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By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
eramshaw@dallasnews.com
Governor declares overhaul of state schools a priority
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry will declare protection of residents in state schools for the disabled a legislative emergency today, a move that follows reports of widespread abuse and neglect and a broad federal investigation into conditions at the facilities.
Legislation to overhaul security at the 12 state schools, expected to be filed today, would establish an independent, governor-appointed ombudsman to investigate injuries and deaths and to monitor care.
The bill, written by Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, will also require fingerprinting, background checks and random drug testing of all state school employees. And it will set aside a specific facility for alleged offenders committed to state care by the courts.
This measure will not address advocates' growing calls to close or consolidate the state schools. Jay Kimbrough, Perry's chief of staff, said lawmakers can debate that idea on their own. Separately, the Legislature might consider an increase in funding to improve staffing.
But the emergency designation denotes a high priority of the governor and allows the legislation to be considered immediately.
"These are vulnerable people who have suffered," said Kimbrough, who helped orchestrate the legislation. "In the short term, surely we can enhance oversight, safety and patient care, and then they can have that protracted debate."
The decision from the governor's office follows two years of Dallas Morning News reports on physical, sexual and emotional abuse inside the state schools run by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. A recent U.S. Department of Justice investigation found that residents of all 12 state schools were in imminent danger of neglect and mistreatment, a violation of their constitutional rights and of federal law.
The governor did not initially embrace the federal findings but made the legislation a priority after his office conducted its own review of state school conditions last month.
"I commend the governor for seeing that the safety of residents at our state schools is an emergency situation," said Dennis Borel, executive director of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, which supports the consolidation or closure of some of the state schools.
"One would hope that we'd not have gotten to this point, but we have. This is the initial step in a longer process that the Legislature needs to take up."
The newly created office of the ombudsman would perform audits on each state school twice a year, and would monitor an abuse-and-neglect telephone hotline set up specifically for state school allegations. The bill also would require independent reviews of all deaths in state schools, and would force the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General to produce reports for lawmakers about abuse and neglect findings.
The bill would also let the Department of Aging and Disability Services install security cameras in public areas at the state schools.
"This population deserves to be protected and treated with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, there have been horrific stories of abuse," Nelson said. The priority legislation will "better protect these vulnerable citizens and provide much-needed structural changes to the agency responsible for their care."
The legislation could lead to some "right-sizing," Kimbrough said – shifting some residents around or making some new hires to ensure safety and proper staffing.
While that may mean new costs, Kimbrough said, he doesn't think there will be a large fiscal impact. "We need to stop, look and listen," he said. "We have people to protect, and we need to do it immediately."
Officials at the disability services department said Monday that they would continue to work with lawmakers on "systemic improvements to the quality of care" in the state schools.
The bill is modeled after a sweeping Texas Youth Commission bill enacted two years ago, after a sexual abuse scandal at that agency. Lawmakers generally believe that overhaul was a successful triage, though they're still pondering the TYC's future size and scope.
That same conversation will continue with the state schools. But Kimbrough, who served as TYC conservator immediately after that agency's scandal broke, said that debate would not originate in the governor's office.
Meanwhile, Rep. Patrick, Rose, D-Dripping Springs, has said he and Houston Sen. Rodney Ellis will file legislation this month to consolidate the costly state school system, a move they say would save money and better meet residents' needs in community care settings.
They'll face tough opposition from lawmakers with state schools in their districts and others who have the ear of longtime state school families.
The state schools won't be the only legislative priority for Perry this session. Perry staffers confirmed that he would also put hurricane recovery assistance, reforms for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, and funding for a disaster contingency fund and for Texas Department of Criminal Justice metal detectors on his emergency call list.