This study analyzed the process of legislating the mental health welfare law by
integrating the law on the mental health promotion law of the government and the law
on the welfare support of the mentally disabled by applying the Multiple Streams Model
which describes the decision making process in uncertain situations. Based on the results
of the analysis, the legislative process was assessed and the challenges of welfare policy
for the mentally disabled were presented.
The evaluation of the mental health welfare law legislative process is as follows: First,
the interests of medical experts who were the leaders of the mental health policy have
been obstacles to turn the problem of mental health into the flow of policy. Second, the
National Human Rights Commission played an important role in transforming the flow
of problems into policy flows. Third, mental disorder parties and human rights
organizations played an important role as policy innovators in leading the
institutionalization process of welfare support policy for the mentally disabled and
making a decisive change in policy flow. In order to integrate the welfare problems of
persons with mental disabilities into the domain of persons with disabilities, the future
task of the Mental Health Welfare Act is that it is necessary to amend the mental ill
person to mental disorder person.