Update on the Corpus Christi situation...

Here's the latest news coverage on the Corpus Christi situation, with some commentary.  All links are to articles from Emily Ramshaw at the Dallas Morning News.

 

Thursday, March 12:

 

Texas officials make surprise visits to state schools after Corpus Christi fight videos surface

So all of the state schools have been crawling with DADS monitors since the story broke.  This is good, but seriously, DADS has a legal and ethical responsibility to not just waltz in there and make grand pronouncements about how disgusting this is only when it is politically expedient.  They should be in there every day, all the time and need to get the message that security cameras and extra staff can't and won't fix the situation when the thing that created this mess in the first place is a major power differential between people who have been conditioned to see state school inmates as something less-than-human and state school inmates who likely resort to violence against each other to a) please their oppressors and/or avoid the threat of punishment and b) because they have few other ways to express their oppression and frustration.  And a newsflash for the idiots at Gov's office, conditions at Corpus Christi are not stable, will never be stable, and will never, ever, be "to the level that the people of Texas demand". The majority of us demand community, not Band-Aid “solutions”. And Addie Horn wonders why this would happen since the scumbag employees are "working in these individuals' homes".  Believe it or not, Addie, the people who exploited folks at Corpus Christi probably understand something you don't: these institutions are not homes, they are warehouses.  And when you can mentally remove yourself both from the idea that people with developmental disabilities are humans and that this place where you work is "their home", exploitation becomes that much easier.

 

Friday, March 13:

 

State school worker linked to 'fight club' scandal arrested; 5 others sought

Arrest warrants have been issued for six of the folks who perpetrated this unthinkable crap and Gov. Perry has halted new admissions into Corpus Christi and launched an investigation. Way to get with the program…  But how does that keep existing inmates safe?  Security cameras and random visits won’t stop abuse from occurring, people who have gone down that road won’t let the potential that they might be “found out” turn them into angelic caregivers.  The “safety bill” recently passed in the Senate (SB 643) is a necessary response, but we would save money and lives if we stopped admitting folks to all of these hellholes in the first place.  Furthermore, while pay for all direct-care workers, institutionally-based or otherwise, is abysmal, it is still no cause of, or excuse for, this kind of abuse.  There are many caregivers out there who receive unbelievably little compensation for their work but would never dream of dehumanizing or exploiting those who they work for.  Addie Horn says she wants to “hunt down and kill” the people who perpetrate this abuse, but that won’t make anyone any safer and doesn’t stop the fact that similar video has also been found in the institutions at San Angelo and Mexia .  Sure, she can’t wave a magic wand and end the abuse, but she and all the other responsible parties do have the agency to stop hiding behind their tears and restructure the system to reflect what Texans want and need.  Or resign.

 

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CN! folks and other advocates have been down testifying at emergency hearings at the Capitol all day today and yesterday.  The perpetrators at Corpus Christi are slowly being fired and/or taken into custody, but as far as we know, the victims are still residing at the state school.  Yesterday’s action alert still stands, so get busy and demand that higher-ups at DADS and state school administrative staff be held as accountable as the actual perpetrators!