Reagan cut back federal funding for the mentally ill and thousands of homeless and mentally ill people ended up lost in the system and on the streets. It began then. My statement was not meant as an attack on Republicans but certainly a stab at the "trickle down" system that never did.
The boy's age has nothing to do with the fact that there are no places for the mentally ill.
The unique problem with the mentally ill is that almost invariably they claim to be healthy. If my leg is broken I go to a doctor. If my brain is malfunctioning, I blame menopause, diet, personal weakness but deny there is a problem - the voice of experience here.
Health Insurance companies limit benefits for mental illness in ways they could never limit medical coverage.
Autism is a huge and growing problem. Even if a cause is identified, there are thousands of children who will need extraordinary care once their parents die. But places for drug addicts, the mentally ill, the seriously retarded, etc. simply do not exist UNLESS you have money.