Report: Few state school abuse cases confirmed

Officials say memory problems, communication skills of residents can make it hard to prove reports.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Monday, May 18, 2009

HOUSTON — Only a fraction of complaints about treatment of residents with mental disabilities in the troubled Texas state school system have been confirmed as abuse, according to a newspaper analysis.

About 4 percent of 2,814 state school abuse cases flagged by Texas Adult Protective Services as possible crimes in fiscal years 2005 through 2008 were eventually proved, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday.

Officials say few cases are proved because of memory problems and diminished communication skills among residents.

The newspaper based its report on data obtained two months after cell phone images revealed staffers at Corpus Christi State School organizing fights between residents. Six former employees were indicted in connection with the fights.

For two years, conditions within the state schools have been the focus of federal investigators who have criticized the system's deadly lapses in health care and civil rights abuses. The state and the Justice Department recently agreed to boost staffing and improve medical care at 11 state schools and two residential centers for people with mental disabilities.

The law requires workers to investigate every bruise or abnormality found on a resident if abuse or neglect is suspected. But making a criminal case is difficult, authorities say, because victims with mental disabilities are tough to interview.

"We get a ton or referrals that don't end up in the criminal courts because there is not enough to go with, or are unfounded," said Limestone County Sheriff Dennis Wilson, whose office investigates the Mexia State School and its state-leading 857 abuse cases over the past three years.

Only about 12 percent of the Mexia cases were confirmed as abuse by Adult Protective Services workers. Since they are using a legal standard lower than what is required for criminal cases, few of the 105 cases they referred went further.

The state schools in Mexia, San Angelo and Corpus Christi, the three with the largest number of referrals to police, also house the majority of residents with mental disabilities accused of crimes. The Mexia residents are generally younger and more active and thus more likely to get hurt by accident.

The facility with the fewest police cases, the Richmond State School with 21, houses mostly residents with severe mental disabilities. None of the 21 referred to police were confirmed.

Although the makeup of the residents plays a role, Richmond Superintendent Al Barrera credited a staff that has experienced little turnover.

"We have the most tenured staff in the system," he said.