Abuse, neglect and lack of supervision at California’s state-run homes for the developmentally disabled have directly caused the deaths of 13 people since 2002, newly released records from the state Department of Public Health show.

The developmental centers – which house men and women with severe autism, cerebral palsy and other debilitating conditions – bear some responsibility for the deaths of another six residents because they allowed living situations so dangerous that there was a great probability that deaths would occur, the state said.

One teenage resident smothered and eventually killed another teenager while the employee in charge skipped her normal rounds. A 48-year-old man with a history of a weak immune system died of septic shock when a facility doctor didn’t treat him for MRSA – a highly contagious, dangerous and antibiotic-resistant staph infection – even though his lab work showed he had it....

The documents paint a disturbing portrait of life inside California’s five developmental centers, where 1,115 patients are housed at taxpayer expense because their guardians are unable to provide round-the-clock care or the patients have no family at all. Few populations are more vulnerable to abuse – many are unable to form sentences or communicate clearly – or more difficult to supervise.