Pineland Hospital and Training Center was accredited in 1963, by which time it was a psychiatric hospital for children as well as a facility for mentally retarded persons.
More residents were being released into the community, as were patients nationwide. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, caregivers, families and others questioned whether institutions provided the best care -- or the best opportunities -- for persons with disabilities.
For residents with severe disabilities, the options were more limited -- and the conditions of treatment brought continued criticism.
