State Schools to get 1100 new employees

From Statesman's Jason Embry

Texas institutions for people with mental disabilities will get more than 1,100 new employees under an agreement reached between the state and the U.S. Department of Justice, The Statesman’s Corrie MacLaggan reported: “The bulk of those would be direct-care workers, said Cecilia Fedorov, a spokeswoman for the Department of Family and Protective Services. The workers would also include 27 psychiatrists, 11 clinical pharmacists and eight dentists, according to the department Web site. There are now between 12,000 and 13,000 employees at the 13 institutions known as state schools, Fedorov said. State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, has said the plan — which has been approved by the Department of Justice but still needs an OK from the Texas Legislature — will cost $112 million over five years. Nelson and Rose today filed a resolution approving the agreement.”

The state schools were among three areas of the newly agreed-upon budget that Sen. Steve Ogden singled out for praise, saying budget-writers’ work will allow the schools to be better run and will allow Texans who do not want to be in the schools to receive services in their communities.