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APS
Adult protective Services

The Adult Protective Services Facility Investigations Program investigates reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of persons with disabilities (children and adults) receiving services in state operated and/or contracted settings that serve adults and children with mental illness mental retardation, or other types of developmental disabilities. Investigation results are sent to the facility or program administrator for appropriate action.

Total Average Filled Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff

Caseworkers 128.6
Supervisors 23.6
Other Staff 26.5
Total APS Facility Staff 178.7

Worker demographic

Turnover Rate   14.1%
Agency Tenure Less than 1 Year 15.4%
1-3 Years 37.7%
Greater than 3 Years 46.9%
Entry Salary   $30,481.44
Average Age   40.3
Race/Ethnicity African-American 16.90%
Anglo 56.9%
Hispanic 25.4%
Other 0.8%

Supervisor Demographics

Turnover Rate   12.1%
Agency Tenure Less than 1 Year 0.0%
1-3 Years 4.2%
Greater than 3 Years 95.8%
Entry Salary   $39,117.96
Average Age   43.6
Race/Ethnicity African-American 8.3%
Anglo 75.0%
Hispanic 16.7%
Other 0.0%

APS Facility Expenditures

APS Facility Staff $9,012,846

Description of the Report Investigation Process

Step 1: Notifications

The following persons are notified within one hour of the receipt of the intake:

  • Facility administrator
  • Law enforcement if allegations involves serious physical injury, sexual abuse, or death of an adult.
  • Law enforcement of any allegation involving a child.
Step 2: Investigation Activities
  • Face to face contact with alleged victims
  • Interview of witnesses and alleged perpetrator
  • Collection of written statements and documentary evidence.
  • Photographing of injuries
  • Photographing/diagramming scene of incident
  • Gathering other relevant evidence
Step 3: Investigation Findings
  • Analyze evidence
  • Determine finding(s)
  • Generate investigative report
  • Provide report to facility administrator
  • Provide report to law enforcement if investigation confirms abuse, neglect, or exploitation that may constitute a criminal offense

Note: This chart is for reference only and does not necessarily represent the flow of a case.

Statistics FY 2011

  • Completed Facility Investigations: 10,981
  • Confirmed Facility Investigations: 1,355

Most Common...

  • Person reporting abuse/neglect/exploitation: Institutional Personnel (29.4%)
  • Allegation confirmed: Neglect (56.9%)
  • Facility setting investigated: State Supported Living Centers (39.3%)
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Legal Responsibility for APS Facility

Statutory References

Federal: Title XX, Social Security Act
State: Human Resources Code, Chapters 40 and 48
Texas Family Code, Title V
Health and Safety Code, Chapter 532 and Chapters 591-595

Major Provisions

  • Mandatory reporting of abuse, neglect, and exploitation
    of persons receiving services in state-operated mental health and mental retardation facilities (State Hospitals, State Supported Living Centers, and Rio Grande State Center) and/or state contracted settings (Community MH and MR Centers, Home and Community-based Services programs, Texas Home Living Waiver Program, and privately-operated Intermediate Care Facilities for Persons with Mental Retardation (ICFs/MR))
  • APS initiates investigations after an allegation is reported to DFPS Abuse Hotline by notifying the facility or provider agency within one hour and notifying law enforcement and, if necessary,  the Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General (OIG) within one hour.
  • Refer reports to other state agencies when DFPS is not the appropriate investigating agency
  • Notify OIG(Office of Inspector General) and local law enforcement if APS has cause to believe a crime may have been committed
  • Report findings to the facility or provider
  • Make referrals to the Employee Misconduct Registry of certain confirmed perpetrators
  • Confidentiality of case records

Other Programmatic Information:

Factors Contributing to Abuse, Neglect, and
Exploitation:
  • Physical Conditions/Quality of Care
  • Lack of facility/ provider training, policy or procedures
  • Staff burnout
  • Staff shortages that lead to staff stress
  • Inadequate case manager planning for behavioral concerns
    or plans of care
  • Physical and mental stress of familial care giving in foster
    care settings
Challenges:
  • Meeting Department of Justice requirements including
    commencement of investigations, prior case history
    searches, and 10 day investigation timeframes in State
    Supported Living Centers and Rio Grande State Center
  • Requests by Law Enforcement or OIG that APS stop its
    investigation until they have finished
  • Staff shortages in facilities affecting access to staff for
    interviews
  • Lack of training and policy in place for community
    providers
  • Inability to find private space to conduct interviews
  • Increase in number of intakes with fewer investigators to
    conduct investigations

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Completed Investigations in Facility Settings By Source of Report
Fiscal Year 2011

Sources Number Percent
Institutional Personnel 3,275 29.4%
Victim 2,602 23.4%
Medical Personnel 1176 10.6%
Community Agency 923 8.3%
Other 744 6.7%
Anonymous 719 6.5%
Provider 318 2.9%
DFPS Staff 267 2.4%
Parent 260 2.3%
Relative 202 1.8%
State Agency 159 1.4%
School 122 1.1%
Friend-Neighbor 104 0.9%
Unrelated Home Member 92 0.8%
Law Enforcement 81 0.7%
Legal/Court 45 0.4%
Day Care Provider 17 0.2%
Blank/Unknown 14 0.1%
24 Hour Care Provider 9 0.1%
Religious Entity 1 0.0%
Parent's Paramour 1 0.0%
State Total 11131 100.0%

Note: A report of abuse/neglect may come from multiple sources.

Average Length of Completed Facility Investigations by Region
Fiscal Year 2011

Region Investigations Average Days
1 Lubbock 463 12.2
2 Abilene 1,362 8.3
3 Arlington 1,236 9.9
4 Tyler 646 10.6
5 Beaumont 420 10.5
6 Houston 867 14.5
7 Austin 2,468 10.8
8 San Antonio 1,062 17.0
9 Midland 1,270 8.7
10 El Paso 242 9.0
11 Edinburg 945 9.9
Grand Total 10,981 10.9

*Unknown not included in calculation of state average.

Number of Facility Investigations Referred to Law Enforcement by Setting
Fiscal Year 2011

Setting Law Enforcement Provided Notification of Investigation* Law Enforcement Provided Investigation Report**
State Supported Living Centers 2643 1750
HCS 1092 421
State Hospitals 1035 376
Private ICFs/MR 423 202
Community Facility Centers 175 60
State Centers 96 34
Other 27 2
Total 5,491 2,845

* Notification sent on investigations which involve a child or serious physical injury, sexual abuse, or death of an adult person served.
** This data includes all cases in which a final investigation report was sent regardless of investigation disposition.

Types of Confirmed Allegations in Facility Settings
Fiscal Year 2011

Types of Confirmed Allegations Number Percent
Neglect  1,279 56.9%
Physical Abuse 521 23.2%
Emotional Abuse 360 16.0%
Exploitation 69 3.1%
Sexual Abuse 20 0.9%

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Characteristics of Victims in Confirmed Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2011

Characteristic: Race/Ethnicity

Characteristic:
Race/Ethnicity		 Female Percent of Total Male Percent of Total Unknown Percent of Total Subtotal Percent of Total
Anglo 343 20.0% 591 34.4% 5 0.3% 939 54.7%
African American 119 6.9% 194 11.3% 0 0.0% 313 18.2%
Hispanic 136 7.9% 243 14.2% 0 0.0% 379 22.1%
Native American 2 0.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 2 0.1%
Asian 2 0.1% 6 0.3% 0 0.0% 8 0.5%
Other 26 1.5% 47 2.7% 3 0.2% 76 4.4%
Total Victims 628 36.6% 1,081 63.0% 8 0.5% 1,717 100%

Characteristics of Perpetrators in Confirmed Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2011

Perpetrator Characteristic: Race/Ethnicity

Race/Ethnicity Female Percent of Total Male Percent of Total Unknown Percent of Total Subtotal Percent of Total
Anglo 208 12.8% 156 9.6% 5 0.3% 369 22.6%
African American 430 26.4% 226 13.9% 9 0.6% 665 40.8%
Hispanic 175 10.7% 113 6.9% 5 0.3% 293 18.0%
Native American 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 1 0.1% 3 0.2%
Asian 5 0.3% 1 0.1% 0 0.0% 6 0.4%
Other 78 4.8% 40 2.5% 177 10.9% 295 18.1%

Note: A completed investigation may have more than one victim.

Perpetrator Characteristic: Age

Age Female Percent of Total Male Percent of Total Unknown Percent of Total Subtotal Percent of Total
Under 18 1 0.1% 0 0.0% 7 0.4% 8 0.5%
18-25 218 13.4% 200 12.3% 23 1.4% 441 27.0%
26-35 248 15.2% 142 8.7% 41 2.5% 431 26.4%
36-45 170 10.4% 79 4.8% 44 2.7% 293 18.0%
Over 45 252 15.5% 113 6.9% 29 1.8% 394 24.2%
Unknown 8 0.5% 3 0.2% 53 3.2% 64 3.9%
Total 897 55.0% 537 32.9% 197 12.1% 1,631 100%

Note: Each victim may have more than one perpetrator. Each perpetrator may have more than one victim.

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Completed Facility Investigations by Fiscal Year

Fiscal Year Completed Investigations
2007 8,088
2008 8,870
2009 9,730
2010 9,922
2011 10,981

Completed Facility Investigations by Setting
Fiscal Year 2011

Fiscal Year Completed Investigations
State Supported Living Centers 4,318
HCS 2,685
State Hospitals 2,079
Private ICFs/MR 1,104
Community MH&MR Centers 551
State Centers 244
Total 10,981

Disposition of Completed Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2011

Setting of Facility Investigations

Setting Confirmed (%)Confirmed Unconfirmed (%)Unconfirmed Inconclusive (%)Inconclusive
Community MH&MR Center 85 0.8% 221 2.0% 73 0.7%
HCS 450 4.1% 1,156 10.5% 349 3.2%
Private ICFs/MR 165 1.5% 427 3.9% 133 1.2%
State Center 17 0.2% 151 1.4% 41 0.4%
State Hospital 103 0.9% 1,040 9.5% 120 1.1%
SSLC 535 4.9% 2,013 18.3% 210 1.9%
State Total 1,355 12.3% 5,008 45.6% 926 8.4%

Setting of Facility Investigations

Setting Unfounded (%)Unfounded Other (%)Other Blank (%)Blank Total (%)Total
Community MH&MR Center 5 0.0% 93 0.8% 74 0.7% 551 5.0%
HCS 21 0.2% 459 4.2% 250 2.3% 2,685 24.5%
Private ICF/MR 11 0.1% 186 1.7% 182 1.7% 1,104 10.1%
State Center 10 0.1% 8 0.1% 17 0.2% 244 2.2%
State Hospital 54 0.5% 353 3.2% 409 3.7% 2,079 18.9%
SSLC 513 4.7% 619 5.6% 428 3.9% 4,318 39.3%
State Total 614 5.6% 1,718 15.6% 1,360 12.4% 10,981 100%

Region of Facility Investigations

Region Confirmed (%)Confirmed Unconfirmed (%)Unconfirmed Inconclusive (%)Inconclusive
1 Lubbock 112 1.0% 192 1.7% 54 0.5%
2 Abilene 203 1.8% 699 6.4% 67 0.6%
3 Arlington 176 1.6% 513 4.7% 99 0.9%
4 Tyler 63 0.6% 268 2.4% 29 0.3%
5 Beaumont 77 0.7% 191 1.7% 68 0.6%
6 Houston 124 1.1% 427 3.9% 132 1.2%
7 Austin 234 2.1% 930 8.5% 130 1.2%
8 San Antonio 129 1.2% 475 4.3% 130 1.2%
9 Midland 88 0.8% 623 5.7% 85 0.8%
10 El Paso 39 0.4% 106 1.0% 12 0.1%
11 Edinburg 110 1.0% 583 5.3% 120 1.1%
Other 0 0.0% 1 0.0% 0 0.0%
State Total 1,355 12.3% 5,008 45.6% 926 8.4%

Region of Facility Investigations

Region Unfounded (%)Unfounded Other (%)Other Blank (%)Blank Subtotal (%)Subtotal
1 Lubbock 15 0.1% 64 0.6% 24 0.2% 461 4.2%
2 Abilene 39 0.4% 135 1.2% 225 2.0% 1,368 12.5%
3 Arlington 30 0.3% 118 1.1% 300 2.7% 1,236 11.3%
4 Tyler 1 0.0% 7 0.1% 262 2.4% 630 5.7%
5 Beaumont 15 0.1% 33 0.3% 36 0.3% 420 3.8%
6 Houston 2 0.0% 53 0.5% 129 1.2% 867 7.9%
7 Austin 391 3.6% 527 4.8% 255 2.3% 2,467 22.5%
8 San Antonio 12 0.1% 263 2.4% 40 0.4% 1049 9.6%
9 Midland 50 0.5% 410 3.7% 18 0.2% 1,274 11.6%
10 El Paso 3 0.0% 81 0.7% 1 0.0% 242 2.2%
11 Edinburg 56 0.5% 21 0.2% 66 0.6% 956 8.7%
Other 0 0.0% 6 0.1% 4 0.0% 11 0.1%
State Total 614 5.6% 1,718 15.6% 1,360 12.4% 10,981 100%

Note: "Other" and "Blank" include cases referred back to the facility or closed at intake because they do not meet the definitions of abuse and neglect and therefore are not investigated.

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