Wyatt vs. Stickney

Running head : WYATT vs . STICKNEY

Wyatt vs . Stickney and Social Welfare Policy

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Wyatt vs . Stickney and Social Welfare Policy

Introduction

The late Dr . Stonewall B . Stickney was a writer for The Harbinger between the years 1986 and 1996 . It is while at this job that he penned a column titled "Ask Dr . Salvo " Dr . Stickney , or Stone , as he was known by his friends , was a crucial figure in the field of public health psychiatry (Yarbruogh , 2001

. He played a critical role in public health in his capacity as the Alabama State Commissioner of Mental Health (Raskin , 2004 . It was at this time that the Supreme Court ruling of 1971 found it unconstitutional the way mental health patients were housed in state institutions for long periods without any treatment being administered to them

Consequently Dr . Stonewall initiated the famous Wyatt vs . Stickney lawsuit . This suit did not start out with that name initially , but was filed by a group of psychologists from the University of Alabama (Minis Freyer , 2001 . Stone and the Alabama Board of Mental Health wanted to make some big changes . There was a shortfall in funding due to cigarette taxes . Their rationale was to lay off some members of staff , starting with some of the executives at the top . They wanted to keep most caregivers there that were with the patients most of the time . At that time , the two sources of employers in Tuscaloosa were...