Texas foster care deaths addressed in house committee | KXAN.com
AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than a dozen Texas children have died in foster care in the past two years. A string of deaths in Central Texas helped highlight the lack of oversight and accountability the state has in protecting children. A bill by Representative Cindy Burkett, R-Sunnyvale, hopes to raise the standards of care. The House Committee on Human Services will hear HB 781 Monday.
KHN: Children in Foster Care Missing Checkups | The Texas Tribune
Nearly a third of children in foster care have missed required medical checkups, according to a Health and Human Services Department Office of the Inspector General report. The report looked at Texas as well as California, Illinois and New York, and found that 12 percent missed initial checkups and another 7 percent missed required periodic medical assessments.
Centene’s Texas Subsidiary Announces Successful Reprocurement of Foster Care Contract
ST. LOUIS, Feb. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) today announced that its wholly-owned Texas subsidiary, Superior HealthPlan, has been tentatively recommended for a contract award by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to service STAR Health (Foster Care) Medicaid recipients.
Emails reveal how agency grappled with doctor abuse case, aftermath
Dr. Charles Fischer, a well-regarded doctor with a seemingly unblemished 20-year career at the psychiatric hospital, had been under investigation for more than five months by the Department of Family and Protective Services over accusations that he abused patients in his care. Now the agency’s report was in: Investigators believed that Fischer had sexually abused two teen boys at Austin State Hospital.
Psychiatric Drugs Side Effects
Common and well-documented side effects of psychiatric drugs include mania, psychosis, hallucinations, depersonalization, suicidal ideation, heart attack, stroke and sudden death. And that is a very partial list of the side effects documented by international drug regulatory agencies the world over.
Psychiatrist’s License Revoked After Multiple Violations
Psychiatrist Alan T. Lloyd, 51, of San Antonio, had his license pulled by the Texas medical board last month after it discovered he had opened a joint checking account with one of his patients. Lloyd had also prescribed opiates and other dangerous drugs to the patient who had a history of drug abuse, the board found. In 2009, Lloyd was reprimanded for having sex with a woman he was treating.
Texas Still Allows Junk Science in Capital Punishment Cases
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution of a Texas man and agreed to review his lawyer’s claims that his trial was tainted by testimony from a psychologist who said his race was an indicator that he could kill in the future.
Parental Consent Act 2011 Will Protect Children and Parents
Representative Ron Paul (R., Texas) recently reintroduced legislation that would keep federal funding from being used to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health, psychiatric, or socio-emotional screening program without Parental Consent. Because of the generality of mental health tests, it’s easy for widespread screening to lead to mass labeling, drugging and life-long stigmatization.
Mental Health Labels Could Become “Domestic Radicalism” Indicator
The White House recently indicated that it will adopt new policies to protect against “domestic radicalism.” According to the Los Angeles Times, the plan includes not only traditional police agencies, but also the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
Psychiatric Patient Death Reveals Alarming Hospital Conditions
Findings from a Federal inspection after the death of a psychiatric patient at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas County may cause the public hospital to be barred from participating in Medicaid and Medicare. A letter from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said that if it doesn’t provide acceptable correction plans by Aug. 20 and complete those plans by Aug. 24, the Dallas County hospital would be removed from the Medicare program as of Sept. 2.