In recent years, however, there has been an increase in detentions among this population, signaling a shift away
from deinstitutionalization and toward incarceration to address non-criminal youth behaviors, many of which are tied to troubled home environments and unmet mental health, learning, or other needs.
From the 1950s through the 1970s, the mental health care system underwent a massive
deinstitutionalization, a well - intentioned plan designed to move people out of hospitals and into local communities.