ABSTRACT
Most agenda setting theory encapsulates the idea of the need for advocates to expand interest in a particular issue or policy. Such promulgation is usually accomplished by policy entrepreneurs who build up advocacy coalitions and networks to push policies. John Kingdon outlines a simultaneous process consisting of agenda setting and challenges to the agenda in the form of a specified alternative. Concerning mental health policymaking, the community support movement re-characterized the problem of chronic mental illness in social welfare and psychiatric terms. The assertive community treatment (ACT) model represents a significant departure from traditional mental health delivery approaches, emphasizing how the health of the mentally ill depends not only on psychiatry and pharmacological treatment but also on such related sectors as housing, social services, and welfare. According to conventional political science literature, quantifiable socioeconomic factors and a state's fiscal standing are expected to affect the diffusion of health policy innovations.
