Which act is associated with deinstitutionalization?

• A. LPS Act
• B. Tarasoff decision
• C. Community Mental Health Act
• D. Riese v. St. Marys Hospital

Answer: (C)

Understanding historical policy shifts in mental health care, especially what pushed care from large state hospitals into community settings. The Community Mental Health Act is the one that started deinstitutionalization by directing federal funds to create community-based mental health centers and to shift treatment away from long-term confinement in institutions. It laid the groundwork for moving people into outpatient and community supports, aiming to improve autonomy and quality of life while reducing reliance on inpatient facilities.

The other items relate to different aspects of mental health law. The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act focuses on safeguarding and procedural protections for involuntary treatment within California, not the broad policy shift toward community-based care. The Tarasoff decision establishes duty to warn or protect in certain situations, which is about patient safety and attorney-communications implications, not deinstitutionalization. Riese v. St. Mary’s Hospital concerns informed consent for treatment, not the policy drive to close or reduce inpatient psychiatric care.