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This page is a continuation of the New York State Disability Histroy Timeline Exhibit with specific information about the 1960s.
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1960s | New York DisAbility History Timeline
Nelson A. Rockefeller begins first of four terms as governor of the State of New York. Overcrowding in New York State schools and waiting lists for disability services became the central focus of the 1960s. Construction plans proved to be inadequate and under- budgeted and staffing shortages were also causing delays in building new facilities. The 1960s saw a shift in the structure of institutions from a “flat pyramid model” in which a few administrators and physicians oversaw thousands of employees who serve in a custodial capacity, to a more complex model, employing individuals with skills specific to improving overall care. New York saw an increase in State colleges, universities and other public programs. The overwhelming need for reform and increased pressure from Association for Retarded Children parents’ groups regarding funding, slow construction of new facilities and facilities not being built near the residents’ home communities culminated in a lawsuit brought against New York State (ARC v. Rockefeller).
1960s - 1960 | New York DisAbility History Timeline
Social Security Amendments of 1960. U.S. Congress removes the provision limiting Social Security Disability Insurance benefits to workers over age 50, making SSDI available to younger workers with disabilities.
1960s
The de-institutionalization campaign for people with developmental disabilities begins. The goal was to move individuals from large institutions to small group homes with community-based services. Funding was difficult and the plan took years to implement. Many people were moved to another institution or to smaller, on-site facilities.
1960s
Overcrowding in state institutions leads to the expansion of other state facilities. New York State took over 5 floors of Gouverneurs Hospital in New York City. Sampson Air Force Base on Seneca Lake received transfers from various state schools. Mount McGregor Veterans Rest Home in Saratoga County receive patients from Rome State School. J.N. Adam, formerly a tuberculosis hospital on the grounds of the Gowanda State Hospital, was converted to a state school.
1960s - 1961 | New York DisAbility History Timeline
John Fitzgerald Kennedy becomes President of the United States (1961-1963).
1961
American Council of the Blind established in Washington DC to provide proper support, care and services to all people blind and/or visually impaired.
1961
West Seneca State School: Department of Mental Hygiene announces opening of new administration building, but the facility wouldn’t receive patients until 1963.
1961
American National Standard Institute, Inc. (ANSI) publishes "American Standard Specifications for Making Buildings Accessible to and Usable by the Physically Handicapped" (A117.1). Re-published in 2003, it was the foundational document for all future architectural access codes.
1961
President Kennedy establishes the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation. By evaluating the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and developing strategies for public policy reform, the panel expanded the role of the federal government regarding mental retardation issues. It developed an initiative, “The Proposed Program for National Action to Combat Mental Retardation,” which served as a model for New York State advocates who objected to previous state policies.
1963
Mental Hygiene Facilities Improvement Fund (MHFIF) bill submitted by Rockefeller and passed by the legislature to fund the construction of facilities through the sale of government “moral obligation” bonds. Re-payment of these bonds was relegated to the families of institutional residents. The ARC rejected this plan, but failed in their attempts to change the legislation.
1963
De-institutionalization and community services for people with mental disabilities moves another step forward when President Kennedy calls on Congress for legislation to reduce the number of individuals under custodial care in institutions.
1963
The “MillsRibicoff” Bill amends the Social Security Act to assist states and communities in preventing and combating mental retardation by providing pre-natal care and services for infants born with disabilities.
1963
October 31: The Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Health Centers Construction Act was signed by President Kennedy, providing federal grants for building public and private non-profit community mental health centers.
1963
November 22: President John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
1963
Lyndon Baines Johnson becomes president (1963-1969).
1963-1966
Outbreak of hepatitis among children at Willowbrook State School, leads to medical testing performed on healthy children. These children were injected with the hepatitis virus to gauge the effects of “gamma globulin,” as a method to fight the disease.
1965
NYS Senator Robert Kennedy and a television crew visit Willowbrook State school in Staten Island NY.
1965
Christmas in Purgatory: A Photographic Essay on Mental Retardation by Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan documents and illustrates the deplorable conditions at eastern state institutions.
1965
Medicare and Medicaid programs are established by the Social Security Amendments of 1965. The amendments create federally funded health insurance for retirees and recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (Medicare) and Americans who are poor and/or disabled (Medicaid).
1965
Immigration restrictions on the “feeble-minded”: U.S. Congress reverses the 1924 immigration policies which restricted admission of families with a “feeble-minded” member.
1965
Vocational Rehabilitation Amendment of 1965 expanded services to reach a broader population by authorizing the federal government to build rehabilitation centers while expanding existing vocational rehabilitation programs. It also created the National Commission on Architectural Barriers to Rehabilitation of the Handicapped.
1966
NYS Legislation amends Section 4707 of the Education Law allowing the State to subsidize private schools within and outside NYS when no suitable public school facilities are available for NY children with disabilities.
1966
Organization for Accessible Buildings founded in Rochester, NY by a group of young, disabled high school students who discovered NYS college and university campuses were ill-equipped for students with disabilities. The organization was later renamed “Handicapped Independence HERE Inc” and reorganized as the Regional Center for Independent Living in 1979.
1966
President’s Committee on Mental Retardation established by President Johnson. The central tenet of the Committee is prevention which includes promoting healthy pregnancies, timely immunizations, child safety and early intervention for infants and toddlers.
1966
NY State Hostel Program initiated. Hostels were homes in the community with “house parents” who lived with the residents. This type of living arrangement had been promoted by the ARC for many years but it wasn’t until 1966 when legislation provided funds for construction that the program began to take shape. The first hostel, a Manhattan townhouse, opened in 1968.
1967
The Tragedy and Hope of Retarded Children, by Dr.Burton Blatt with Charles Mangel, featured in the October issue of LOOK magazine. The article was an excerpt from “Christmas in Purgatory” published in 1965, it exposes the conditions of eastern state institutions for the mentally retarded and offers particular alternatives and solutions to overcrowding and inadequate services by examining the services for people with disabilities at a private facility called Seaside Regional Center in Waterford, Connecticut.
1968
The NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR) established by the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. IBR conducts research into the causes, treatment and prevention of mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. They also provide a variety of services to individuals with devolpmental disabilities and their families and serve to educate health care professionals and the general public regarding the diagnosis, care and treatment of people with developmental disabilities.
1968
Architectural Barriers Act adopted by U.S. Congress. The act required most buildings and facilities designed, built, altered or leased with federal funds be accessible to people with disabilities. This act will be considered the first federal law mandating disability rights. In 1976 the revised Act will require that construction plans include access features.
1969
Richard M. Nixon becomes President (1969-1974).
1969
Dr. Bengt Nirje publishes the concept of "normalization" in the 1969 President's Report on Mental Retardation. This concept was borrowed from parents of children with developmental disabilities and leaders in the field of mental retardation in Sweden. Normalization would be further developed to re-define perceptions of individuals with disabilities.
Normalization
Bengt Nirje
Normalization means…A normal rhythm of the day. You get out of bed in the morning, even if you are profoundly retarded and physically handicapped; You get dressed, And leave the house for school or work, You don’t stay home; In the morning you anticipate events, In the evening you think back on what you have accomplished; The day is not a monotonous 24 hours with every minute endless. You eat at normal times of the day and in a normal fashion; Not just with a spoon, unless you are an infant; Not in bed, but at a table; Not early in the afternoon for the convenience of the staff. Normalization means…A normal rhythm of the week…