This curriculum module is designed for use in an undergraduate social policy course. It focuses on mental health policy and its impact on services to the chronic mentally ill in the community. Relevant mental health research is integrated in order to provide a basis for comparing traditional service interventions with alternative approaches. Learning outcomes that are critical to social policy analysis are addressed to include: problem identification and analysis; policy reform proposals; implementation concerns; and assessment. These components of social policy are applied to mental health services by specifically comparing family-aided assertive community treatment to longstanding approaches associated with deinstitutionalization.
