NCJ Number
195611
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 82 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 168-188
Date Published
June 2002
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article presents a case study of the survival of Farview State Hospital, Pennsylvania's only maximum security correctional facility for mentally ill offenders.
Abstract
Between Farview's opening in 1911 and its conversion to a State prison in 1995, it was the only facility in Pennsylvania designed and operated exclusively for the care of mentally ill, male criminal offenders. Farview admitted mentally ill offenders at all stages of the criminal justice process, including pretrial detainees, defendants found incompetent to stand trial, defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity, and prison and jail inmates who became mentally ill after conviction. Beginning in 1963, Farview also admitted civilly committed patients who were transferred from all other Pennsylvania State mental hospitals when they were too violent to house in those less secure hospitals. The patient population of Farview increased to a maximum of 1,421 in 1961 and declined to approximately 200 in the period 1969-1977, where it remained until Farview closed in 1995. This analysis of Farview State Hospital begins with a listing of standards against which Farview can be evaluated. The author concludes that Farview fell short of all the standards by failing to secure patients' safety and the safety of others; failing to provide a program of treatment; failing to have trained and qualified staff to provide mental health services; failing to supervise staff to ensure they did not abuse patients; failing to regularly evaluate patients; and failing overall to provide cost-effective care. Because of its failures, in the late 1960's Farview came under attack by lawyers, journalists, politicians, moviemakers, and academics; however, despite extraordinarily diverse and concerted efforts to close this institution, it remained open for another 25 years. The endurance of this failed institution is explained through functional and interest-group analysis. Individuals and groups with vested economic and political interests secured their interests through Farview. They constituted a successful coalition, sustaining an existing institution and existing practices, even though the majority of citizens would probably acknowledge the failure of the institution and abhor its practices. The author warns that if such a "worst case" institution can survive, closing less defective institutions may be even more difficult. 3 figures and 12 references