Associated Press story in the Houston Chronicle:

More than 800 employees at Texas’ 13 large facilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been suspended or fired for abusing residents since fiscal year 2004, state officials said Tuesday in response to an open records request from the Associated Press.

… The revelations come a month after Gov. Rick Perry’s office confirmed that the civil rights department at the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations of abuse and neglect at the Denton State School, the state’s largest with about 650 residents. It’s at least the second such investigation into state facilities, including one at the Lubbock State School in 2006 that revealed widespread abuse.

An advocate for people with disabilities called the number of employees disciplined “stunning.”

“It indicates to me that there is clearly a culture of abuse or neglect in these facilities,” said Jeff Garrison-Tate, president of San Antonio-based Community Now. “The bottom line is people are getting really injured, and they are not safe,” he said.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 2:25 pm and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, human rights, institutionalization, intellectual disabilities, law enforcement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post