People set up retarded people to fight against each other in my city...

[Kool Beenz]

http://www.caller.com/news/2009/mar/10/lawmakers-sys-syfyydfys/

Lawmakers already had concerns about state school

By Jaime Powell (Contact)
Originally published 09:31 p.m., March 10, 2009
Updated 12:12 a.m., March 11, 2009

CORPUS CHRISTI — Local lawmakers said they had serious concerns with state school operations long before reports surfaced Tuesday about fights that employees staged among mentally disabled residents at the Corpus Christi facility.

Fixing the system that houses thousands of the state’s most profoundly mentally disabled residents has been a top priority for lawmakers concerned with previous reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation, said Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown.

The problems were highlighted when Corpus Christi police contacted Adult Protective Services on Friday after obtaining a cell phone earlier in the week with videos taken inside the Corpus Christi State School that they said show residents fighting each other while employees watch and encourage the fights.

“Once again, our community is faced with the possibility of abuse and neglect involving residents and staff at the Corpus Christi State School, which further escalates the urgency for reform measures within the state school system and at our campus,” Herrero said.

Herrero and Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr. raised issues about state schools after several incidents, including a Corpus Christi State School resident found dead in 2007, which the medical examiner ruled a suicide. In an unrelated case, the Corpus Christi Police Department investigated abuse claims at the school that July. Those findings were presented to a grand jury that declined to indict the accused staff member.

The lawmakers held a public hearing at City Hall in September 2007 and complained that state leadership was unwilling to tackle the sensitive issue.

“It’s unfortunate that multiple incidents as shocking as (the videotaped fights) ... is what has finally brought the state school issues to the front burner,” Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, said Tuesday. “These are the sort of issues that we have heard of and long have worked on, cases of abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

A U.S. Justice Department report released last year found at least 53 patients in Texas’ residential facilities died in 2007 from preventable conditions that often were the result of inadequate care.

The report concluded that the Texas facilities violate residents’ rights and called the number of injuries to patients “disturbingly high.”

The report also addressed long working hours, staff shortages and allegations of abuse voiced by Corpus Christi State School residents at a 2007 public forum.

In February, Gov. Rick Perry declared state schools legislation as an emergency priority.

Monday, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that creates a state school system ombudsman who would audit the schools annually, investigate complaints and serve as an intermediary for parents, clients and guardians in the system. The legislation also would establish random drug tests and fingerprinting for employees. It calls for security cameras in common areas at the facilities, more staff training and complaint hot lines. And it would require the Office of Inspector General to employ specialized investigators to assist local law enforcement.

The House’s state school reform legislation, House Bill 1317 authored by Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, and co-authored by Herrero, Ortiz, and Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, is set for a hearing Thursday before the House Human Services Committee.

Rose said the House’s version of reform legislation goes further by applying similar accountability and oversight standards to private independent care facilities.

Herrero said there likely is more to come.

“This by no means should be viewed as the exhaustive list of reforms or recommendations,” he said. “This must be treated as the beginning of an ongoing comprehensive review and changes that will further insure the safety and well being of residents in the state schools.”

[Kool Beenz]

only in texas...

this is shameful
glad i didnt know anyone who worked there

[Kool Beenz]

CORPUS CHRISTI — Mentally disabled residents at the Corpus Christi State School were encouraged to participate in a “fight club” organized by several employees who were hired to care for them, police said Tuesday.

About 20 videos, two-to-three minutes in length and captured on a cell phone, show residents pushing, shoving and hitting each other while employees watch, police said. Some of the residents are seen raising their arms in victory after the fights, Capt. Tim Wilson said.

Police believe employees organized the fights for at least a year based on video time stamps.

“These people are charged with protecting these clients and are exploiting them for their own entertainment,” Wilson said.

The fights occurred in the common area of a dorm room during overnight shifts, Lt. Isaac Valencia said. Some residents are seen in multiple fights while other residents and employees watched. Police are still investigating to see if outsiders were involved.

The fights are one-on-one, but some videos show punches coming from the crowd. Police are trying to determine if these blows were from residents or employees, Valencia said.

Eleven employees were identified in the videos. Seven who are currently employed were placed on paid leave. Four resigned or were fired before the investigation started, said Stephanie Goodman, spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

Once the investigations into the matter are complete, the Department of Aging and Disability Services, which oversees state schools, will take appropriate action regarding their employment, said department spokeswoman Cecilia Fedorov.

The residents fighting in the video are all male, and all but one of the employees identified so far are male, Wilson said. Injuries occurred but did not appear serious, he said. However, police don’t know whether there are more videos or whether other fights occurred and caused serious injury.

The phone containing the videos was given to an off-duty officer at Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial on March 3, police said. The person who turned it over said the phone was found in the street. Investigators believe they identified the phone’s owner and said the videos don’t appear to have been secretly recorded, Valencia said.

Police contacted Adult Protective Services last week after the department obtained the phone.

District Attorney Carlos Valdez said his office has met with police about the investigation.

Valdez called the state school employees’ behavior “despicable and barbaric.” Those responsible could face charges of injury to a disabled person, which is either a state jail or second-degree felony depending on the severity of the residents’ injuries.

Valdez said the video footage will help any possible prosecution. Often the abuse of mentally disabled can be tough to prosecute because the victims can’t clearly articulate what happened to them, he added.

Wilson said investigators likely will seek arrest warrants by the end of the week.

State school Superintendent Iva Benson didn’t return calls Tuesday.

State Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, said Benson assured him by phone that she has taken immediate measures to address the issues, including having supervisors work the graveyard shift from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

“My understanding is there were (no supervisors) during the time period when these incidents occurred,” Herrero said. “To deter and further prevent similar incidents the superintendent has reassigned supervisors to ensure that there are supervisors 24 hours a day. As I understand it from the video that was obtained, you can determine that the incidents occur during the early morning hours.”

Texas has 13 state schools for mentally disabled people. The Corpus Christi State School has 877 employees and about 350 residents, Goodman said.

Because of the Corpus Christi incident, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services is suspending admissions to the state school, working on installing video cameras, hiring security officers and beefing up supervisor oversight on night shifts, Goodman said.

Goodman said residents seen in the images were found to be free of injuries and are receiving additional counseling.

Residents at the state school have mild to severe mental disabilities, Fedorov said. In addition, many residents have fragile medical conditions.

“Anything from having a feeding tube, to having a ventilator, to needing assistance with mobility,” she said. The state school is each client’s primary home, but they can take vacations, visit their family home and go home for the holidays, Fedorov said.

The state Senate passed state school reform legislation Monday that increases staff training, provides more thorough employee background checks and increases investigative powers.

Gov. Rick Perry in February declared improvements to state schools and centers as an emergency item for this legislative session, which allowed lawmakers to begin considering it in the initial 30 days of the legislative session.

[QuietTruth]

That's grim.