Texas Lt. Governor wants state institutions to stay open

From the Austin American-Statesman Texas Politics and Government blog:

The state’s troubled institutions for people with mental retardation should stay open, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Jan. 22 during lunch with reporters.

Some advocates and lawmakers (including state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, chairman of the House Committee on Human Services) have suggested closing some of the residential facilities known as state schools. A December report by the Department of Justice, or DOJ, said that the facilities fail to protect residents from harm.

“I’m not against state schools like the DOJ is,” Dewhurst said.

The federal report identified problems throughout Texas’ system of 13 institutions, which are home to nearly 5,000 people. But Dewhurst said that every state school he visits — such as the Richmond State School — is well-run, so the report’s findings “come as a surprise.”

The Senate’s draft of the state budget designates $200 million in state funds for a program that helps people with disabilities live at home or in group homes rather than in institutions. That funding would be contingent upon the Legislature passing a measure to cap the number of people in state schools at 3,000.

State Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, the Senate’s chief budget writer, said in an interview: “I’m not for closing any state schools — I’m for controlling the size of state schools as far as population.”