The multiple functions of the state mental hospital

This report identifies and quantifies the multiple manifest and latent functions of the state mental hospital, using data collected by the National Institute of Mental Health. The data reveal a complex institution providing over 500,000 episodes of care for acute and chronic, voluntarily and involuntarily admitted inpatients and 300,000 episodes of care for the most seriously disturbed and disadvantaged outpatients. In addition, state hospitals employ over 200,000 individuals and train over 3,300 professionals each year. The diversity and significance of these functions, as well as the failure of other institutions to supplant them, account for the endurance of the state mental hospital.