The council started formal death investigations about three years ago, though the group is more than 20 years old. In the past, advocates at times looked into deaths, but the group didn't track inquiries and records are scattered. Disability advocates, legislators and some members of the group's own governing board have questioned the council's commitment to families. In other states, advocates not only investigate deaths but use their attorneys to represent patients' families in wrongful-death cases. In 1998, the Texas agency took on a case of a man who died in a state facility, allegedly because of an assault.
Advocacy is hard work.
The program represents people with mental disabilities. You have to interview witnesses. You have to have the will to do it, and you have to be willing to take the consequences when you do. Even when the group does pursue an investigation, families complain the process is unnecessarily slow. Robert Collins battled depression and alcoholism.