As State Senator, James H. Donovan worked hard for his people. He had many varied interests vis-à-vis the people he served and one area in which he was very active was mental health. In fact, a mere eight years after he was first elected, Donovan became the chairman of the Committee on Mental Hygiene and Addiction Control.
Mental hygiene is the standpoint of public health within the realm of psychiatry. The ideas under this umbrella have been brought into mainstream psychiatry via community health activists. Mental hygiene differs from the general way mental illness is treated as it is more focused on prevention rather than later stage treatment. It goes for early intervention in an effort to reduce the use of long-term or institutionalized care. As well, the focus is very much on children since the thesis behind mental hygiene is that any type of mental dysfunction is related to experiences from early childhood. Since Donovan was very involved in the education system as well, chairing this committee was a perfect fit for him as mental hygienists worked closely through the educational structure as well.