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2026 is off to a particularly challenging start for families with loved ones who experience mental health and/or substance use challenges. Of particular concern is the heightened interest in returning to the failed “treatment” strategy of mass institutionalization. Examples of this include President Trump’s Executive Order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets”, pending legislation in multiple states that would potentially enhance the ability for the involuntary commitment of individuals and, lastly, Elon Musk’s declaration that we need to “Make Asylums Great Again”. These are but a few examples of this disturbing trend to address the country’s lack of community services and supports through the mass incarceration of our family members and neighbors. These initiatives are markedly at odds with the 2025 Senate Committee Staff Report, “Warehouses of Neglect: How Taxpayers are Funding Systemic Abuse in Youth Residential Treatment Facilities”.
NFF has long supported the philosophy that all individuals are better served in their home communities and continues to oppose the notion of congregate care, especially for our children and youth. We are currently monitoring this national trend and will continue to advocate for enhanced, community/evidence-based treatments and supports for those who experience mental health and/or substance use challenges. We reject the idea that community-based alternatives are too expensive. We uphold the ideals that spurred the deinstitutionalization efforts of the 70s and will continue to advocate for a return to the principals that shuttered institutions across the nation.
NFF believes that the most effective strategy for combating this trend is to ensure that families, community members, policy makers, and the workforce that supports families are well informed about the pitfalls of returning to institutionalization as the answer to our current workforce shortages and lack of effective treatment. To this end, NFF is adopting The Urgency of Now – Ending Isolation by Creating Effective Community Ecosystems as our strategic platform for the year. This theme will be the cornerstone of our work throughout the year including a 5-part webinar series (coming soon!), discussion groups and our Annual Conference in October all centering around this theme.
What can you do? Contact your local, state, and federal lawmakers and let them know that you oppose any initiatives or practices that increase the institutionalization of individuals who experience mental health and/or substance use challenges. Resist any coercive efforts that would result in the institutionalization of your child, your family member, or yourself. Finally, join NFF in this important effort. The futures of our loved ones depend on us!
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