Corpus Christi aftershock leads to safety measures for state schools
By Brian Bethel (Contact)
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Abilene's State School -- and others throughout the state -- will get security cameras installed for resident safety, while the facility's employees will soon need to wear identifying vests to clearly mark them as such.
The changes are part of efforts by state schools throughout Texas in the wake of a broad federal investigation into abuse, neglect and conditions at the facilities statewide.
Additionally, unannounced night visits continue at the facilities, said Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services spokeswoman Laura Albrecht, as part of the facilities' efforts to make certain residents are receiving proper care.
Video cameras will not be in some areas, such as restrooms, to make certain the privacy of residents is maintained, Albrecht said.
"We work where they live," she said.
But Albrecht said the cameras, which will initially be installed at the Corpus Christi State School and from there be distributed throughout the state, would provide a greater level of safety and well-being for the 4,600 state school residents at 13 facilities in Texas.
"When we have things that occur at state schools, those improvements can be made across the board," she said.
Eleven employees have either left the Corpus Christi State School or have been fired over orchestrated fights between residents, The Associated Press recently reported.
The fights, involving developmentally disabled residents, were recorded on a cell phone camera on 16 days between late 2007 and early this year. Six of the employees face criminal charges over the mistreatment, which involved at least 16 state school residents.
Albrecht did not have a figure for the total cost of the camera program.
The vests will allow school employees to easily recognize one another, be recognized by visitors, and ideally instill a further sense of professionalism among school staff, she said.
"We have name tags, but those might be obstructed from a distance," she said.
Albrecht said she did not have a timetable for the garments to be implemented in Abilene.
After the incident in Corpus Christi unannounced visits have been conducted by school executive teams.
"We'll do those as long as it takes to ensure the safety and well-being of residents," she said. "It's a serious matter for the entire system."
Albrecht said that while incidents such as those at Corpus Christi were frustrating on multiple levels, "improvements can only bring good things to us."
A proposal to protect residents of Texas' state schools for the disabled from abuse won unanimous approval in a House committee on Tuesday, the AP reported.
State Rep. Patrick Rose's bill, which was voted out of the House Human Services Committee and will next head to the full House, would establish a state school ombudsman, a toll-free abuse hot line, in addition to requiring video surveillance cameras at all 13 state school facilities.
It would also require all criminal abuse allegations to be handled by an Office of the Inspector General.
A similar state school safety bill, earmarked by Gov. Rick Perry as priority legislation, passed the Senate last month.
Rose has filed other legislation proposing overhauls to the state school system by closing several institutions over the next decade. That measure, which is far more controversial, has so far taken a back seat to the safety bill, but Rose said he'll bring it up in committee next week.
State schools are in general seeing fewer enrollments as opportunities in the community proliferate, Albrecht said Friday. Residents and their families have several choices, which include living at the school, living with family, or living in a group home, she said. Each year, residents, family members and guardians review options are available throughout the community, she said.
Currently, just shy of 500 residents live in Abilene's State School. The school currently employs 1,325 out of 1,389 total positions.
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How wonderful. Certainly, all the abuse will be eliminated now. Of course all the abuse and neglect only occurs in the common areas, and really, how much of a problem is it for strangers being there? Did anyone realize the abuse WAS being perpetrated by the employees?
ReplyDeleteSeriously everyone, read the Department of Justice reportS on these hellholes. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/documents/TexasStateSchools_findlet_12-1-08.pdf
And remember that my family is just one of 88,000 people waiting for community-based services, which cost MUCH less, according to our own state budget board. My daughter has been waiting for over 7 years. There are 4,600 people in these institutions, and only about 39% have guardians. The rest are mostly at the whim of the state, who aren't particularly eager to place residents in "the most integrated setting" as required by federal law.
Wake up. These places will not be safe. If you want to keep your family member institutionalized, so be it. But *please* redistribute the funds to comply with federal civil rights laws and the 88,000 people and families who are desperate for services, but refuse to institutionalize their loved ones.
Oh, and does anyone know how much those cameras are costing taxpayers?