AL ZOLLI

update....4/14/2025

Below is why two

residents of the

Brenham SSLC

were arrested and

are in the

Washington County jail

on October 28, 2024.

Last week Texas HHS

bailed out one of them

but refuse to bail out the

other resident who is charged

with assaulting the police officer.

Why? He lives at the

Brenham SSLC

because he suffers from

mental illness and autism.

To be there an individual

must have an IQ of 70

or less.

Why is he still in jail?

Because of his

mental condition

HHS is supose to be

treating him.

He cannot

be responsible

for his actions.

I am told he is in

solitary confinement to

protect him from the other

inmates who are threatening

him because he is

acting out of control.

If he was your child is

this how you expect

Texas HHS to

treat him?

The officer was injured as he

stopped him from banging

his head against a wall.

Thank You to the Officer

for protecting him.

This is a complete failure

by HHS to provide the

treatment he needs.

Because HHS failed

the result is he escapes

from the Brenham campus

and the police must save him.

This could have been worse

if he attacked a shopper

at the Walmart store.

We need a full investigation

of the Brenham SSLC

before someone is

horribly injured.

Below is the type of fence

around the Brenham campus.

Residents are constantly escaping

from the campus as they

just walk through the fence.

FOR REPORT

CLICK HERE

These are residents of the

Brenham State Supported

Living Center.

They have been in the

Washington County jail

since October 28, 2024.

They live at the

Brenham SSLC

for treatment of

their mental illness.

Why are we keeping

them in jail?

Does HHS believe

being in jail a

treatment for

mental illness?

They are mixed

with gang members

and convicted criminals

where they can

be attacked.

It is neglect and abuse.

We failed these kids.

Treating mental health

like this condemns

them to a life in prison.

Is that acceptable?

The state is planning to

transfer convicted

criminals from the

overpopulated

Giddings State Prison

to the

Brenham SSLC

to evaluate their

mental comprehension.

We are suppose to evaluate

their mental comprehension

before we convict them

not after we convict them.

Brenham has no security

or ability to stop them

from escaping the campus.

We cannot improve the Brenham SSLC

until we improve the enviroment

for the residents and the staff.

There is no trust between

the staff and management.

Four different Directors in six years

while the same bureaucracy remains

just might point to the problem?

Since June 2009, 16 years ago,

our State Supported Living Centers

have been under the oversight

of the Federal Department of Justice.

Every SSLC is visited by a group of

DOJ investigators twice every year.

The DOJ notifies our Texas SSLC's

weeks in advance when they will

visit and what they will investigate.

16 years and no improvement?

Why do we still need the

Federal Government

to monitor our

Texas State Supported

Living Centers?

After 16 years we are still failing.

That is embarrassing,

why do we accept this failure?

How much are we paying the

leaders at HHS and we still fail?

4 directors in 6 years

and no improvement.

Click below for an example

of the fraud used by HHS

to fire staff who speak-up

about the abuse and neglect

at the Brenham SSLC.

Read the reviews of our

Texas SSLC's about

the abuse, neglect, and fraud.

Image:

Four different Directors in 6 years.

A new Director every 18 months, why?

In 2024 HHS had a 26.5% turnover rate for DSP’s.

Burning hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime, in

recruitment and training costs, plus hundreds of thousands in

unemployment, litigation, and settlement costs every year.

DSP’s work directly with residents for 8, 16, and 20 hour shifts.

DSP’s are constantly blamed for problems and fired.

HHS hangs them to cover HHS’s failures at the SSLC’s

In 2024 the SSLC's had 810 investigations,

627 were for physical abuse and 138 for neglect.

Brenham is receiving residents with

violent behaviors who escape campus.

It is not built to be a prison,

there is no security at Brenham.

4 different Directors in 6 years is not the solution.

It is the same bureaucracy at Brenham for 6 years

and the same bureaucracy in Austin the problem.

They have no accountability, why?

They just fire staff and announce

“ problem solved “.

The Residents and Staff at Brenham need our help.

The same tall fence topped with razor wire at the Gidding jail

is needed at Brenham to stop residents from escaping

into the stores in Brenham and assaulting individuals.

It puts the responsibility on law enforcement.

Do we fix it or ignore it until

something horrible happens?

How much is this failure at our

Texas SSLC's costing us?

click below on the link

I was told because of the

increased violence at Brenham

staff is asked not to contact

the police to report it

while they are on campus,

they must be off campus.

I think something got lost in

communicating this to staff.

IF true then if a resident or

a staff member is injured

staff cannot call for an ambulance

unless they drive off the campus

to call for an ambulance?

If you call 911 you get both

Ambulance and Police.

Intimidation is a powerful tool

used at Brenham to silence staff.

They cannot protect themselves without

the risk of being fired or arrested.

The Director at Brenham

has been fired for not

enforcing the

" chain of command ".

In a bureaucracy it stops

information from moving up the

chain to protect the upper chain.

Residents can escape Brenham

but not information of the escape.

HHS leaders in Austin are angry

about the leaking information

I was told on 3/04 the Director had

" her ass chewed out "

by Austin because information is getting out.

Three days later, on 3/07, the Director

was replaced by a new director

The 4th new Director in 6 Years.

Problem solved??.....NO

On Monday 3/10 at 607pm I received a call,

two HHS Regulatory Investigators on the phone.

For 1 hour and 6 minutes they asked

questions about Brenham and

for the names of staff who are

contacting me with information.

I do not provide staff names.

Intimidation keeps staff silent.

In less then two years, November 3, 2026

there will be important elections in Texas.

Candidates for different elected offices

will be soliciting for your vote.

If they are seeking reelection ask:

What have they done to protect the vulnerable residents

and staff at our Texas State Supported Living Centers?

This is not political, it is about caring.

We have enough legislation to stop

the neglect, abuse, and fraud.

We need to stop it.

Now is the time for any candidate

to step up and prove that they

are worthy of your vote.

Do our elected officials in Texas want

to stop the neglect, abuse, and fraud

at Brenham or continue to ignore it?

Mental health is real, it is complicated,

and one solution does not fit it all.

So our State Senators

just passed AB3 to ban

THC products in Texas

while they continue to

give HHS the money to

drug the heck out of kids at

the Brenham SSLC

Kind of Crazy Logic,

that is politics.

Comments from Brenham staff.

If you also private message or

or email me AL@ALZOLLI.COM

I will not post your name.

Image:

There is abuse and neglect at

the Brenham SSLC.

I am doing this

For the residents I spent

four years with at Brenham

For the parents who need

our help with their child.

For the staff who are forced

to work 16 - 20 hours shifts not

knowing when they can go home.

We need our

State Supported Living Centers.

On 10/01/2018 at the age of 60

I started working at Brenham

It was the most rewarding

experience I ever had in my life.

It was a privilege being there,

I learned about mental health.

On April 19, 2023 they fired me.

I did not blend in very well.

They did not like me speaking

up for residents and staff.

The behavior staff does not

spend the time with residents

who they are suppose to help.

To study their body language,

study their facial expressions,

spend time to understand them.

They write behavior plans for

residents they do not know.

Every month we pay the

head psychiatrist at Brenham

$20,000 plus we pay

tens of thousands for

the behavior staff.

The result is residents

attacking each other

attacking staff,

destroying property.

Residents escape campus into

Brenham committing crimes.

There are three residents

in the Brenham jail.

The residents are fed drugs

multiple times per day

instead of therapy sessions

with a behavioral staff member.

There are great dedicated

behavioral members but they

are not given time with residents.

The system is broken.

On February 27, 2023 I met with

Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst

and two staff members from

the Texas Senate Health

and Human Services Committee.

Lois is the Chairperson.

After reviewing my information

they requested I contact the

Texas Office of Inspector General.

Senator Kolkhorst was very helpful,

but one Texas State Senator is not

enough against an entrenched bureaucracy.

Staff at Brenham tell me

conditions continue to deteriorate.

Nothing has improved.

The residents need our help.

Mental Health should be a priority.

Mental illness is a growing problem.

For over four years I worked with

the same residents on Cottage F.

Cottage F was created to prepare

selected residents to move into

a community home, but none did.

Four years with the same residents

gives you a unique perspetive on

their progress or decline.

When Cottage F opened residents

had weekly visits with behavior staff.

After one year the sessions ended.

Their mental health declined,

behaviors started, and nobody

moved to a community home.

We are failing at Brenham.

If your family member

was a resident would you

want them drugged or helped?

On 11/14/2023 I sent the below email to Commissioner Cecile Young, Scott Schalchlin, and other top level employees at the Texas Health and Humans Services about the conditions at the Brenham.

I offered to go to Austin to provide evidence, but they did not want any.

When an investigation is being conducted there is a legal obligation to view any evidence that is offered so they can determine if it is or is not pertinent to the investigation. How do you refuse information and make an impartial decision? Because your conclusion is already written?

Is refusing information of abuse and neglect “ hampering “ the investigation?

Is that suppression of evidence? Is that acceptable?

Is refusing to view evidence of abuse and neglect at the Brenham a denial of the residents Constitutional Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

The residents at Brenham cannot speak for themselves. They are institutionalized, a violation of the settlement between Texas and The DOJ.

When an incident occurs they fire a staff member, and declare problem solved.

The facility cannot be found at fault, it results in investigations, a review of procedures, meetings, and writing new procedures that have to be reviewed and approved by legal. Then the training classes for staff on the new procedures, but nothing really changes.

It is much easier to fire a staff member, most just go away.

The hearing for a fired staff member is before a Judge and the State Prosecutor, both work for HHS. Do you really believe the Judge is unbiased? You think the Judge and Prosecutor are rated on wins and losses for continued employment at HHS?

Here is a real kick…

When the Judge at the hearing where I represented a staff member realized the state video recorded the supervisor looking into the room twice watching the staff member working alone when policy requires two staff members she ended the hearing. The supervisor lied multipule during the investigation claiming she did not know the staff member was working alone. The Judge refused to let me question the supervisor, found the staff member guilty, fired him, and put him on the EMR list. I appealed the Judges decision based on the fact that she denied us the right to question the supervisor who was the direct accuser of the staff member, the Judge refused to allow it.

To appeal the Judges decision you must file a Judicial Review in Travis County.

It is a legal maneuver to protect the Judge, it reduces the volume of reviews because it would be bad for a Judge if they had a high amount of their decisions reversed.

It is our right to face and question your accuser, except at Brenham.

The 13 State Supported Living Centers are located in Abilene, Austin, Brenham, Corpus Christi, Denton, El Paso, Lubbock, Lufkin, Mexia, Richmond, Rio Grande, San Angelo, and San Antonio. How many fired employees can afford to file a Judicial review in Austin?

When you spend over four years with the same residents you become their family, you are their only connection to the outside world. Residents live in a confined environment you would never live in.

If we continue to provide inadequate mental health service in Texas it forces the problem out into our communites and then we expect law enforcement to deal with it.

Residents constantly escape the campus into the local stores, below the emails are the three recent escapees who were arrested and are sitting in the Brenham jail.

CLICK BELOW FOR THE 11/14/2023 EMAIL

CLICK HERE FOR 11-14-2023 EMAIL

In the above email I mentioned resident ZM.

He recently attacked a staff member

in the bathroom, staff had to put ZM

in a physical restraint with ZM laying

face down on the floor with a bloody face.

Staff was cleared, the correct decision.

I mention this because in 4 years of working

with ZM he never attacked a staff member.

ZM behaviors had a specific cycle,

He walks around the home talking to himself

repeating the same thing over and over again.

If he was not getting any attention he would

then raise his voice and yell at another resident

in an attempt to pull that resident into an argument.

ZM would run out of the home if the resident

started to approach him and walk around outside.

ZM's behavior cycle ended when he started crying

and apologizing to the resident and staff.

Then he would ask the resident and staff

multiple multiple times if we were mad at him.

Staff knew ZM better then his behavior expert.

ZM never ever attacked a resident or staff.

I asked an administration member why is ZM

being aggressive and attacking staff

They told me:

" they are screwing around with his medication "

The result of years without any counseling

just increase his medication and drug him.

Is that what you expect from HHS?

ZM is 27 or 28 years old

by denying him the treatment he needs

we are dooming him to a life time

of confinement in a state facility.

Is that how we respect his life?

As our Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst

stated in the February 3, 2025 video posted

below...the residents have no voice.

We are their voice.

On 4/22/2024 I sent another email.

Two emails eliminates their ability to deny knowledge of the problems.

They do not ask for any proof,

bureaucracy ignores and denies.

CLICK HERE FOR 4-22-2024 EMAIL

Any new plan to operate the SSLC's must include respect for the staff. They need real honest representation when accused of a violation. Investigations of all allegations need to include a peer-to-peer review by a board of their fellow staff members.

Our Texas HHS needs to stop intimidating and slandering good people.

Three residents were arrested

on 11/27/2024 and 11/28/2024.

The first two escaped the campus,

stole items from Walmart, and

then broke into a business.

The first one is also charged with assaulting a police officer.

What could have happened if he

assaulted someone at Walmart?

The third resident assaulted a female staff member

and reported his crime to the police.

I worked with him for four years.

He attacks residents, staff, and destroys of property.

Residents live at Brenham because

they have a mental condition and

cannot understand their actions.

Why are they in jail waiting

for a court hearing?

How can they still be held in jail?

What about their weekly behavior session

with their Brenham behavior professional?

Their mental health therapy just ends?

Do you understand the implications

of that on a person with mental illness?

They process things much differently.

Four years of observing the same residents on

Cottage F was a great learning experience.

If they understand their actions

then they belong in a TDCJ facility.

They are a prime example of how the

behavior therapy at Brenham is not working.

These guys are from the Fannin unit.

Fannin has very good behavior staff members,

who are great dedicated individuals.

Obviously staff is not the problem.

On 2/27/2024 I meet with

Texas State Senator

Lois Kolkhorst

and two staff members from the

Texas Senate Committee on

Health and Human Services.

Lois is the Chairperson of the Committee.

When I told them the state was

transfering convicted minors from

the Giddings prison to Brenham

they told me I was wrong.

I gave them a copy of the material

from a training class I attended about

dealing with the minors from Giddings

Lois stated “ they lied to me “.

They thanked me for meeting with them,

stating they knew there were problems

at Brenham but staff will not talk.

They asked me to contact the

Texas Office of Inspector General to

open an investigation of Brenham.

There are dedicated staff members

at Brenham who will be fired if

they talk about the neglect and abuse.

The Ombudsman at Brenham is responsible

to protect the residents, she told me

if I speak up they will find

a reason to fire me.

Giddings is part of the

Texas Criminal Justice System

for minors convicted of a crime.

It has high fences topped with razor wire.

Brenham has a ranch style wooden fence

residents walk through to escape the campus.

We are creating a dangerous situation

by transferring prisoners from

Giddings to Brenham.

And then the police will be

expected to deal with it.

A member of the Brenham administration

told me they are transferring prisoners

from Giddings to Brenham.

The pictures below are from Giddings,

does it look like a Texas state school?

Look at the razor wire on top of those high fences

at the Giddings prison to stop prisoners from escaping .

Below is the type of fence that surrounds

the Brenham State Supported Living Center.

Which fence makes you feel secure?

When I helped a fired staff member at his appeal hearing

I learned their process is nothing more then a game.

When they fired me I was not going to play their game,

I filed for unemployment to appeal it through

the Texas Workforce Commission.

The TWC decided that I did not committ any work

related misconduct and approved my unemployment.

Brenham appealed the decision

but at their appeal hearing they refused

to provide any evidence to support their claim.

Even though they refused to provide any evidence

the TWC hearing officer reversed the original decision

and declared I was not eligible for unemployment.

My unit director at Brenham told me

that legal in Austin approved firing me.

I doubt legal was notified because

it is hard to believe legal would approve

not providing evidence at a TWC hearing.

The attorneys in Austin are that inept.

I appealed the decision, after waiting 5 months

for a response to my appeal I sent the three

TWC Commissioners an email.

They responded in two days and reversed

the decision granting me unemployment.

Brenham uses fraud to fire staff

and I proved it through the TWC.

If the Texas HHS was a private business

it would drown in civil litigation.

It is not easy to file against the State.

Most fired employees just go away.

But some do hire an attorney and

file a civil lawsuit against Brenham.

They win thousands of dollars

in damages and their job back.

We need an investigation into the fraud,

how much of our money does Brenham

waste to settle these lawsuits.

I have the audio recording of my TWC hearing.

Brenham refused to provide the video they

used to fire me claiming it proved nothing.

And they refused to provide the " witnesses "

for questioning under oath who they

used to support firing me.

They use fraud to fire employees,

that damages good people.

And I caught them

lying to the TWC.

Why is staff silent about the abuse

and neglect at the Brenham SSLC?

Intimidation, they will be fired

and put on the Texas EMR registry.

Staff is told if they are on that list

they cannot get a job anywhere.

They used that threat on me.

We need an honest and open review

of the fired staff on the EMR registry.

Brenham is slandering individuals

by adding them to the EMR list.

Not only do they use the

Texas State EMR registry to

threaten staff at Brenham

they also threaten that

they can face criminal

charges working at

The Brenham State

Supported Living Center

The staff members who have

years of experience dedicated

to care for residents at Brenham

are threatened the most of not

just being fraudulently fired but

worst is being placed on the EMR list.

Being fired you can lose thousands

of dollars worth of certain benefits

you have earned such as sick time.

But being on the EMR list

they cannot earn a living

doing what they love to do,

providing the care we need.

For many that is what they know to do,

and they are some of the best people

I have ever had the honor to know.

They deserve our respect.

All employees on the EMR list

deserve an honest review

of thier case, they deserve justice.

Lets stop the threatening enviroment

for the residents and for the staff

that is alive today at Brenham SSLC

Please help be their voice.

I met SP in 2019, he was one of the original

residents on Cottage F when it opened.

In 6 years they have screwed up SP,

he was much happier then he is now.

He had a job that kept him busy.

With a battery powered leaf blower

he cleaned around some buildings

on the campus, he liked his " job ".

Then they took it away from him,

his behaviors tripled or more,

his behaviors became more violent,

now he is in the Brenham jail.

If you doubt about my claim of

abuse and neglect at Brenham

just look at SP's history file.

I bet they forged documents claiming

the nasal rinse was done after his surgery.

SP is a victim of the neglect at Brenham,

he is smart, he knows what he is doing.

He loved playing dominos, he was smart,

we had good times, he was happy.

SP plays the system to his benefit.

Because of the drugs he is fed

and THE neglect he receives

SP will be institutionalized

under our care for the rest of his life.

SP had a really good behavior staff member

who really struggled to help SP, but at

Brenham somethings fall on deaf ears.

You call that progress?

They are considering moving SP to the

Mexia SSLC, it is more of a prison.

Moving him there just buries

him deeper into a system that

consumes it's residents.

Administration demands staff uses the

“ chain of command “, it gives them

the ability to deny knowledge

and buries the problems at Brenham.

Administration never meets the night shift staff.

Any improvements at Brenham must include

them to visit with night shift workers

at least every two months not ignore them.

click below for the video of the Senate Finance Committee

https://senate.texas.gov/videoplayer.php?vid=21066&lang=en

Can you help the residents at Brenham?

They are being neglected and abused,

they are being drugged and warehoused.

You cannot claim to be pro-life and do nothing.

Residents have died at Brenham due to neglect.

I witnessed a death due to neglect in 2018,

they investigated it, they questioned me

the result was the death was covered up.

It is not easy putting this out.

It might be a waste of time trying to help

the residents and staff, but if I do not try

I am just as guilty as those who cover it up.

We can do better, would you accept your child

or a family member being neglected and abused?

I am sending this to the HHS Commissioner

and her executive staff, I will meet them in

Austin and prove the fraud at Brenham.

The Texas Senate Committee

and the Texas House Committe

on Health and Human Services

has a moral obligation to hold

open investigations about the

abuse, neglect and fraud

at the Brenham SSLC.

We cannot ignore it

and claim to be pro-life.

The residents at Brenham have no lobby

money to spread around Austin for help.

They need us to be their lobby.

If we saved the money that is wasted at HHS we

could provide outpatient mental health services

at our State Supported Living Centers for

our brave Texas Veterans and for our brave

first responders who serve us everyday.

Please help by contacting members of the

Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee

https://senate.texas.gov/cmte.php?c=610

Please help by contacting members of the

Texas House Human Services Committee

Texas House of Representatives

click below to visit and comment

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BRENHAM SSLC