Paul E. Harenberg (July 17, 1931 – October 7, 2010) was an American politician from New York. He was a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 5th Assembly district, from 1975 to 2000. Life Harenberg attended Columbia College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts; then Columbia Graduate Faculties, receiving a Masters of Arts in Public Law and Government; followed by post-graduate studies at New York University and Hofstra University. He was awarded a fellowship in Russian at the University of Texas and later at the University of San Francisco. In 1984, Harenberg was awarded a Ph.D. at NYU. He taught history and government at James Wilson Young High School in Bayport, New York, from 1955 through 1974, and he spent a year in Great Britain as a Fulbright-Hays Exchange Teacher. Then he entered politics as a Democrat, and was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1974. He remained in the Assembly until 2000, sitting in the 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd and 193rd New York State Legislatures. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Community Aftercare for the Mentally Disabled (Mental Health), Harenberg held public hearings and produced two important reports on the delivery of mental health services in New York State. "Wards of the State" (1977), detailed the deficiencies of the Department of Hygiene in preventing and investigating incidents of patient abuse. One of Harenberg's proposals that was signed into law established the State Commission on the Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled. In 1978, Harenberg's report on the dumping of mental patients, "From the Back Wards to the Back Alleys", brought national attention to the problems of deinstitutionalization without aftercare. As a result, an appropriation of over $26 million and other remedial legislation was enacted by the NYS Legislature to deal with this problem and the Community Support Services was established. Harenberg received the Mental Health Advocate Award from the Long Island Council of the Federation of Parents Organizations. Appointed Chairman of the NYS Assembly Committee on Aging in 1981, Paul Harenberg brought to the job a strong personal commitment to promote the independence and health of older New Yorkers. A longtime advocate of home care and other alternatives to institutional care, Harenberg immediately set out to create a full continuum of services for elderly persons - from income maintenance and tax relief to expanded