Community care of the severely mentally ill: is social control a "necessary evil" in policy-making considerations?

Analysis of the crisis in community care for the severely mentally ill (SMI) reveals that it stems not only from organizational and financial problems, but also from the social structure and ideological perspectives embedded in American society. The desire of society for social control and the maintenance of orderly social life is illuminated as a central factor in public policies regarding the SMI. Policy planning, aimed at improving services for the SMI, must take social structural consideration into account and accept the social control component, perhaps as a necessary evil, nevertheless a necessity, in policies regarding the severely mentally ill.