Reply #8: It's about time something is done about this. Below is a story from 2009

[Lone_Star_Dem]

This is a long and detailed article regarding a disgusting situation which has been known about and disregarded since at least 1979. Sadly, the man responsible died in 2008 after having spent a lifetime reaping the benefits of abusing and exploiting mentally disabled men it two states.

And though Texas and federal officials have said they had little or no prior knowledge of the operation, the array of plaques on Johnson’s wall and the recollections and records of those in Goldthwaite reveal a long history of government awareness and oversight.

It was a decades-old arrangement born out of the state of Texas’ desire for farms to take older, mentally challenged wards off their hands. It was one of the earliest attempts to place such men with employers, explained Robert Womack, a Goldthwaite welder who once worked at Hill Country Farms and helped convert the Atalissa school building into a dormitory for the men.

<snip>

Although state officials insist no records of this arrangement exist, Jane Ann Johnson’s office wall and her own records tell a different story.

On the wall is a framed commendation from then-Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes. A 1987 certificate from an old Texas social services agency hangs nearby. A plaque from an organization known in 1968 as the National Association for Retarded Children also thanks Johnson for his efforts.

More: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6274702.html