From ABC News, Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman, the Austin American-Statesman Postcards blog, and the [Fort Worth] Star-Telegram:

Texas and the U.S. Justice Department have reached an agreement to pump $112 million dollars into improving conditions at the troubled state institutions for people with intellectual disabilities over the next five years. The facilities have faced increasing scrutiny for widespread civil rights violations cited in the Department of Justice investigation and the recent “fight club” scandal.

The plan requires the state to begin by spending about $45 million on the 13 state institutions over the next two years to invest in more staff with clearer guidelines; independent monitors for more regular state school inspections; new standards for the level of medical and psychological care required for residents; and enhanced oversight to detect and deter exploitation, according to legislators.

The Senate committee and the House Committee on Human Services are scheduled to meet in a joint session Friday to discuss details of the plan to get legislative approval for the settlement.

Beth Mitchell, Senior Managing Attorney of Advocacy Inc., an advocacy group for Texans with disabilities, said she hopes the plan also includes community living alternatives to the large institutional settings. Mitchell said, “They’ve already dumped lots of money into the system and nothing has really improved … it’s sad that we may end up spending a significant amount of money and not see a significant improvement to the system.”

From the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Associated Press:

Five former employees of the Corpus Christi State School have pleaded not guilty to felony charges stemming from cellphone videos of fights staged between intellectually disabled residents of the Texas institution.

Each of the five men was charged with causing injury to a disabled person. A sixth defendant, Stephanie Garza, is accused of failing to intervene. She will be arraigned later this month. Only one of the six remains in jail.

Police say eleven employees organized the fights, which took place over the past two years.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Legislative budget negotiators in Texas have agreed to a $507 million cash infusion that would provide services to about 8,000 people with intellectual disabilities, including some residents in state institutions and others on waiting lists for community living support.

A Houston-area lawmaker said the appropriation for the next two years would be the biggest money boost ever to reduce a wait that can be as long as nine years for people who want to live in community group homes or at home with assistance.

Meanwhile, the Texas House gave initial approval to a measure – similar to a bill that already passed the Senate – aimed at addressing widespread abuse and neglect at the state’s large residential institutions. Among its provisions:

• New protections in institutions, such as video surveillance;
• Renaming “state schools” as “state-supported living centers;”
• Enhanced criminal background checks, random drug testing, and training for employees; and
• Expansion of the role of the inspector general for health and human services.

Earlier posts here.

‘Fight club’ abuse apparently was not an isolated case

From the Dallas Morning News:

State records say dozens of employees at Texas institutions were fired for serious abuse and neglect, such as whipping a resident in the mouth with a belt, during the same two-year period as the late night “fight clubs.”

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.

(more…)

From the Houston Chronicle:

Hundreds of abuse complaints involving the mentally disabled residents of Texas state schools are made to local police each year but rarely do they result in criminal charges, largely because the cases are too difficult to prove, according to a three-year snapshot of data obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

Two months after cell phone images revealed how staffers at Corpus Christi State School organized fights between residents, records show only 4 percent of 2,814 state school abuse cases flagged by Texas Adult Protective Services to local police as possible crimes between fiscal years 2005 and 2008 are eventually proven or “confirmed” by APS as abuse.

Limestone County Sheriff Dennis Wilson, whose office investigates cases referred from the Mexia State School, said the cases are “almost impossible to prosecute because of [the alleged victims'] mental issues.” The Mexia State School has the most abuse referrals in the state.

Earlier this year, following the discovery of the “fight club” at the institution in Corpus Christi, the governor authorized the emergency installation of security cameras there.

Earlier posts here.

From the Dallas Morning News:

Just weeks after Texas lawmakers abandoned an effort to close down some of the state’s troubled institutions for people with intellectual disabilities, a new proposal has come forward.

A budget measure promoted by the chair of the senate finance committee would move 500 people with developmental disabilities out of the state’s troubled institutions over the next two years and take thousands of families off the waiting list for community care.

The provision would not close any facilities or force anyone to leave. Instead, it would direct the Department of Aging and Disability Services to create more opportunities for community-based care, and to make them available for institutional residents who would benefit from less restrictive settings.

The legislative struggle comes on the heels of a U.S. Justice Department finding of widespread civil rights violations inside the state schools and, more recently, the release of video of “fight club” brawls between residents that were organized by state employees. State and federal officials are reportedly close to signing an agreement on resolving civil rights violations.

Earlier posts here.

See also:

State school changes - Dallas Morning News

From the Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle:

The state of Texas and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a tentative agreement on resolving civil rights violations at the 13 Texas institutions for people with intellectual disabilities, according to state officials.

The state has been cited for a long history of abuse and neglect at the facilities, and recently faced sharp criticism when staff members at the Corpus Christi State School were caught on video staging “fight club” brawls between residents.

A draft plan calls for improving psychiatric services, better monitoring residents’ prescription drugs and enhancing staff training, said Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Commission. It would also lead to more staff members being hired, she said.

… [State Rep. Abel] Herrero said Wednesday: “It shouldn’t come down to the (Justice Department’s) investigation or incidents that make national news for the state to realize it’s failing in meeting the legal, ethical and moral obligations it has in caring for the state’s most vulnerable population.”

Lawmakers would have to approve the details of the arrangement. If the state does not reach a settlement with the Justice Department, it could face a federal lawsuit.

Earlier posts here.