Foster care kids put on too many psych drugs, report says – CBS News
Many children in foster care are being overmedicated with antipsychotic drugs they may not really need, or the drugs are being given incorrectly, according to a government review obtained by CBS News.
Second-Generation Antipsychotic Drug Use Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children: Quality-of-Care Concerns Report (OEI-07-12-00320) 03-25-2015
Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are a class of drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and psychotic depression. SGAs are widely used to treat children enrolled in Medicaid who have mental health conditions. However, SGAs can have serious side effects and little clinical research has been conducted on the safety of treating children with these drugs.
U.S. GAO – Foster Care: HHS Needs to Improve Oversight of Fostering Connections Act Implementation
To implement the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering Connections Act), many states GAO surveyed (which included the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) reported requiring caseworkers to employ multiple practices to improve outcomes for children in foster care; however, states continue to face challenges that can undermine progress.
Reports on the Overmedication of Texas Foster Children
Initiated in 2004 by Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn in a report called “Forgotten Children” investigations started into the overmedication of foster children in Texas.
Texas System Failure for Foster Children – Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Children are our most precious resource and the foster children of Texas need special attention because the state has taken either temporary or permanent guardianship of them in effect making the state and all of its citizens their parent.
Abbott to Foster Care Agency: Get Your Act Together | The Texas Tribune
In the wake of three child deaths under the state’s ward so far this year, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday told the Department of Family and Protective Services to straighten up and fly right.
Abbott orders CPS to improve caregiver screening after child deaths – Houston Chronicle
AUSTIN — Saying he was “deeply concerned” about recent deaths of children under state supervision, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday ordered Child Protective Services to improve the screening of caregivers who temporarily take in kids whose parents are being investigated for child abuse or neglect.
The Forgotten Children Of The Foster Care System: Making A Case For The Professional Judgment Standard
Each year, thousands of children are separated from their families and placed into foster care.2 While under the not-so-careful watch of the state, many suffer further abuse and neglect.3 In some cases, child welfare employees are so derelict in their duties that they are unaware children are being harmed.
State Crackdown on Off-Label Antipsychotic Prescribing in Kids
With the dramatic increase during the past 2 decades in atypical antipsychotic medication prescriptions for youth, the majority of states have put Medicaid prior authorization policies in place for this patient population, new research suggests.
Lawmakers Try to Bring Order to Disastrously Lax Foster Care Training System – Texas Observer
This session, lawmakers are trying to fix one of the biggest gaps in the troubled foster care system: The training requirements for the majority of foster parents, kinship caregivers and adoptive parents are minimal, and the state doesn’t know how closely private placement agencies are adhering to the standards.