12:51 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 19, 2009
AUSTIN – During the same two-year period that workers at the Corpus Christi State School forced mentally disabled residents into late-night "fight clubs," dozens of other employees were fired for serious abuse and neglect, including whipping a resident on the face with a belt and not trying to revive a resident who hanged herself, state records show.
State officials have said the Corpus Christi fight club abuse was isolated – that it was perpetuated by a handful of bad apples who worked on undersupervised night shifts.
But a Dallas Morning News review of state termination records shows at least 40 Corpus Christi State School employees were fired or forced to resign for abusing or neglecting residents in the last four years – most of them for incidents that occurred during day shifts. Twenty-two more were suspended without pay for their offenses.
The revelations are the latest in a string of problems at the state schoolsstretching back years and prompting a federal investigation.
Lawmakers took a step toward addressing those troubles Monday, as the House tentatively approved a measure to overhaul safety at the institutions and other care facilities for people with disabilities. The measure, designed to prevent abuse and neglect in the state schools, community group homes, private institutions and independent living, awaits a final House vote as early as today before heading back to the Senate.
"The state needs to be proactive in making sure that we take care of our state's most vulnerable population," said Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Corpus Christi. "This bill should be the beginning of the state finally meeting its legal, ethical and moral obligation."
Gov. Rick Perry designated the issue an emergency after a U.S. Justice Department investigation uncovered widespread civil-rights violations across Texas' 13 institutions for the disabled. Not long after, the Corpus Christi fight club allegations surfaced, prompting several arrests.
State school officials say they've responded to the Corpus Christi abuse, assigning additional supervisors to after-hours shifts and installing security cameras in common areas.
And they say firings and suspensions are a sign that they have taken abuse and neglect allegations seriously, ridding their facilities of people who pose a risk.
"We demand staff show compassion and treat all residents with respect. The vast majority of staff meet those standards," said Laura Albrecht, spokeswoman with the Department of Aging and Disability Services. "Abuse and neglect is not tolerated and appropriate action, which includes firing, will be taken."
The Corpus Christi school's number of employee firings is comparable to other institutions of its size. Since 2004, 800 direct care state school employees have been terminated or suspended systemwide – an average of about 60 per facility.
They constitute just 2 percent of all state school employees, officials say.
But the Corpus Christi facility does appear to have higher-than- average rates of abuse. In 2008, the facility averaged one case of confirmed abuse, neglect or exploitation for every six residents – one of the highest rates among Texas' 13 institutions for the disabled.
Among the confirmed Corpus Christi cases:
•In July 2007, an employee found a female resident hanged in her bedroom and did not try to help her, "potentially reducing her chance of survival," according to a letter outlining findings in the case. It's the only known case in which abuse or neglect contributed to a patient's death.
•A worker transporting a resident in a passenger van in March 2008 fell asleep at the wheel. The van rolled over.
•In August, a worker used a belt to whip a resident on the face and mouth.
•A female employee was fired last May for beating a resident with a walking cane.
•In November 2007, a worker flipped over a resident's wheelchair as a means of restraint, trapping the resident against the floor.
•Last July, a female direct care worker purposely closed an office door on the arm and torso of a resident.
•A resident choked on a marker cap in March 2008 after a staffer failed to monitor the resident.
Because of privacy rules, it's unclear how badly the residents were harmed in those incidents.
Lawmakers say the state school safety legislation they've crafted will target such abuse. The Senate already passed its version, which calls for posting surveillance cameras in all state schools, increasing staff training, and performing background checks, fingerprinting and random drug tests on all employees. The measure also creates a toll-free abuse hotline and installs an ombudsman to oversee abuse allegations.
"A key provision in this bill, the use of surveillance cameras in common areas of state schools, is paramount to preventing, deterring and detecting abuse and neglect of state school residents," Perry said in a written statement.
The bill passed Monday includes those changes and would also require annual inspections of group homes and ensure state officials investigate abuse allegations in private care facilities, not just state schools. It would strengthen the role of the inspector general in investigating abuse and neglect. And it would call for a review of all deaths in private care facilities and group homes.
"This population is uniquely susceptible to abuse and neglect. The state has done a poor job of putting the right systems in place," said the House sponsor of the bill, Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs. The measure "takes us a long way forward."
Staff writer John Jordan contributed to this report.
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