Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

Deinstitutionalization from mental hospitals has
been with us for over fifty years now in Australia
and the United States of America. Growing expenses
in keeping mental institutions open made ideas of
community care attractive to the Governments footing
the bills for the mental institutions. However,
funding for appropriate levels of community support
were never forthcoming. Costs have fallen instead on
people with mental illness, on their families and
carers, and on other institutions such as homeless
shelters and jails. The costs have wound up being
heavier than the savings.

Autorentext
Ciorstan Smark is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Accounting & Finance at the University of Wollongong in Australia. She
researches in the areas of finance, cost shifting, accounting,
business ethics and financial planning.

Klappentext
Deinstitutionalization from mental hospitals has been with us for over fifty years now in Australia and the United States of America. Growing expenses in keeping mental institutions open made ideas of community care attractive to the Governments footing the bills for the mental institutions. However, funding for appropriate levels of community support were never forthcoming. Costs have fallen instead on people with mental illness, on their families and carers, and on other institutions such as homeless shelters and jails. The costs have wound up being heavier than the savings.