Deinstitutionalization

Definition of Deinstitutionalization

The Canada social science dictionary [1] provides the following meaning of Deinstitutionalization: Reduction in the size of populations held in institutions of involuntary confinement, primarily mental hospitals and prisons. This movement began in the 1970s and was very successful in reducing the size of mental hospitals. While prison populations appeared to decrease in the United States for a short time, there was a subsequent increase of unprecedented dimension. Community mental health programs and community corrections developed in response to the desire for deinstitutionalization, but community corrections has come to be seen as an aspect of net widening. See: NET WIDENING in this legal dictionary and in the world encyclopedia of law.

Deinstitutionalization: Resources

Notes and References

• Drislane, R., & Parkinson, G. (2016). (Concept of) Deinstitutionalization. Online dictionary of the social sciences. Open University of Canada