Show Mental Disability Action Last year President Nixon set up a citizens' citizens committee to study the overall problem of mental disability and make recommendations for action THIS TIllS WAS called the Pres- Pres dents dent's s Task Force on the Mentally Mentally Mentally Men Men- tally Handicapped and the report of the group presented to President Nixon has recently recently recently re re- re- re been published The Task Force was concerned concerned concerned con con- with mental illness and mental retardation which form much of the total problem problem problem lem and its concerns ranged from people who are acutely disturbed for a brief period of f time to people who are severely handicapped for their full life span MRS JEANETTE Rockefeller Rockefeller Rockefeller Rocke Rocke- feller served as Chairman of the group and Dr Bertram S. S Brown Director of the National Institute of Mental Health as Executive Secretary Secre Secre- tary Highlights from the groups group's report indicate the massive scope of the problem MENTAL illness itself itsell is estimated to cost the Nation 20 billion bUlion a year and to afflict afflict afflict af af- af- af some 20 million people About 6 million Americans are mentally retarded and the cost of mental retardation retardation retardation tion is put at about 8 billion billion billion bil bil- bil- bil lion annually In both cases not included are losses chargeable to premature premature premature pre pre- mature deaths to criminal activities of drug addicts and other disturbed individuals and to pain frustration and other intangible le factors that seriously seriously ser ser- red reduce ce the quality and productivity of life THE SIZE and scope of the problem thus revealed warrant a strong national strategy and the Task Forces Force's overall recommendation for action against mental disability disability dis dis- dis ability urged a comprehensive and cogent plan of expansion expansion expansion sion and improvement in four major areas with adequate manpower cited as basic to all four First prevention tion to reduce reduce reduce re re- re- re duce the incidence second treatment and term short-term care to bring health and maximum social competence as soon as possible THIRD rehabilitation and extended care to enable the disabled to live useful and satisfying lives and last last- research to increase knowledge knowledge knowledge knowl knowl- edge that will improve programs pro pro- programs grams in all these areas The public attitude toward mental illness and mental retardation is a vital factor in determining the quality and extent of efforts against the problem the Task Force concluded con con- THE ATTITUDE of the public public public pub pub- lic is becoming healthier the report said but it was felt that this change for the better should not only be continued continued continued con con- but also should be accelerated by means such as planned information and public education programs by groups of parents and voluntary voluntary voluntary vol vol- organizations |