Bill on state schools is first to clear Texas Senate
March 10, 2009
State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said her bill was "critically needed" to correct abuses uncovered within the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, which operates 13 large facilities, called state schools, including one in Denton that houses nearly 5,000 residents.
Written by Dave Montgomery, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
AUSTIN — The state Senate on Monday passed its first bill of the 7-week-old legislative session, voting 30-0 for a measure intended to improve conditions at the state’s facilities for the mentally disabled.
State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said her bill was "critically needed" to correct abuses uncovered within the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, which operates 13 large facilities, called state schools, including one in Denton that houses nearly 5,000 residents.
A Justice Department report presented to Gov. Rick Perry in December said residents are often victims of abuse, neglect and inadequate medical treatment. At least 53 residents died within the past year because of lapses in healthcare, the report concluded.
"We cannot tolerate the abuse or neglect of citizens with these disabilities," Nelson said. "They deserve our respect, our oversight and our compassion."
Legislation
Nelson, chairwoman of the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, began preparing legislation to strengthen protections at the facilities after conducting interim hearings on the issue after the 2007 legislative session.
The issue was among several given "emergency" status by Perry to expedite consideration by the 2009 Legislature.
Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said that Texas spends woefully little on mental retardation and that "chronic issues" such as understaffing and undertraining led to abuses at the schools.
"These individuals have been killed by lack of care," Shapleigh said.
Nelson responded that residents of the state schools are part of a "very fragile population who with all the help in the world may not make it. I don’t want it out there that these people are being killed."
A key element of the bill would create an ombudsman, appointed by the governor, to audit the facilities each year and serve as a confidential intermediary for parents, clients and guardians, Nelson said. The bill would also rename the facilities state developmental centers.
Calling the facilities schools is misleading, Nelson has said, particularly because many residents are elderly.
The bill would also create a hot line for reporting abuse, neglect and misconduct; mandate surveillance cameras in common areas; and require random drug tests and fingerprinting of employees. Investigations uncovered cases in which employees had criminal records.
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