nationwide problems as alcoholism, drug addiction juvenile delinquency, broken homes, school failures, absenteeism, and job maladjustment in industry, suicide, and similar problems; and
Whereas there seems to be no overall integrated body of knowledge concerning all aspects of the present status of our resources, met Plods,and practices for diagnosing, treating, caring for, and rehabilitating the mentally ill, although only through the development of such a body of knowledge can the people of the United States ascertain the true nature of this staggering problem and develop more effective plans to meet it: Therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled
Short title.
,
That this joint resolution may be cited as the “Mental Health Study Act of 1955”.
Sec. 2. statement of purposes and policy
It is the sense of the Congress that there exists a critical need for such.an objective, thorough, and nationwide analysis and reevaluation of the human and economic problems of mental illness and of the resources, methods, and practices currently utilized in diagnosing, treating, caring for, and rehabilitating the mentally ill, both within and outside of institutions, as may lead to the development of comprehensive and realistic recommendations for such better utilization of those resources or such improvements on and new developments in methods of diagnosis, treatment, care, and rehabilitation as give promise of resulting in a marked reduction in the incidence or duration of mental illness and, in consequence, a lessening of the appalling emotional and financial drain on the families of those afflicted or on the economic resources of the States and of the Nation.
it is declared to be the policy of the Congress to promote mental health and to help solve the complex and the interrelated problems posed by mental illness by encouraging the undertaking of nongovernmental, multidisciplinary research into and reevaluation of all aspects of our resources, methods, and practices for diagnosing, treating, caring for, and rehabilitating the mentally ill, including research aimed at the prevention of mental illness. It is the purpose of this joint resolution to implement that policy.
Sec. 3. special project grants for comprehensive mental health study
Part A of title III of the Public Health Service Act is
amended by adding after section 303 the following new section:
“Sec. 304. “grant’s for special projects in mental health
(a) (1) The Surgeon General is authorized, upon the recommendation of the National Advisory Mental Health Council, to make grants for the carrying out of a program of research into and study of our resources, methods, and practices for diagnosing, treating, caring for, and rehabilitating the mentally ill, such program to be on a scale commensurate with the problem.
“(2) Such grants may be made to one or more organizations, but only on condition that the organization will undertake and conduct, or if more than one organization is to receive such grants, only on condition that such organizations have agreed among themselves to undertake and conduct, a coordinated program of research into and study of all aspects of the resources, methods, and practices referred to in paragraph (1).
“(3) As used in paragraph (2), the term ‘organization’ means a nongovernmental agency, organization, or commission, composed of representatives of leading national medical and other professional associations, organizations, or agencies active in the field of mental health.
“(b) For such purpose there is hereby authorized to be appropriated
Appropriations.
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1956, the sum of $250,000 to be used for a grant or grants to help initiate the research and study provided for in this section; and the sum of $500,000 for each of the two succeeding fiscal years for the making of such grants as may be needed to carry the research and study to completion. The terms of any such grant shall provide that the research and study shall be completed not later than three years from the date it is inaugurated; that the grantee shall file annual reports with the Congress, the Surgeon General, and the Governors of the several States, among others that the grantee may select; and that the final report shall be similarly filed.
“(c) Nothing in this section shall in any way affect the availability of amounts otherwise appropriated for work in the field of mental health; nor be construed to interfere with or diminish the more limited and specific programs of research and study being carried on through or under the auspices of the National Institute of Mental Health.
“(d) Any grantee agency, organization, or commission is authorized to accept additional financial support from private or other public sources to assist in carrying on the project authorized by this section.”
Approved July 28, 1955.