The examine reveals that 35% of youngsters within the foster care system who’re coated by Medicaid are prescribed psychotropic medication. That is 4 occasions larger than the 8% of non-foster youngsters beneath the identical Medicaid protection, who obtain such prescriptions
CCHR requires pressing reforms to defend weak foster youngsters from psychotropic drug dangers.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, August 9, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Residents Fee on Human Rights (CCHR) says a current examine revealed within the Journal of Youngster and Adolescent Psychopharmacology has unveiled the excessive prevalence of psychotropic drug utilization amongst foster youngsters. The examine revealed in Could 2023 reveals that greater than one-third (35%) of youngsters within the foster care system who’re coated by Medicaid are prescribed psychotropic medication. That is 4 occasions larger than the 8% of non-foster youngsters beneath the identical Medicaid protection, who obtain such prescriptions.[1]
In accordance to the examine, the psychotropic medication these youngsters have been prescribed included antidepressants, antipsychotics, temper stabilizers, anti-anxiety medication, and stimulants. Three of those drug lessons carry the FDA’s most extreme warning, the black field: antidepressants for suicidal ideation[2]; and stimulants (ADHD) medication for dependancy.[3] Anti-anxiety medication can embrace benzodiazepines as a subclass. Benzodiazepines carry a black field warning due to “critical dangers and harms,” with extended use main to “clinically vital bodily dependence.”[4]
Sonya Muhammad, a retired counselor from the Los Angeles County Workplace of Schooling and Foster Youth Companies, labored within the system for 12 years.
As she started pulling youngsters’s medical information, she discovered the vast majority of them have been being drugged, “It was uncommon to see a toddler on one drug. It was all the time a minimum of two, or three, or typically 4. I’d say that greater than 75% of my caseload have been on some sort of drug. It was about restraining them, a chemical restraint. The principle purpose was to shut the kid up and shut the kid down.”
There was public outcry over the psychotropic drugging of foster youngsters for years. Way back to 2011, the U.S. Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO) carried out evaluations in 5 states (Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, and Texas) and located that foster youngsters have been prescribed psychotropic medication 2.7 to 4.5 occasions extra usually than non-foster youngsters in Medicaid. Many have been subjected to cocktails of psychotropics. The GAO defined that “no proof helps the concomitant use of 5 or extra psychotropic medication in adults or youngsters, but lots of of each foster and non-foster youngsters within the 5 states had such a drug routine.”[5]
A 2015 report by the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies Workplace of Inspector Normal additionally recognized vital issues within the administration of psychotropic medication to youngsters within the foster care system. The report flagged 67% of these being prescribed the medication as problematic instances, together with prescriptions for teenagers who have been too younger and prescriptions for the fallacious dose or as a fallacious therapy.[6]
A 2018 JAMA Pediatrics examine additional compounds the difficulty. Researchers investigated the patterns of psychological well being analysis and drug therapy inside a gaggle of youngsters from beginning to 8 years outdated insured by Medicaid. They discovered that “20% of medicine customers obtained two or extra medicine lessons concurrently for 60 days or extra.” Additional, “At age 7 years, half or extra of the medicated youngsters had greater than 200 days of drug publicity.”[7] Explicit consideration was given to using antipsychotics for behavioral administration in youngsters as “most pediatric psychotropic medicine use (67%) just isn’t accepted by the Meals and Drug Administration.”[8]
CCHR says there’s an pressing want for elevated oversight and accountability within the prescription of psychotropic medication to youngsters beneath Medicaid. The 2011 GAO report said, “In our draft report, GAO really helpful that HHS think about endorsing steering for states on greatest practices for overseeing psychotropic prescriptions for foster youngsters.”
Clearly, this suggestion has not been applied. It’s up to legislators, each state and federal, to maintain these companies throughout the little one welfare system accountable for the injury they’re inflicting upon a few of our most weak—foster youngsters.
[1] Rachael J Keefe, “Psychotropic Remedy Prescribing: Youth in Foster Care In contrast with Different Medicaid Enrollees,” Journal of Youngster and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 2023 Could;33(4):149-155. doi: 10.1089/cap.2022.0092, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37204275/; “Children in Foster Care A lot More Likely to be Prescribed Psychotropic Medicines In contrast with Non-Foster Children in Medicaid Program,” American Academy of Pediatrics, 7 Oct. 2021, https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/children-in-foster-care-much-more-likely-to-be-prescribed-psychotropic-medications-compared-with-non-foster-children-in-medicaid-program/
[2] “Suicidality in Children and Adolescents Being Handled with Antidepressant Medicines,” Meals and Drug Administration, https://www.fda.gov/medication/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/suicidality-children-and-adolescents-being-treated-antidepressant-medications
[3] “FDA updating warnings to enhance protected use of prescription stimulants used to deal with ADHD and different circumstances,” Meals and Drug Administration, 11 Could 2023, https://www.fda.gov/medication/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updating-warnings-improve-safe-use-prescription-stimulants-used-treat-adhd-and-other-conditions
[4] “FDA requiring Boxed Warning up to date to enhance protected use of benzodiazepine drug class. Contains potential for abuse, dependancy, and different critical dangers,” Meals and Drug Administration, 23 Sept. 2020, https://www.fda.gov/media/142368/obtain
[5] “Foster Children: HHS Steering Might Assist States Enhance Oversight of Psychotropic Prescriptions,” Assertion of Gregory D. Kutz, Director Forensic Audits and Investigative Service, Authorities Accounting Workplace, 1 Dec. 2011, https://www.gao.gov/property/recordsdata.gao.gov/property/gao-12-270t.pdf
[6] Daniel R. Levinson, “Second-Era Antipsychotic Drug Use Amongst Medicaid-Enrolled Children: High quality-Of-Care Issues,” Division of Well being and Human Companies, Workplace of Inspector Normal, Mar. 2015, https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reviews/oei-07-12-00320.pdf
[7] Dinci Pennap, MPH, Julie M. Zito, Ph.D., et al., “Patterns of Early Psychological Well being Analysis and Remedy Therapy in a Medicaid-Insured Delivery Cohort,” JAMA Pediatrics, June 2018, 172(6): 576–584, doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.0240, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137539/
[8] Hannah Emerson, “Poor and Foster Care Children More Likely to be Recognized and Handled with Psychiatric Drugs,” Mad In America, 11 July 2018, https://www.madinamerica.com/2018/07/poor-foster-care-children-likely-diagnosed-treated-psychiatric-drugs/
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Foster Care—The Psychotropic drugging of youngsters

Rajneesh Singh is a journalist at Asian News, specializing in entertainment, culture, international affairs, and financial technology. With a keen eye for the latest trends and developments, he delivers fresh, insightful perspectives to his audience. Rajneesh’s passion for storytelling and thorough reporting has established him as a trusted voice in the industry.