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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
126.7
Supervisors
22.4
Other Staff
25.5
Total Staff
174.6

Worker Demographics

Turnover Rate n/a
20.7%
AgencyTenure Less than 1 Year
16.7%
  1-3 Years
28.6%
  Greater than 3 Years
54.8%
Entry Salary* n/a
$31,144
Average Age n/a
40.2
Race/Ethnicity Anglo
50.0%
  Hispanic
24.6%
  African American
23.8%
  Other
1.6%

Supervisor Demographics

Turnover Rate n/a
12.9%
Tenure as Supervisor Less than 1 Year
9.1%
  1-3 Years
36.4%
  Greater than 3 Years
54.5%
Entry Salary* n/a
$42,244
Average Age n/a
45.6
Race/Ethnicity Anglo
81.8%
  Hispanic
13.6%
  African American
4.5%
  Other
0.0%

APS Facility Expenditures*

APS Facility Staff
$9,997,892

*Source: DFPS Office of Finance and FY 2016 Operating Budget (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 2015

  • Completed APS Facility Investigations: 11,935
  • Confirmed APS Facility Investigations: 1,192

Most Common...

  • Person reporting abuse/neglect/exploitation: Institutional Personnel (27.1%)
  • Allegation confirmed: Neglect (61.1%)
  • Facility setting investigated: HCS (32.2%)
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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 APS Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2015

Source Count Percent
Institutional Personnel
3,256
27.1%
Victim
2,807
23.4%
Medical Personnel
1,435
11.9%
Community Agency
1053
8.8%
Other
716
6.0%
Anonymous
616
5.1%
Provider
376
3.1%
Parent
310
2.6%
DFPS Staff
308
2.6%
State Agency
231
1.9%
Relative
217
1.8%
Law Enforcement
166
1.4%
School
142
1.2%
Legal/Court
123
1.0%
Unrelated Home Member
120
1.0%
Friend-Neighbor
90
0.7%
Day Care Provider
20
0.2%
Blank/Unknown
15
0.1%
24 Hour Care Provider
14
0.1%
Religious Entity
2
0.0%
Parent's Paramour
1
0.0%
Statewide
12,018
100.0%

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

Average Length of Completed Facility Investigations by Region
Fiscal Year 2015

Region Investigations Average Days Open
1 Lubbock
659
10.8
2 Abilene
1,120
10.0
3 Arlington
1,860
9.2
4 Tyler
733
8.7
5 Beaumont
447
12.6
6 Houston
840
18.8
7 Austin
2,200
16.9
8 San Antonio
1,229
18.2
9 Midland
1,494
10.5
10 El Paso
336
11.0
11 Edinburg
1,017
10.4
Statewide
11,935
12.9

 

APS Facility Investigations Referred to Law Enforcement by Setting
Fiscal Year 2015

Setting Law Enforcement Provided Notification of Investigation* Law Enforcement Provided Investigation Report**
State Supported Living Centers
2,196
1,889
HCS Homes
1,723
1,289
State Hospitals
1,321
1,093
Private ICF-IID
451
333
Community Centers
219
149
State Center
109
83
Other
17
2
Total
6,036
4,838

* 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 APS Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2015

Types of Confirmed Allegations Count Percent
Neglect 
1,148
61.1%
Physical Abuse
408
21.7%
Emotional Abuse
199
10.6%
Exploitation
107
5.7%
Sexual Abuse
18
1.0%
Statewide
1,880
100.0%

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Characteristics of Victims in Confirmed APS Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2015

Characteristic: Race/Ethnicity

Characteristic: Totals Percent of Total Male Percent of Total Female Percent of Total Unknown Percent of Total
Anglo
888
56.7%
565
36.1%
322
20.6%
1
0.1%
African American
328
20.9%
207
13.2%
121
7.7%
0
0.0%
Hispanic
266
17.0%
171
10.9%
94
6.0%
1
0.1%
Native American
73
4.7%
45
2.9%
21
1.3%
7
0.4%
Asian
7
0.4%
5
0.3%
2
0.1%
0
0.0%
Other
4
0.3%
3
0.2%
1
0.1%
0
0.0%
Total Victims
1,566
100.0%
996
63.6%
561
35.8%
9
0.6%

* 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. Percentages are of total victims.

Characteristics of Perpetrators in Confirmed APS Facility Investigations
Fiscal Year 2015

Perpetrator Characteristic: Race/Ethnicity

Race/Ethnicity Totals Percent of Total Total Females Percent of Total Total Males Percent of Total Total Unknown Gender Percent of Total
African American
587
49.7%
377
31.9%
204
17.3%
6
0.5%
Anglo
248
21.0%
164
13.9%
82
6.9%
2
0.2%
Hispanic
196
16.6%
114
9.7%
82
6.9%
0
0.0%
Other
146
12.4%
50
4.2%
26
2.2%
70
5.9%
Asian
4
0.3%
1
0.1%
3
0.3%
0
0.0%
Native American
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%

Perpetrator Characteristic: Age

 

Age Totals Percent of Total Total Females Percent of Total Total Males Percent of Total Total Unknown Gender Percent of Total
Under 18
5
0.4%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
5
0.4%
18-25
298
25.2%
161
13.6%
124
10.5%
13
1.1%
26-35
348
29.5%
205
17.4%
131
11.1%
12
1.0%
36-45
210
17.8%
134
11.3%
59
5.0%
17
1.4%
Over 45
297
25.1%
204
17.3%
82
6.9%
11
0.9%
Unknown
23
1.9%
2
0.2%
1
0.1%
20
1.7%
Total
1,181
706
59.8%
397
33.6%
78
6.6%

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 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Completed Investigations
10,981
10,803
10,818
11,387
11,935

Completed APS Facility Investigations by Setting
Fiscal Year 2015

Fiscal Year Completed Investigations
HCS
3,840
State Supported Living Centers
3,714
State Hospitals
2,548
Private ICF-IID
1,143
Community Centers
525
State Center
165
Total
11,935

Disposition of Completed APS Facility Investigations by Setting and Region
Fiscal Year 2015

Setting of APS Facility Investigations

Setting Total Percent of Total  Confirmed Percent of Total Confirmed Unconfirmed Percent of Total Unconfirmed
Community Centers
525
4.4%
52
0.4%
196
1.6%
HCS
3,840
32.2%
512
4.3%
1,497
12.5%
Private ICF-IID
1,143
9.6%
161
1.3%
368
3.1%
State Center
165
1.4%
8
0.1%
79
0.7%
State Hospitals
2,548
21.3%
134
1.1%
1,196
10.0%
SSLCs
3,714
31.1%
325
2.7%
1,694
14.2%
State Total
11,935
100%
1,192
10.0%
5,030
42.1%

Setting of APS Facility Investigations

Setting Inconclusive Percent of Total Inconclusive Unfounded Percent of Total Unfounded Other Percent of Total Other Blank Percent of Total Blank
Community Centers
66
0.6%
5
0.0%
126
1.1%
80
0.7%
HCS
474
4.0%
17
0.1%
1,034
8.7%
306
2.6%
Private ICF-IID
157
1.3%
3
0.0%
290
2.4%
164
1.4%
State Center
6
0.1%
23
0.2%
47
0.4%
2
0.0%
State Hospitals
152
1.3%
43
0.4%
694
5.8%
329
2.8%
SSLCs
171
1.4%
696
5.8%
603
5.1%
225
1.9%
State Total
1,026
8.6%
787
6.6%
2,794
23.4%
1,106
9.3%

Region of APS Facility Investigations

Region Total Percent of Total Confirmed Percent of Total Confirmed Unconfirmed Percent of Total Unconfirmed
1 Lubbock
659
5.5%
91
0.8%
217
1.8%
2 Abilene
1,120
9.4%
102
0.9%
535
4.5%
3 Arlington
1,860
15.6%
140
1.2%
640
5.4%
4 Tyler
733
6.1%
55
0.5%
324
2.7%
5 Beaumont
447
3.7%
103
0.9%
199
1.7%
6 Houston
840
7.0%
92
0.8%
401
3.4%
7 Austin
2,200
18.4%
264
2.2%
1,082
9.1%
8 San Antonio
1,229
10.3%
149
1.2%
473
4.0%
9 Midland
1,494
12.5%
91
0.8%
657
5.5%
10 El Paso
336
2.8%
40
0.3%
178
1.5%
11 Edinburg
1,017
8.5%
65
0.5%
324
2.7%
State Total
11,935
100%
1,192
10.0%
5,030
42.1%

Region of APS Facility Investigations

Region Inconclusive Percent of Total Inconclusive Unfounded Percent of Total Unfounded Other Percent of Total Other Blank Percent of Total Blank
1 Lubbock
62
0.5%
174
1.5%
109
0.9%
6
0.1%
2 Abilene
78
0.7%
29
0.2%
314
2.6%
62
0.5%
3 Arlington
178
1.5%
157
1.3%
333
2.8%
412
3.5%
4 Tyler
49
0.4%
2
0.0%
54
0.5%
249
2.1%
5 Beaumont
54
0.5%
22
0.2%
35
0.3%
34
0.3%
6 Houston
85
0.7%
10
0.1%
130
1.1%
122
1.0%
7 Austin
172
1.4%
116
1.0%
407
3.4%
159
1.3%
8 San Antonio
160
1.3%
6
0.1%
407
3.4%
34
0.3%
9 Midland
82
0.7%
88
0.7%
565
4.7%
11
0.1%
10 El Paso
34
0.3%
4
0.0%
78
0.7%
2
0.0%
11 Edinburg
72
0.6%
179
1.5%
362
3.0%
15
0.1%
State Total
1,026
8.6%
787
6.6%
2,794
23.4%
1,106
9.3%

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 financial exploitation and therefore are not investigated.

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