Austin State School - Farm Colony (better known as the Travis State School) was a living center that was operated as a farm colony, work facility, and educational facility for the mentally retarded citizens of Texas operating from 1933 to 1996 for which in part was totally operated by Texas Mental Health Mental Retardation (TX MHMR & Texas Board of Control) via Texas Government. The institution taught the mentally retarded how to be self-sufficient. Travis State School itself was located at FM 969 and Decker Lane 8 miles east of Downtown Austin located near the Colorado River.
A Texas State Legislature meeting was held for a decision on what to rename the Austin State School. It was due to reforms in healthcare along with mental health that the name of this institution was changed. To reflect this change, Austin State School - Farm Colony was renamed to Travis State School in January 1961. The farming operations did not cease due to mental health care reforms in the 1960's due to popular belief as many believed.
Farming operations at the facility slowly ceased in January 1961 due to the fact that the farm colony was a total failure. The farm colony could not produce enough to maintain for the patients at the institutions. Farming operations ceased due to lack of attention and criminal negligence. Despite that, the farming colony operated until 1974.
The reasons why Austin State School - Farm Colony ceased operations was due to revisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1974 and the oil recession of the 1970s that greatly effected the United States economy.
Texas Government discovered the free labor residents and inmates provided was considered somewhat exploitive especially for the high functioning residents. High functioning residents were assigned to take care of low functioning residents. The State of Texas could not afford to pay residents and inmates as workers. So residents and inmates worked for free This in turn was a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1974.
The courts ruled in 1974 residents and inmates in these institutions run by the State of Texas (federal, state-run, or otherwise) were entitled to protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This was a tragedy for some of the residents and inmates residing in these institutions. They had no sense of purpose and had idle time sitting on the ward. Despite that, state run programs were still readily available.
I just came across a 1940 Census record that has been truly confusing.... and worrying. There was a similarly named "mental institution" called Austin State Hospital that came under the control of Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools in 1949, but I don't think that was the same thing. It was heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteBut this Census had "Austin State School", at the top of the page, and every person listed there was called an " Inmate" (apparently inmate technically means people living in their own room, but with a shared outer door). The lady I was looking for was only 8 years old, and there were men and women on the same page. The oldest was 50, there were several children and people in their 20s.
Sorry for the doing my thinking while commenting, I think these were separate places. But neither was ideal. There is one thing that is encouraging - people are no longer warehoused or forced to sit around doing absolutely nothing. Thank you so much, this was very helpful.
Austin State Hospital is not the same as Austin State School - Farm Colony. Those are two separate institutions. The inmates at Austin State School - Farm Colony were not forced to sit around doing absolutely nothing as inmates at Austin State Hospital "had been". Inmates at Austin State School - Farm Colony did farm work as the title indicates. I was glad to have helped, Amy Lynn.
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