By EMILY RAMSHAW - The Dallas Morning News - Thursday, December 20, 2007
AUSTIN – House Speaker Tom Craddick has yet to order an interim study on abuse and neglect in Texas' facilities for the mentally retarded – despite saying this summer that curbing the mistreatment was a top priority.
His staff says he's considering appointing a special committee early next year to address the problems, but House Democrats say they can't afford to wait for the state's Republican leadership.
They've convened a legislative study group of their own and begun touring Texas institutions – issuing their first report last week.
"These people are wards of the state, and we are not fulfilling our obligation to protect their safety," said Rep. Lon Burnam, a Fort Worth Democrat who lobbied for a House interim committee but said he couldn't get the support. "I think it's imperative that a study be done. And if the speaker's not going to do an investigation, individual members will."
Texas' care for the disabled came under fire repeatedly this year, with reports of abuse and neglect at state institutions and group homes rivaling conditions in the state's troubled juvenile justice system.
The scrutiny followed a scathing U.S. Justice Department report documenting civil rights violations and horrific living conditions at the Lubbock State School. In the months after that report, The Dallas Morning News documented widespread abuse and neglect at other state institutions for people with disabilities, and vile conditions and debilitating financial problems at dozens of midsize group homes in Dallas County.
Early this week, The News reported that the state's waiting lists for in-home, or non-institutional, care now exceeds 100,000 people – with some families waiting up to a decade for services.
Mr. Craddick first spoke out on the state care facilities in August, saying that improving conditions would be a top priority between legislative sessions. But when his list of interim charges came out this month, the services for the disabled didn't make the cut, leaving advocates to believe they'd been left in the lurch.
Craddick spokeswoman Alexis DeLee said Tuesday that while the speaker hasn't made an interim charge, he is considering appointing a select committee in early 2008 on the services provided to Texas' most profoundly disabled – whether they're in a state school, a private care facility or living in the family home.
House Democrats say they're not holding their breath.
In the meantime, Rep. Garnet Coleman said the legislative study group he chairs is scheduling hearings at state schools – including one next month at the state-operated institution in Denton. They've already released notes on a meeting at the Corpus Christi State School, he said, and plan to have a final report on long-term care for the disabled by November.
Read more in the Dallas Morning News
No comments:
Post a Comment