Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN — Abuse, neglect and humiliation are a common occurrence for hundreds of mentally retarded children and adults living in Texas' state schools, employee disciplinary records show.

With disturbing regularity, employees pushed, hit, kicked, knocked down and dragged residents. One of the worst cases occurred in December 2005, when a caretaker at Brenham State School hit or kicked a resident hard enough to crack three ribs and lacerate the person's liver.

Workers also frequently neglected their frail charges, in some cases allowing them to eat cigarette butts, scald themselves or be sexually abused by other residents.

The San Antonio Express-News reviewed hundreds of pages of documents showing how employees were disciplined for abuse and neglect at nine facilities. The Texas attorney general ordered the records released under the state public information laws.

The records show instances in which abusive employees were allowed to remain on the job, working with the same vulnerable population.

An aide at Lufkin who struck a resident on the head with a plastic cup, causing a 11/2-inch cut, was reassigned so he would not have contact with that resident.

Employees who slapped, twisted arms and knocked residents to the floor were routinely given short suspensions.

Jeff Garrison-Tate, an advocate for the disabled who regularly visits state schools, said he is "floored" to hear that some workers who abuse residents are allowed to keep their jobs.

"That person should be terminated without question," he said. "If (the Department of Aging and Disability Services) is supporting that type of decisions, that's grossly inappropriate."

The records show that problems extended beyond the Lubbock State School, which is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division. A report on that facility was sharply critical of inadequate staffing, poor sanitation and treatment practices.

Nearly 11,300 employees care for about 4,900 adults and children in 13 residential facilities. All of the patients have been diagnosed with mental retardation, and some suffer from mental illness and physical disabilities.

Officials with the Department of Aging and Disability Services say outside investigators confirmed nearly 300 cases of abuse and neglect during each of the past two fiscal years. But they maintain that the majority of direct-care workers do a good job.

"Most of the people who work in these state schools are there because they truly enjoy serving the population that we serve, and they are dedicated to a good life for the residents who live in our state schools," said Cecilia Fedorov, a spokeswoman for the department. "In any direct care environment, whether it's a hospital, a nursing home, a state school, you're going to have people who just take advantage of more vulnerable people."

Reports of abuse and neglect are investigated by a different state agency, the Department of Family and Protective Services. About 3,200 allegations are investigated each year, and allegations are confirmed in about 9 percent of cases.

Although the names of the residents were redacted for privacy reasons, the records put human faces on the mistreatment.

In 2003, an employee with a documented history of abuse at the Abilene State School verbally abused a resident, repeatedly yelling expletives at him and calling him "lazy." He was merely demoted. The verbal abuse seemed to have an impact on the resident, who was overheard saying that the employee was "mad at me and now my life is over."

At the Richmond State School, an aide in January 2001 fed hot jalapeño peppers to several female residents or allowed them to eat them, and then laughed at their reactions while refusing them water.

Sexual activity occurred at several facilities after employees who were supposed to be keeping watch fell asleep.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, meanwhile, decried the abuses but defended the agency's handling of them.

"There's no excuse for the reports but these events have been dealt with swiftly and decisively," said spokeswoman Krista Moody. "The governor believes Commissioner (Addie) Horn has taken pro-active action."

Horn told lawmakers this year she is boosting training for employees. The Legislature responded to problems by appropriating an additional $50 million to hire more than 1,600 employees and move some residents into community group homes.

It was unclear from the records whether the abuse or neglect had caused any deaths.

Records were not available from Mexia State School, where a 15-year-old boy died in January after being improperly restrained by three employees, who were fired.

The records show a wide disparity in the treatment of employees who were found to have engaged in abuse or neglect.

Employees whose abuse was found to have caused serious bodily injured were fired, as is required by law. But punishment for non-serious injuries, verbal abuse and neglect varied widely among the facilities because state law provides a range of punishment from dismissal to a written reprimand.

In the summer of 2004, two employees at the San Angelo State School were fired for throwing a resident who was wearing a restraining jacket into a swimming pool. The resident sank to the bottom when the life vest, which had been placed over the restraining jacket, came undone. Two fellow residents managed to pull the victim safely to the side of the pool.

Four years earlier at the same school, an employee was given a three-day suspension for hitting a resident on his helmet and in the face and kicking him in the legs.

The assault took place a few days before Christmas and, according to fellow staff, the resident, though he couldn't talk, had been expressing eagerness at the prospect of going home for a holiday visit.

The employee told the resident he didn't deserve to go home and if he did go home, it would only be for a day. A fellow staff member reported that the resident "became very angry and started throwing punches in the air and making angry faces." That's when the employee assaulted the resident.

Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, a frequent agency critic, blamed the abuse and neglect cases squarely on the deep budget cuts instituted in 2003 by the Texas Legislature. He hoped the abuses would be curbed with this year's budget increase.

"Clearly, I can't predict whether it'll be enough," Shapleigh said.

He said while adding staff and improving training is needed immediately, over the long term he hoped to see a transition to independent and community-based care.

Austin Bureau staffer Amy Raskin contributed to this article.