Tag: foster care
Four Children
I went to the childrenâs ward, to work with the kids. I remembered to tell all of them that I had been locked up my whole childhood on psych wards, and this always made them trust me.
Q&A: May I Take My Foster Child Off Her Drug Cocktail?
I recently became the foster parent of a 10-year-old girl. She is on a cocktail of several medications prescribed to treat behavioral problems, according to her social worker. They don't really seem to help her. What are the considerations involved with withdrawing her from the meds, and what power do I have to influence this decision?
Early Intervention Can Change the Trajectory of Foster Care Children
Study highlights the importance of early interventions for institutionalized children.
Watchdog Slams Safeguards for Foster Kids on Psych Drugs
From AP News: "Thousands of foster children may be getting powerful psychiatric drugs prescribed to them without basic safeguards, says a federal watchdog agency...
Congress Did Something Extraordinary for Vulnerable Children
From The Intercept: A new piece of legislation attempting to revolutionize the foster care system recently passed despite significant opposition. The Family First Prevention Services...
Study Suggests Having Kids in Foster Care Bad for Mothers
From CBC News: A recent study shows that having a child taken into foster care has detrimental effects on the mother's mental health and may reduce...
Missouri Sued for Over-Drugging Foster Children
From Reuters: Two youth legal advocacy groups have filed a lawsuit against Missouri for over-exposing foster children to psychotropic drugs. The lawsuit seeks a court...
âCalifornia Courts Step Up Oversight of Psychotropic Medication Use in Foster...
The Mercury News reports that Californiaâs judicial council is taking major steps to address the rampant use of psychiatric drugs in foster care. The...
Different Forms of Childhood Adversity Related to Specific Psychosis Symptoms
In this monthâs issue of Psychological Medicine, researchers from Kingâs College London found evidence for associations between different types of childhood adversity and specific symptoms associated with psychosis. As current categorical approaches to psychosis and schizophrenia diagnoses come under increasing scrutiny, this study adds support to sociological and psychological theories and treatments.
Experts Decry Dangerous Use of Antipsychotics in Children
In a featured article for Psychiatric Services, psychiatrists from Dartmouth raise the alarm on the increasing numbers of children prescribed dangerous antipsychotic drugs. Despite the fact that data on the safety of long-term use of these drugs in this vulnerable population âdo not exist,â the rate of children and adolescents being prescribed antipsychotic drugs have continued to increase over the past fifteen years.
âKids in Foster Care Three Times More Likely to be Diagnosed...
PsychCentral presents a new study from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found that foster care children are three times more likely than other children on Medicaid to receive a diagnosis of ADHD. Overall, more than one in four children in foster care receive such a diagnosis. CDC statistician Melissa Danielson interpreted these results as revealing a âsubstantial needâ for more medical and behavioral services for kids in foster care.
Pennsylvania Foster Kids Prescribed Too Many Psychotropic Drugs
Amid growing criticism about the over-prescription of psychotropic medication in foster care, Pennsylvania commissioned PolicyLab to conduct an analysis of the use of psychiatric drugs among all of the stateâs Medicaid-enrolled children. The report, released in June, found that the rate of psychotropic prescriptions among youth in Medicaid and foster care was higher than previously reported.
âCalifornia Moves to Stop Misuse of Psychiatric Meds in Foster Careâ
On Tuesday, NPR told the story of DeAngelo Cortijo. DeAngelo became a foster kid at age 3 after his mother attempted suicide. He was âdiagnosed with bipolar and anxiety disorders, attachment disorder, intermittent explosive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder,â and was prescribed âa combination of antipsychotics, antidepressants and stimulants, and was told that taking them was his only hope of being normal.â Through equine therapy, DeAngelo was eventually able to get off all of his medication. Now, California is hoping to pass reforms that would prevent foster kids, like DeAngelo, from being âprescribed antipsychotic drugs at double to quadruple the rate of that not in foster care.â