Workers in Texas institutions got millions in overtime
April 14th, 2009From the Dallas Morning News:
Payroll records for state institutions for people with intellectual disabilities in Texas reveal a system in which low-level employees work significantly long hours, sometimes with no choice, in high-stress, low-wage environments.
The Dallas Morning News reports that more than $11.5 million was paid to what are called “mental retardation assistants” last year. The entry-level employees, who have an average salary of about $22,000 annually, in some cases worked the equivalent of a month’s worth of 13-hour days and earned nearly $42,000.
The federal Department of Justice last year reported that negligent and abusive care in the institutions violated residents’ civil rights; it said some 53 deaths occurred because of lapses in care. Six former staff members now face criminal charges after being accused of forcing residents at the Corpus Christi State School to fight one another for sport.
“Your judgment gets impaired when you don’t sleep properly,” said Christine L. Williams, a University of Texas sociology professor who studies workplace issues, including low-wage workers. “And when you put people in a situation where they are having to care for others, that’s a disaster in the making.”
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April 15th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
“…it means one of the safety nets for people with disabilities is having enough staff, and shorter shifts so they don’t lose it.”
Good. Now how come family members of those with disabilities have to fight tooth and nail for things like respite and personal care assistance for their loved ones?
April 15th, 2009 at 11:00 am
“you may be angry, you may need a day off but when you abuse, YOU abuse. It’s ultimately your choice ”
You’re not taking into account, not enough staff, too many weird and difficult things pushing on a part of your brain that can only take so much. It’s like a muscle giving out. People with disabilities can exhaust and make you insane. Then you snap. That doesn’t make it right, it means one of the safety nets for people with disabilities is having enough staff, and shorter shifts so they don’t lose it.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:24 am
The answer is not more funding for these inefficient institutions…it’s closing them and re-balancing the funds to community-based services.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:02 am
There is no excuse for staff abusing clients. These staff members might have been uneducated or inexperienced — their supervisors weren’t and obviously weren’t doing their jobs — which are very well paid.
Heads should roll at the Central Office in Austin.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:28 am
I tire of all who seek excuse for abuse. You may be tired, you may be angry, you may need a day off but when you abuse, YOU abuse. It’s ultimately your choice, it’s your action, it’s you who should expect consequences. There are lots of really tired moms out there, who work 8 hours during the day and another 5 when returning home … yet we do not hear of an epidemic of ‘mothers gone crazy’. Society needs to ‘get’ abuse a little better.