Re: Article about Texas State Schools and Facilities

[Guest guest]

This is very disturbing to me. Do you know of any parents that have

been 'forced' to put their children into 'institutions' there ? I

would very much like to get some input on that.

E. , Sr. The Office of Advocacy

>

> www.chicagotribune. com/news/ nationworld/ sns-ap-texas-

mental-hospitals ,0,5634356. story

> chicagotribune. com

> Texas time warp? State keeps more mentally disabled patients in

institutions than any other

> By JEFF CARLTON

> Associated Press Writer

> 6:27 PM CST, December 3, 2008

> DENTON , Texas (AP)

>  

> For more than a century, thousands of mentally disabled Americans

were isolated from society, sometimes for life, by being confined to

huge state institutions.

>

> In at least one place, they still are.

>

> Texas has more mentally disabled patients in institutions than any

other state, and the federal government has concluded that the state's

care system is stubbornly out of step with modern mental health practices.

>

> Critics allege that Texas remains stuck in an era when the mentally

disabled were hidden away in large, impersonal facilities far from

relatives and communities.

>

> " In Texas , it's like a time warp, " said Jeff Garrison-Tate, an

advocate who wants to close the 13 facilities called " state schools "

and move patients into group homes.

>

> For the third time in three years, the criticism has attracted the

attention of the Justice Department, which on Tuesday accused Texas of

violating residents' constitutional rights to proper care.

>

> Investigators found that dozens of patients died in the last year

from preventable conditions, and officials declared that the number of

injuries was " disturbingly high. "

>

> In addition, hundreds of documents reviewed by The Associated Press

show that some patients have been neglected, beaten, sexually abused

or even killed by caretakers. Inspection reports also describe filthy

rooms and unsanitary kitchens.

>

> Many of the nation's mentally ill or disabled in the 1800s were

housed together in institutions, sometimes called insane asylums. But

by the 1960s, most experts concluded that mentally disabled patients

fared better in smaller, community-based settings.

>

> The American Institution on Intellectual and Developmental

Disabilities says large care facilities — usually those with at least

16 residents — " enforce an unnatural, isolated, and regimented

lifestyle that is not appropriate or necessary. "

>

> Because of those concerns, eight states have abolished large

institutions for the mentally disabled. Another 13 states closed most

of their largest facilities, leaving just one open in each state.

>

> But Texas has remained " the institution capital of America , " said

Charlie Lakin, director of the Research and Training Center on

Community Living at the University of Minnesota .

>

> The 13 facilities in Texas house nearly 5,000 residents — more than

six times the national average.

>

> On a per-capita basis, Texas has 20.4 people per 100,000 in large

institutions, Lakin said. The national average is 12.2 people.

>

> Other states with large populations such as New York and California

— which have rates of 11.2 and 7.5 people, respectively — rely far

less on large institutions.

>

> Federal law requires the mentally disabled to be treated in " the

most integrated setting " possible — a factor that led to the Justice

Department rebuke of Texas .

>

> Albrecht, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Aging and

Disability Services, said the agency is expanding community-based

services. Texas officials say keeping the facilities open is a matter

of preserving as many treatment options as possible.

>

> But critics allege that " warehousing " patients in large institutions

invites abuse. Patients are isolated from their families and

communities, making regular contact with loved ones more difficult.

And caretakers often get overwhelmed by the large numbers of patients,

Garrison-Tate said.

>

> In Texas , officials verified 465 incidents of abuse or neglect

against mentally disabled people in state care in fiscal year 2007.

Over a three-month period this summer, the state opened at least 500

new cases with similar allegations, according to federal investigators.

>

> An AP investigation earlier this year revealed that more than 800

state employees have been fired or suspended since the summer of 2003

because they abused, neglected or exploited mentally disabled residents.

>

> And in the one-year period ending in September, as many as 53 deaths

in the facilities were due to potentially avoidable conditions such as

pneumonia, bowel obstructions or sepsis, the Justice Department said.

>

> Some families tell horror stories of their loved ones in the state

facilities. For instance, Dooley said her son spent three

months in the Austin State School , which she described as a place of

" dingy yellow floors and patients running around without any clothes on. "

>

> During his time there, he refused to leave his bed and often

languished in his own excrement, she said.

>

> Dooley eventually moved her son into a group home in Denton where

treatment costs average about $50,000 per year — roughly half as much

as the costs at state schools, Garrison-Tate said. Medicaid often

picks up most of those costs.

>

> " It was just horrible, " Dooley said. " If he goes back to a state

facility, he will shut down and die. "

>

> At the San Angelo State School , inspection reports from 2007 took

note of scuffed walls pocked with holes, rotting food, dirty kitchens,

broken furniture and missing shower curtains.

>

> More seriously, two employees were fired after throwing a resident

into a pool while he was wearing a restraint jacket. The employees had

made a bet with the resident that he would be unable to dunk another

resident under water. When he lost the bet, the employees restrained

him and threw him in the water, according to the reports.

>

> Other families say they are happy with the state care.

>

> Neil son said his daughter , who has cerebral palsy and is

mentally retarded, has flourished during her 10 years at the Lubbock

State School .

>

> " I'm very impressed with the level of care she has received, "

son said. " As far as I am concerned, it's Mr. '

neighborhood. Everybody is looking out for everybody else. "

>

> A visit to the Denton State School , the largest in Texas , reveals

a sprawling campus spread across well-kept lawns. Superintendent Randy

Spence described the place as a " happy, homelike atmosphere. "

>

> " The vast majority of our employees love the people they work with, "

said Cecilia Fedorov, another spokeswoman for the Department of Aging

and Disability Services. " They think of them as extended family. "

>

> But Denton is also the site of Texas ' most notorious case of state

school abuse.

>

> In 2002, a care worker repeatedly kicked and punched a resident in

the stomach and groin. Haseeb Chishty nearly died after that beating.

He is now confined to a wheelchair and unable to feed himself or use

the bathroom.

>

> " It got to the point where it was fun beating him, torturing him, "

said former care worker , who is now serving 15 years for

aggravated assault.

>

> In a statement videotaped by Chishty's lawyer, said he and

many of his fellow care workers used methamphetamines, cocaine and

Oxycontin on the job.

>

> Chishty's mother filed a lawsuit against the facility, but it went

nowhere. In Texas , government entities are all but immune from lawsuits.

>

> Some critics want to close the state schools. But because the Texas

Legislature created each one, only lawmakers can close them.

>

> Many of the institutions are large employers in small towns, and

they often pay more than other jobs in rural areas. Lawmakers fear

taking action that would lead to layoffs, Garrison-Tate said.

>

> " Even if we said we wanted to close all state schools, the community

resources aren't there at this time, " said state Rep. Larry ,

chairman of a legislative committee studying the facilities.

>

> Reddell, the lawyer whose client's son was beaten nearly to

death, said the state is not doing right by its mentally disabled.

>

> " The very nature of the institutional setting, I think, creates the

environment for the abuse to take place, " she said. " How in the world

can you think this system is the best and it makes sense? "

>

>

> M. Guppy

> My autism journey isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's

about learning to dance in the rain.... 

> Texas Autism Advocacy:  www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

> " There are some aspects of a person's life that we have no right to

compromise.  We cannot negotiate the size of an institution.  No one

should live in one.  We cannot debate who should get an inclusive

education.  Everyone should.  We cannot determine who does and who

does not get the right to make their own choices and forge their own

futures.  All must. "

>

[Guest guest]

Hey, Folks…

Every one of us should be paying close attention to the DOJ

report on our state “schools”. We should all be very, very appalled!!!

To think that any of our children could end up in such a wretched environment

should scare us all to death! If you haven’t read the actual DOJ report…well,

you should read it, and I can promise you it will make you very, very upset,

sad, and likely ill.

What if something happened to both parents and the state

decided it would be best to put our loved one into one of these places?

At a minimum, this should at least spark some serious

discussion here on this list. One of the stats in the report discusses the

large number of children, particularly with autism, who are now being served in

these settings.

nna

[Guest guest]

nna,

You are absolutely right, it should scare us all to death, it should

also spur us all to write a letter, send an email or call our state

rep. and senators to let them know that responsible reform for the

state schools is past due. It's time to look at establishing viable,

quality community services that address the needs of our children and

grow with them as they become adults. Money should be spent

eliminating the waiting medicaid waiver lists and making sure

community services are addressing our children's needs.

This is a golden opportunity to let them know we are paying close

attention and we DO NOT want our children to end up in a state school.

The # of children under the age of 18 being placed in state schools

for lack of appropriate options and services is ont he increase, i

believe it was 300 (if memory serves).

This is extremely disturbing.

Nagla

>

> Hey, Folks.

>

>

>

> Every one of us should be paying close attention to the DOJ report

on our

> state " schools " . We should all be very, very appalled!!! To think

that any

> of our children could end up in such a wretched environment should

scare us

> all to death! If you haven't read the actual DOJ report.well, you

should

> read it, and I can promise you it will make you very, very upset,

sad, and

> likely ill.

>

>

>

> What if something happened to both parents and the state decided it

would be

> best to put our loved one into one of these places?

>

>

>

> At a minimum, this should at least spark some serious discussion

here on

> this list. One of the stats in the report discusses the large

number of

> children, particularly with autism, who are now being served in

these

> settings.

>

>

>

> nna

>