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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, intellectual disabilities, or developmental disabilities. Investigation results are sent to the facility or program administrator for appropriate action.
Total Average Filled Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff*
| Investigators | 128.9 |
|---|---|
| Supervisors | 22.7 |
| Other Staff | 24.3 |
| Total Staff | 175.9 |
Worker Demographics
Turnover Rate |
22.0% |
|
|---|---|---|
Agency Tenure |
Less than 1 Year | 17.5% |
| 1-3 Years | 23.0% |
|
| Greater than 3 Years | 59.5% |
|
Entry Salary* |
$30,532.92 |
|
Average Age |
42.0 |
|
Race/Ethnicity |
African American | 19.8% |
| Anglo | 56.3% |
|
| Hispanic | 23.0% |
|
| Other | 0.8% |
Supervisor Demographics
Turnover Rate |
13.0% |
|
|---|---|---|
Tenure as Supervisor |
Less than 1 Year | 26.1% |
| 1-3 Years | 21.7% |
|
| Greater than 3 Years | 52.2% |
|
Entry Salary* |
$41,416.08 |
|
Average Age |
43.1 |
|
Race/Ethnicity |
African American | 4.3% |
| Anglo | 82.6% |
|
| Hispanic | 13.0% |
|
| Other | 0.0% |
APS Facility Expenditures*
APS Facility Staff |
$9,837,712 |
|---|
*Source: DFPS Office of Finance and FY2016-17 LAR (plus benefit replacement pay)
Description of the Report Investigation Process
Report Assigned for Investigation
Step 1: Notifications
The following persons are notified within one hour of the receipt of the intake:
- Facility administrator
- Law enforcement if the allegation is believed to constitute a criminal offense.
- 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
- Collecti electronic statements and documentary evidence.
- Photograph of injuries
- Photograph/diagram scene of incident
- Gather 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 and OIG if previously notified them during the investigation of a potential criminal offense
Note: This chart is for reference only and does not necessarily represent the flow of a case.
Statistics FY 2014
- Completed APS Facility Investigations: 11,387
- Confirmed APS Facility Investigations: 1,259
Most Common...
- Person reporting abuse/neglect/exploitation: Institutional Personnel (27.3%)
- Allegation confirmed: Neglect (60.8%)
- Facility setting investigated: HCS (31.2%)
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Legal Responsibility for Adult Protective Services
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 intellectual and developmental disability facilities (State Hospitals, State Supported Living Centers, and Rio Grande State Center) and/or state contracted settings (Community Centers, Home and Community-based Services programs (HSC), Texas Home Living Waiver Program, and privately-operated Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF-IID))
- After an allegation is reported to the DFPS Abuse Hotline, APS initiates investigations by notifying the facility or provider agency within one hour
- APS notifies law enforcement and the Health and Human Services Commission Office of the Inspector General (OIG) within one hour, in certain settings
- Notify OIG (Office of Inspector General) and local law enforcement if APS has cause to believe a crime may have been committed
- Refer reports to other state agencies when DFPS is not the appropriate investigating agency
- 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
- Reviewing and documenting video surveillance
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Source of Report for Completed Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2014
| Source | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
Institutional Personnel (3,133) |
3,133 |
27.3% |
Victim (2,673) |
2,673 |
23.3% |
Medical Personnel (1,259) |
1,259 |
11.0% |
Community Agency (962) |
962 |
8.4% |
Other (813) |
813 |
7.1% |
Anonymous (640) |
640 |
5.6% |
DFPS Staff (385) |
385 |
3.4% |
Parent (313) |
313 |
2.7% |
Provider (297) |
297 |
2.6% |
State Agency (211) |
211 |
1.8% |
Relative (194) |
194 |
1.7% |
Unrelated Home Member (124) |
124 |
1.1% |
Law Enforcement (120) |
120 |
1.0% |
School (111) |
111 |
1.0% |
Friend-Neighbor (90) |
90 |
0.8% |
Legal/Court (88) |
88 |
0.8% |
Day Care Provider (19) |
19 |
0.2% |
Blank/Unknown (12) |
12 |
0.1% |
24 Hour Care Provider (9) |
9 |
0.1% |
Financial Institution (4) |
4 |
0.0% |
Religious Entity (3) |
3 |
0.0% |
Statewide 11,460 |
11,460 |
100.0% |
Note: A report of abuse/neglect/exploitation may come from multiple sources.
Average Length of Completed Facility Investigations by Region
Fiscal Year 2014
| Region | Investigations | Average Days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Lubbock | 441 |
14.0 |
| 2 Abilene | 1,231 |
9.4 |
| 3 Arlington | 1,453 |
12.3 |
| 4 Tyler | 731 |
9.2 |
| 5 Beaumont | 353 |
11.2 |
| 6 Houston | 911 |
24.3 |
| 7 Austin | 2,260 |
12.0 |
| 8 San Antonio | 1,434 |
15.8 |
| 9 Midland | 1,313 |
9.2 |
| 10 El Paso | 340 |
9.8 |
| 11 Edinburg | 920 |
11.3 |
| State | 11,387 |
12.6 |
Number of Facility Investigations Referred to Law Enforcement by Setting
Fiscal Year 2014
| Setting | Law Enforcement Provided Notification of Investigation* | Law Enforcement Provided Investigation Report** |
|---|---|---|
| State Supported Living Centers | 2,284 |
1,916 |
| State Hospitals | 1,649 |
1,075 |
| HCS Homes | 1,483 |
1,039 |
| Private ICF-IID | 439 |
277 |
| Community Centers | 244 |
142 |
| State Center | 137 |
104 |
| Other | 20 |
1 |
| Total | 6,256 |
4,554 |
* 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 2014
| Types of Confirmed Allegations | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Neglect | 1,240 |
60.8% |
| Physical Abuse | 430 |
21.1% |
| Emotional Abuse | 243 |
11.9% |
| Exploitation | 113 |
5.5% |
| Sexual Abuse | 12 |
0.6% |
| Total | 2,038 |
100.0% |
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Characteristics of Victims in Confirmed Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2014
Characteristic: Race/Ethnicity
| Race/Ethnicity | Female | Percent of Total | Male | Percent of Total | Unknown | Percent of Total | Subtotal | Percent of Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anglo |
329 |
19.4% |
627 |
37.1% |
0 |
0.0% |
956 |
56.5% |
African American |
84 |
4.9% |
218 |
12.9% |
0 |
0.0% |
302 |
17.8% |
Hispanic |
138 |
8.2% |
247 |
14.6% |
1 |
0.1% |
386 |
22.9% |
Native American |
1 |
0.1% |
2 |
0.1% |
0 |
0.0% |
3 |
0.2% |
Asian |
2 |
0.1% |
5 |
0.3% |
0 |
0.0% |
7 |
0.4% |
Other |
14 |
0.8% |
22 |
1.3% |
1 |
0.1% |
37 |
2.2% |
Total Victims |
568 |
33.5% |
1,121 |
66.3% |
2 |
0.2% |
1,691 |
100.0% |
* As recommended by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to ensure consistency across all HHSC agencies, in 2012, the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) adopted the HHSC methodology on how to categorize race and ethnicity. As a result, data broken down by race/ethnicity in 2012 and after is not directly comparable to race/ethnicity data in 2011 and before. Note: A completed investigation may have more than one victim.
Characteristics of Perpetrators in Confirmed Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2014
Perpetrator Characteristic: Race/Ethnicity
| Race/Ethnicity | Female | Percent of Total | Male | Percent of Total | Unknown | Percent of Total | Subtotal | Percent of Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anglo |
146 |
11.7% |
106 |
8.5% |
0 |
0.0% |
252 |
20.2% |
African American |
350 |
28.0% |
226 |
18.1% |
6 |
0.5% |
582 |
46.6% |
Hispanic |
152 |
12.1% |
97 |
7.7% |
3 |
0.2% |
252 |
20.0% |
Native American |
0 |
0.0% |
1 |
0.1% |
0 |
0.0% |
1 |
0.1% |
Asian |
6 |
0.5% |
1 |
0.1% |
0 |
0.0% |
7 |
0.6% |
Other |
56 |
4.5% |
24 |
1.9% |
76 |
6.1% |
156 |
12.5% |
Perpetrator Characteristic: Age
| Age | Female | Percent of Total | Male | Percent of Total | Unknown | Percent of Total | Subtotal | Percent of Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Under 18 |
0 |
0.0% |
0 |
0.0% |
0 |
0.0% |
0 |
0.0% |
18-25 |
171 |
13.7% |
151 |
12.1% |
5 |
0.4% |
327 |
26.2% |
26-35 |
193 |
15.4% |
131 |
10.5% |
27 |
2.2% |
351 |
28.1% |
36-45 |
137 |
11.0% |
67 |
5.3% |
18 |
1.4% |
222 |
17.7% |
Over 45 |
208 |
16.6% |
106 |
8.5% |
7 |
0.6% |
321 |
25.7% |
Unknown |
1 |
0.1% |
0 |
0.0% |
28 |
2.2% |
29 |
2.3% |
Total Perpetrators |
710 |
56.8% |
455 |
36.4% |
85 |
6.8% |
1,250 |
0% |
* As recommended by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to ensure consistency across all HHSC agencies, in 2012, the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) adopted the HHSC methodology on how to categorize race and ethnicity. As a result, data broken down by race/ethnicity in 2012 and after is not directly comparable to race/ethnicity data in 2011 and before.
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 |
|---|---|
2010 |
9,922 |
2011 |
10,981 |
2012 |
10,803 |
2013 |
10,818 |
2014 |
11,387 |
Completed Facility Investigations by Setting
Fiscal Year 2014
| Fiscal Year | Completed Investigations |
|---|---|
HCS |
3,552 |
State Supported Living Centers |
3,342 |
State Hospitals |
2,710 |
Private ICF-IID |
1,011 |
Community Centers |
573 |
State Center |
199 |
Total |
11,387 |
Disposition of Completed Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2014
Setting of Facility Investigations
| Setting | Confirmed | (%)Confirmed | Unconfirmed | (%)Unconfirmed | Inconclusive | (%)Inconclusive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Community Centers |
67 |
0.6% |
225 |
2.0% |
83 |
0.7% |
HCS |
516 |
4.5% |
1,646 |
14.5% |
467 |
4.1% |
Private ICF-IID |
133 |
1.2% |
411 |
3.6% |
122 |
1.1% |
State Center |
7 |
0.1% |
140 |
1.2% |
8 |
0.1% |
State Hospitals |
158 |
1.4% |
1,368 |
12.0% |
171 |
1.5% |
SSLCs |
378 |
3.3% |
1,819 |
16.0% |
210 |
1.8% |
State Total |
1,259 |
11.1% |
5,609 |
49.3% |
1,061 |
9.3% |
Setting of Facility Investigations
| Setting | Unfounded | (%)Unfounded | Other | (%)Other | Blank | (%)Blank | Total | (%)Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Community Centers |
0 |
0.0% |
137 |
1.2% |
61 |
0.5% |
573 |
5.0% |
HCS |
20 |
0.2% |
653 |
5.7% |
250 |
2.2% |
3,552 |
31.2% |
Private ICF-IID |
3 |
0.0% |
223 |
2.0% |
119 |
1.0% |
1,011 |
8.9% |
State Center |
8 |
0.1% |
35 |
0.3% |
1 |
0.0% |
199 |
1.8% |
State Hospitals |
80 |
0.7% |
604 |
5.3% |
329 |
2.9% |
2,710 |
23.8% |
SSLCs |
327 |
2.8% |
454 |
4.0% |
154 |
1.4% |
3,342 |
29.3% |
State Total |
438 |
3.8% |
2,106 |
18.5% |
914 |
8.0% |
11,387 |
100% |
Region of Facility Investigations
| Region | Confirmed | (%)Confirmed | Unconfirmed | (%)Unconfirmed | Inconclusive | (%)Inconclusive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Lubbock | 90 |
0.8% |
190 |
1.7% |
63 |
0.5% |
| 2 Abilene | 122 |
1.1% |
594 |
5.2% |
95 |
0.8% |
| 3 Arlington | 151 |
1.3% |
633 |
5.6% |
149 |
1.3% |
| 4 Tyler | 59 |
0.5% |
349 |
3.1% |
44 |
0.4% |
| 5 Beaumont | 76 |
0.7% |
182 |
1.6% |
36 |
0.3% |
| 6 Houston | 109 |
1.0% |
481 |
4.2% |
100 |
0.9% |
| 7 Austin | 275 |
2.4% |
1199 |
10.5% |
167 |
1.5% |
| 8 San Antonio | 133 |
1.2% |
659 |
5.8% |
224 |
2.0% |
| 9 Midland | 121 |
1.0% |
738 |
6.5% |
74 |
0.6% |
| 10 El Paso | 45 |
0.4% |
166 |
1.4% |
54 |
0.5% |
| 11 Edinburg | 78 |
0.7% |
418 |
3.7% |
55 |
0.5% |
| State Total | 1,259 |
11.1% |
5,609 |
49.3% |
1061 |
9.3% |
Region of Facility Investigations
| Region | Unfounded | (%)Unfounded | Other | (%)Other | Blank | (%)Blank | Total | (%)Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Lubbock | 10 |
0.1% |
84 |
0.7% |
4 |
0.0% |
441 |
3.8% |
| 2 Abilene | 51 |
0.5% |
295 |
2.6% |
74 |
0.7% |
1,231 |
10.9% |
| 3 Arlington | 27 |
0.2% |
167 |
1.5% |
326 |
2.9% |
1,453 |
12.8% |
| 4 Tyler | 2 |
0.0% |
24 |
0.2% |
253 |
2.2% |
731 |
6.4% |
| 5 Beaumont | 7 |
0.1% |
19 |
0.2% |
33 |
0.3% |
353 |
3.2% |
| 6 Houston | 15 |
0.1% |
91 |
0.8% |
115 |
1.0% |
911 |
8.0% |
| 7 Austin | 183 |
1.6% |
371 |
3.3% |
65 |
0.6% |
2,260 |
19.9% |
| 8 San Antonio | 3 |
0.0% |
390 |
3.4% |
25 |
0.2% |
1434 |
12.6% |
| 9 Midland | 19 |
0.2% |
358 |
3.1% |
3 |
0.0% |
1,313 |
11.4% |
| 10 El Paso | 5 |
0.0% |
66 |
0.6% |
4 |
0.0% |
340 |
2.9% |
| 11 Edinburg | 116 |
1.0% |
241 |
2.1% |
12 |
0.1% |
920 |
8.1% |
| State Total | 438 |
3.8% |
2,106 |
18.5% |
914 |
8.0% |
11,387 |
100% |
Note: "Other" and "Blank" include cases referred back to the provider or closed at intake because they do not meet the definitions of abuse, neglect or exploitation and therefore are not investigated.