Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

DALLAS -- More than 800 employees at Texas' 13 large facilities for the mentally and developmentally disabled have been suspended or fired for abusing patients since fiscal year 2004, state officials said Tuesday.

In response to an open records request from The Associated Press, the Department of Aging and Disability Services said that 239 employees were fired or suspended in fiscal year 2007 for the abuse, neglect or exploitation of residents.

There were 200 such disciplinary actions in 2006, 203 in 2005 and 180 in 2004, according to state records. The breakdown by school was unavailable. The 13 state schools and centers combined have about 12,000 full-time employees.

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 the mentally retarded 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.

Texas has 13 large institutions, called state schools or centers, in which nearly 5,000 mentally retarded or mentally ill residents live full-time with round-the-clock care. That's about five times the national average. By comparison, New York and California combined have about 4,600 residents living in 17 institutions, according to data compiled by United Cerebral Palsy.

State records show more than 450 incidents of verified abuse or neglect in fiscal year 2007, a year in which the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services investigated nearly 3,500 allegations at state schools.

About 51 percent of the confirmed incidents involved neglect, 31 percent involved physical abuse and 16 percent involved emotional or verbal abuse. Less than one percent of the cases involved sexual abuse.

State officials also acknowledge at least three state school residents have died since 2002 in which abuse or neglect by caretakers was a factor.

Laura Albrecht, a spokeswoman for the Aging and Disability Services office, said the firings and suspensions reflect the state's "strict policy" on abuse and neglect.

"We have gotten even tougher," Albrecht said. "Our employees go through training to recognize abuse and neglect and to report any incidents."

Perry told the AP that the suspensions and firings indicate that state schools are trying to rid themselves of bad employees.

"What I make of it is that the agency is doing its job," Perry said. "If there are individuals who have broken those parameters of employment, they need to be removed."

The Denton facility, where a notorious abuse case occurred in 2002, underwent its most recent comprehensive inspection last April. The school was cited 25 times for failing to meet federal standards.

Citations included:

n Failure to "ensure clients' rights were protected, including the right to be free from abuse, neglect and mistreatment."

n Failure to "have or to use policies and procedures that prohibit mistreatment, neglect or abuse of clients."

n Failure to "have evidence to show that all allegations of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment were thoroughly investigated.

A more recent inspection in January found that the Denton State School "failed to educate direct care staff on basic first aid, health, and emergency needs."

Perry was notified in March that the Justice Department was investigating the Denton school, said Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle.

"We certainly welcome their findings and the governor wants to ensure all residents of state schools receive the highest quality care," Castle said.