Did you actually read this article? ACLU's suit brought to light the filthy and inhumane conditions that people lived under in these hell-holes. As the article states, "The principles argued for by Ennis, and included in the judge's final order, were subsequently adopted by 35 other states." What happened to put people on the streets was that states all over the country eventually zeroed the funding for these places and closed them because they didn't want to spend the money to meet these higher standards. It was a trend through the 1970s and 80s.  I was around when this happened. That is the history.