Mother wins consent to sue state over son's abuse injuries

Senate OKs measure to allow lawsuit over harm done to man at state school.

By Ken Herman
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Texas Senate voted Wednesday to allow a Dallas mother to sue the state for permanent injuries suffered by her son as a result of abuse at the Denton State School.

The 24-7 vote came just over four hours before the deadline for action on the measure and marked the first time since 2001 that lawmakers voted to allow anyone to sue the state. Under provisions of the U.S. Constitution, the state cannot be sued without permission of the Legislature.

The Senate action— which sends the measure to Gov. Rick Perry — could mark the end of Farhat Chishty's long battle to get to the courthouse. Her son Haseeb, now 35, was left without the use of his arms and legs after being beaten in 1992 by Kevin Miller, a state school employee who was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Two years ago, the same resolution failed. Chishty said she watched Wednesday's vote on her computer.

"Finally, I think they have tried to repair my trust," she said. "I did my obligation to my son," she added as she cried.

The measure passed with no debate. Senate sponsor John Carona, R-Dallas, called Haseeb Chishty's condition a "really tragic and serious situation" resulting from more than an individual's act of abuse.

"The testimony reveals gross mismanagement of the personnel there at the facility, rampant drug use. Just horrible, horrible conditions existed," Carona said.

State law limits the Chishtys potential court-awarded damages to $500,000, in addition to medical costs. Prior to Wednesday's vote, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he believed the state had been fair.

"Be that as it may, I think I'll just leave it up to the senators if they want to vote (to allow the lawsuit) and then leave it up to the courts to decide whether or not the state has done everything it could and whether or not additional compensation is due," Dewhurst said.

Farhat Chishty said Wednesday that the state had not offered anything it is not required to do by law, providing funds she said do not fully cover her son's care and money from the state's Crime Victims Compensation Fund. A Chishty representative said she has received about $40,000.

kherman@statesman.com; 445-3851

Time running out for Dallas woman who wants to sue Texas

Her son was injured by abuse at Denton State School, but she needs legislative permission for lawsuit.

Randy Eli Grothe/FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Farhat Chishty says her caretaking duties have been never-ending since her son Haseeb was injured by a worker at Denton State School. She needs the Legislature's permission to sue the state.

Randy Eli Grothe/FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Farhat Chishty of Dallas uses her computer to follow the Legislature and keep track of a resolution that would allow her to sue the state over injuries her son received at Denton State School. Randy Eli Grothe for american-statesman

By Ken Herman
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, May 23, 2009

The clock could be running out — again — on a mother's effort to get the Legislature's permission for her day in court over debilitating and permanent injuries her son suffered while at the Denton State School.

Under the long-established and courthouse-tested concept of sovereign immunity, Farhat Chishty needs the Legislature's permission to seek justice on behalf of her son Haseeb.

The state doesn't often grant that permission. Since 1989, legislators have filed 307 resolutions seeking permission for lawsuits against the state. Twenty-three have been approved, and two of those approvals were vetoed.

"There are some days when I feel I have to give up," said Chishty, who lives in Dallas but has visited the Capitol frequently and monitors progress on her request via the Internet. "But when I hear (Haseeb's) moaning day and night, that gives me motivation."

Chishty's 35-year-old son lost the use of his arms and legs as a result of abuse in 2002 at the Denton State School, where his mother had sent him to work on behavioral and eating skills. Haseeb had mental disabilities but was physically healthy when he went to the school.

Former Denton State School employee Kevin Miller confessed to abusing Haseeb and is imprisoned in the case.

But Farhat Chishty says that the state — not just a lone former Denton State School employee — bears responsibility for her son's plight. She tried two years ago to get the Legislature to allow her suit to proceed and got approval from the House. But time ran out before the Senate acted. She is in the same situation this session.

The House has approved a resolution authorizing a lawsuit, but the measure has yet to be considered by the full Senate, with 10 days left in the 140-day session. The Senate Jurisprudence Committee, in a 4-0 vote, advanced the resolution Friday night after tearful testimony from Chishty.

The state's stiff-arm against the Chishtys comes despite a December U.S. Justice Department report and state officials' admissions concerning subpar care at the state schools. State and federal officials this week agreed on a $112 million, five-year plan for upgrading the state's 13 institutions for people with mental disabilities.

Haseeb Chishty has lived at his mother's Dallas home since he left the state school in September 2008. His care, she said, never ends.

"Day and night, 24 hours. We have to change his diapers every hour or two. And we have to transfer him from the bed to the chair and the chair to the bed. We need to give him baths. He cannot stay in the wheelchair more than a couple of hours. So every hour we have to do something one way or another," she said. She said his airway has to be suctioned 10 to 12 times a day to prevent him from choking.

The "we" in her comments include a 16-hour-a-day aide, paid for by Medicaid, and her two other adult children, who help out when they can and are financially supporting her. She is separated from her husband. The burdensome care of their son contributed to the breakup, Chishty said. Caring for her son has prevented Chishty, a former licensed vocational nurse and coordinator at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center, from working since 2002.

"We are not the same," Chishty said of her family. "We are broken into pieces." She said her goal is justice, not money, and said she has "never thought of any dollar amount" she wants. State law limits her potential award to $500,000 plus actual medical expenses and attorney's fees.

Chishty said she believes the state is covering up corruption. At a 2007 House committee hearing, Marianne Reat, an attorney for the state's Department of Aging and Disability Services, acknowledged the tragedy of the situation but said the state school should not be blamed for an employee's criminal acts.

In his confession, Miller detailed a culture of negligence, abuse and on-the-job drug use on his shift at the state school. He said supervisors knew of the abuse of residents.

Cecelia Federov, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, said the agency takes no position on the Chishty resolution.

The Chishtys' roadblock to the courthouse is rooted in the U.S. Constitution's 11th Amendment — and the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of it — that limits lawsuits against the government. The state does not have immunity against some types of suits, including those by government whistle-blowers.

Sovereign immunity is a concept carried forward from monarchies and hangs on the notion that the monarch can do no wrong.

"What is the point in a democratic society to follow the king and queen's laws?" Chishty said after a recent trip to the Capitol. "We are responsible for our actions. How come the state is not responsible and nobody can make them responsible for their own actions?"

Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, who is sponsoring the resolution that would allow Chishty to sue, said he dreads the possibility of having to tell the family that the resolution has failed again.

"I hope not to disappoint them," he said.

At the Capitol, sponsors of sue-the-state resolutions (nine have been filed this year, none approved) say lawmakers should be stingy when it comes to allowing such lawsuits.

"Not everybody is just seeking justice," said Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, sponsor of a sue-the-state resolution in a boundary dispute. "A lot of them are just seeking a lot of money."

Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, the House sponsor of the Chishty resolution, said the process is biased against people with potentially legitimate claims.

"I think the state makes it probably overly difficult and complicated to sue them. These things, because we are only here every two years, should be heard first and addressed right away as opposed to running out of time," Burnam said.

Senators on Friday engaged in a debate about sovereign immunity before giving 25-6 approval to a resolution allowing a lawsuit against the Railroad Commission in a case involving a well-plugging dispute.

Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, accused Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, the sponsor of the resolution, of favoring a system in which everybody with a complaint against the state could get to the courthouse.

Correct, said Wentworth.

"I don't believe we're the king of England. We shouldn't be acting as a monarch and requiring people who have claims against the government to get permission from the government to sue for wrongdoing," Wentworth said.

Ogden noted that "it's the taxpayers of the state of Texas" who would have to pay the damages.

Justice Department, state agree to improve conditions at mental facilities

Click here for link to original story

BY DAVE MONTGOMERY

dmontgomery@star-telegram.com

AUSTIN — The state has reached an agreement with the Justice Department to toughen safety standards at Texas’ residential facilities for the mentally disabled, concluding a four-year investigation of abuses and mistreatment.

"The settlement brings much-needed closure to a sad chapter in our state’s history," said state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

"Abuse and neglect of our most vulnerable citizens must never be tolerated," she said.

Nelson, who is sponsoring legislation to improve oversight at the facilities, known as state schools, said the agreement includes independent monitors to inspect the state schools regularly; new standards for medical and psychological care; safeguards to detect and deter exploitation; and strengthened guidelines for employees’ treatment of inmates.

The improvements are expected to cost the state $112 million over the next five years. The price tag would include $51.2 million that the Legislature would have to add to the state budget for the 2010-11 biennium.

Focus on state agency

A Justice Department report presented to Gov. Rick Perry in December said residents are often victims of abuse, neglect and inadequate medical treatment. At least 53 residents died within the past year because of lapses in healthcare, the report concluded.

The investigation centered on the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, which operates 13 large facilities, including one in Denton that houses nearly 5,000 residents.

On Tuesday, the state House, acting on a resolution by Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, voted to permit the family of a resident at the Denton school to sue the state for injuries received nearly seven years ago. Haseeb Chishty was left paralyzed and unable to eat on his own, the family said.

In a letter to Nelson on Wednesday, Deputy Texas Attorney General David S. Morales confirmed that the Justice Department had agreed to a "statewide settlement" stemming from its investigation.

Justice Department and state officials also agreed to file documents in U.S. District Court in Travis County to make the agreement legally binding.

The agreement resulted from discussions between the Justice Department, Perry’s office, the Texas attorney general and Aging and Disability Services officials, according to the letter.

'Emergency’ status

Nelson said she will file a resolution today approving the points of the settlement. Her Senate committee and the House Human Services Committee will meet jointly Friday to review the agreement.

Perry gave Nelson’s Senate Bill 643 "emergency" status at the outset of the legislative session to expedite passage. It was the first bill to pass the Senate; the House approved it Tuesday.

A key element of the bill would create a govern-appointed ombudsman to audit the facilities biannually and be a confidential intermediary for parents, clients and guardians.

The bill would also create a hot line for reporting abuse, neglect and misconduct; mandate surveillance cameras in common areas; and require drug tests, fingerprinting and background checks on employees. Investigations uncovered employees who had criminal records.

The settlement brings much-needed closure to a sad chapter in our state’s history."

State Sen. Jane Nelson
R-Flower Mound

DAVE MONTGOMERY, 512-476-4294

Agreement reached to improve state schools for mentally disabled

07:46 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 20, 2009

By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN — The state has reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to improve conditions inside Texas’ state schools for the mentally disabled. Under the agreement, Texas must spend $112 million more over five years to improve standards of care, increase monitoring and oversight, and enhance staffing ratios at the facilities.

Lawmakers will reveal the details in a Friday morning hearing with the commissioner of the agency that oversees the schools and the state’s lead negotiator in the deal. Both the House and Senate must pass resolutions concurring with the deal before their session ends June 1.

The agreement calls for spending nearly $45 million in the next two years. If the money is spent and conditions improve, the oversight would be lifted in five years.

“Whether or not the Department of Justice told us this, we needed to be doing these things,” said Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound. “We are hoping and expecting these facilities will very quickly get up to standard.”

Nelson leads the Senate committee overseeing the state Health and Human services Commission. Her panel will hold a joint hearing with its House counterpart, led by Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, Friday to outline the deal.

The agreement follows a federal investigation last year that found widespread civil-rights violations across all 13 state institutions and years of media reports about abuse and neglect inside the facilities.

Let's vote with a show of hands: Who thinks the abuse is isolated??

'Fight club' only one facet of abuse at Corpus Christi state school for disabled

12:51 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 19, 2009

By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News 
eramshaw@dallasnews .com

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.

Haseeb resolution update

Hello All,

 

Haseeb's resolution HCR 22 by Rep. Burnam was voted off the House floor 136-0 this afternoon.  YEAH!  Thanks to each of you for making calls and visits to make this happen.  Now we are sprinting to the finish line to get the resolution out of  the Senate.  Stay tuned for next steps to slam this resolution through the process.

 

This Resolution gives the Chishty family the right to sue the state for civil damages.  A waiver of Sovereign Immunity.  This bill is about Justice not big money as the Resolution has a cap provision.  Check out Statesman.com to see an article posted by the AP regarding the passage of the Resolution.  Jeff Carlton from the AP has been following this story for over two years and got this story out almost immediately. 

 

One huge hurdle jumped a couple more to go.

 

Choose Freedom,

 

Jeff

House OKs right to sue over state school beating

By JACKIE STONE Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press

May 19, 2009, 3:07PM

AUSTIN, Texas — A woman whose mentally disabled son was beaten so badly while living in a state institution that he could no longer walk or perform basic functions is a step closer to being able to sue the state of Texas and the facility where her son lived.

The Texas House unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday giving Farhat Chishty the right to sue over the 2002 beating of her son Haseeb. The vote sends the proposal to the Senate, where Dallas Republican Sen. John Carona has said he will sponsor it.

A care worker at the Denton State School — one of Texas' 13 large institutions for the mentally disabled — repeatedly kicked and punched Haseeb Chishty in the stomach and groin. Chishty spent months in an intensive care unit and nearly died after the beating. He is now confined to a wheelchair and unable to feed himself or use the bathroom.

In a videotaped statement recorded by Chishty's attorney, former care worker Kevin Miller acknowledged he had beaten Haseeb Chishty and said many of his fellow state school employees used methamphetamines, cocaine and Oxycontin on the job.

"It got to the point where it was fun beating him, torturing him," said Miller, now serving 15 years for aggravated assault.

Chishty's mother filed a lawsuit against the facility, but initially it went nowhere. In Texas, government entities are all but immune from lawsuits and plaintiffs often require special legislation to proceed.

The resolution approved Tuesday would bypass those immunities and allow the suit.

"The original culprit is doing prison time, but the Chishty family is financially devastated and needs their day in court," said Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth. Burnam was behind the measure in the House.

While Farhat Chishty said she was pleased with the result, she is worried about the Senate. A similar measure granting her the right to sue was approved by the House in 2007 but died in the Senate.

"I'm happy ... but last time, the same thing happened but we lost in the Senate. At least 50 percent of my stress is gone away. But now I am trying to get energy to start again for the Senate," she said.

The measure is moving with only two weeks before the session ends June 1. Carona said if the proposal gets to the Senate fast enough, he believes he can gather the support to pass it in time.

"While I'm unfamiliar with the family or the details of this particular case, I support the principle," he said. "Citizens ought to have the right — when there are egregious abuses involving the state — to sue."

The House vote came just before the House finally approved legislation to increase security and oversight at state schools across Texas. Legislators have been working on reforms this session in the wake of widespread reports of abuse and neglect.

Chishty claims that the school and the state Department of Aging and Disabilities Services knew that Miller was a risk to residents and that they attempted to cover up the cause of her son's injuries, according to the resolution allowing the lawsuit.

"I just need justice. Every day I cry. Every day I feel helpless. Still I will keep fighting. If state will not let me sue, we will go federal," Chishty said. "I have a moral and religious responsibility to my son. He cannot ask. I have to ask. Until I die, I will keep asking."

___

Associated Press Writer Jeff Carlton in Dallas contributed to this report.

Texas House approves measures to prevent abuse at state schools for disabled

    Be sure to go to the original story and check out the wonderful comments.  

05:17 PM CDT on Monday, May 18, 2009

By EMILY RAMSHAW/ The Dallas Morning News
eramshaw@dallasnews.com

AUSTIN – Texas’ services for people with disabilities, beset by allegations of abuse and neglect, would face far greater scrutiny and security under a measure the House gave early approval to on Monday.

The bill, designed to prevent mistreatment in the state schools for the disabled, is a response to a U.S. Justice Department investigation that turned up widespread civil rights violations inside Texas’ 13 institutions. The version the House considered Monday expands the reforms to community group homes, private institutions and independent foster homes. It awaits a final vote before returning 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.”

The measure, one of Gov. Rick Perry’s emergency priorities, calls for posting surveillance cameras in all state schools, and performing background checks, fingerprinting and random drug tests on all employees. It also creates a toll free abuse hotline and installs an ombudsman to oversee abuse allegations. The state school-specific bill passed the Senate.

The House version expands these changes to include community-based care. It requires annual inspections of group homes and ensures state officials investigate abuse allegations in private care facilities, not just state schools. It also calls for a review of all deaths in private care facilities and group homes.

Other details in the bill:

• It strengthens the role of the inspector general in investigating abuse and neglect allegations.

• It calls for the ombudsman to perform audits at individual state schools every other year.

• It increases staff training requirements.

• It changes the name of the state schools to “state supported living centers.”

• It sets aside a specific state institution for alleged criminal offenders who need heightened supervision.

“We’ve made it safer to be living in our state schools,” Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman said. “And we’ve made it safer to be living in our communities if you have cognitive disabilities.”

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.

Abuse At Texas Institutions Is Beyond 'Fight Club'

Link to this article

Todd Yates

Staff members at Corpus Christi State School in Texas have been charged with staging a late-night "fight club," using residents with mental retardation. AP/The Caller-Times

by Joseph Shapiro

Morning Edition, March 18, 2009 · At a state institution for people with mental retardation in Texas, six staff members have been charged with taking part in staging what have been called human cockfights, using residents with mental retardation. The accusations have raised questions about how workers trained and hired to care for some of the most vulnerable people in society could instead treat them with cruelty.

The fights became known only because one of the workers lost his cell phone. It was found and turned over to an off-duty police officer. The phone had videos of more than a year of staged late-night fights, some as recent as this past January.

Cell Phone Evidence

Corpus Christi Police Capt. Tim Wilson says the videos showed a "lot of pushing, shoving and (in) several of the videos, there were punches thrown, and in one video we have a worker kicking one of the clients."

Wilson says one staffer narrated the fights, and those involved can be seen clearly on the videos.

"I'm pretty appalled. I mean, these workers are supposed to be caring for these people, and here they are exploiting them for their own entertainment," Wilson says.

He says the youngest residents with disabilities appeared to be in their late teens or early 20s, and the oldest in their 40s. "These are severely mentally challenged adults," says Wilson. Several were hurt or bruised, although none apparently required hospitalization.

In response, Texas state officials announced steps last week to prevent more abuse, including adding supervisors to evening shifts and installing security cameras in public areas at all 13 state institutions for people with intellectual disabilities. "We will continue to take swift and immediate action when abuse and neglect is reported," Addie Horn, who runs the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, pledged in a letter to the public last week.

Four of the workers accused of abuse at Corpus Christi were fired. The other two had already quit. Attempts by NPR to contact them were unsuccessful.

A History Of Abuse

Still, there's been a long, recent history of abuse at Texas institutions. Just last Friday, a 53-year-old woman died of a head injury after being hit by another resident in a hallway collision at a facility in Denton. State officials say it was an accident. A county coroner ruled it a homicide.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice investigated abuse at Texas institutions. Now, it's negotiating with the state to increase staff and make other changes. The Justice Department found there had been 450 cases of abuse over just the previous year. And in four years, more than 800 state employees had been suspended or fired.

Beth Mitchell, an attorney at Advocacy Inc., a state legal group set up by Congress to protect people with disabilities, says one problem is that staffers get little training and often work in isolated areas. "These are large institutions that are in rural areas. The staff only need a GED or high school education. They get paid extremely minimum wages — $22,000 a year — and they don't get much training," she says.

Mitchell's law center has been pressuring Texas officials to move residents out of the institutions and into smaller group homes.

She thinks there's something about the impersonal nature of large institutions that breeds abuse.

Researcher Dick Sobsey, who studies violence against people with disabilities at the University of Alberta in Canada, agrees. "There's really sometimes peer pressure for people to engage in abuse," says Sobsey. Although many good, caring people come to work at institutions, he says some cruel ones come, too. And they can sort of infect other workers.

"Where some employees are abusive and others are not, the ones who are not abusive, there's always a danger that they're going to report the ones who are. If everybody's abusive, then everybody's hands are dirty, and so they're safe with each other," Sobsey says.

Sobsey says this is more likely to go on at facilities that are in out-of-the-way places or out of the public eye. In Corpus Christi, the alleged abuse was on the late-night shift, when staff levels were low.

Sobsey says one way to reduce abuse is to make institutions smaller and link them to communities such as families and churches. That way, they're less isolated and more people are watching.

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