While there are probably a variety of minor, harmless infractions that routinely occur within the foster care system, it is especially clear that two much more significant problems of 1) overmedicating or unnecessarily medicating foster care children with psychotropic drugs, and 2) ongoing violations and transgressions directly related to Medicaid rules and regulations, have brought the foster care system to a state of crisis. It is important to examine a great deal of the literature on the general topic in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of what is happening within the system. The literature is also being reviewed to emphasize an additional point about the foster care system: problems are not newly emerging or recently discovered;
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Moreover, it is apparent that different agencies within Florida’s state government seem to be unaware of what is happening with regard to people whose needs are being served by such offices. Miller notes, “Florida's Medicaid office, the state and federal insurance program for the needy, said it was struck by ‘the number of children [who] were prescribed psychotropic medications without a psychiatric diagnosis’ or a diagnosis that seemed to justify the use of such drugs. Medicaid pays for most of foster kids' medical needs” (2002). How long does it take for this kind of inconsistency to suggest that something is amiss here? Among some of the most alarming reports on the overmedicating of foster children is arguably the one produced by Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn in 2004. Strayhorn’s report, entitled Forgotten Children, contends that Strayhorn “uncovered evidence that 60% of children in the Texas foster care system are being drugged with powerful psychotropic drugs, most of which have not been tested in or approved for use by children” (Sharav, …show more content…
He notes, “The report found that there was little meaningful oversight of the use of psychotropic drugs even though the FDA has not approved such medications for use on children. Possible side effects of these drugs include suicidal tendencies, diabetes, and cardiac arrhythmia. The report also noted that in 2004 about 100 children in the foster-care system received treatment for poisoning from medication” (2008). One aspect of this problem is in assessing and identifying children who are actually in need of psychiatric treatment from those who are perhaps experiencing normal reactions to being removed from the homes of families for extended periods of time. These are adjustment problems, not mental illness, and as such, medication is not only inappropriate but can also be quite harmful to the children. This situation has clearly been reported by MSNBC.com in citing comments made by Mike Arsham of the Child Welfare Organizing Project: “Children who are having normal reactions to the trauma of being separated from their families are often misdiagnosed or over-diagnosed as suffering from psychiatric problems, and the system is too quick to medicate. It’s a chemical sledgehammer that makes children easier to manage” (MSNBC.com,
Moreover, it is apparent that different agencies within Florida’s state government seem to be unaware of what is happening with regard to people whose needs are being served by such offices. Miller notes, “Florida's Medicaid office, the state and federal insurance program for the needy, said it was struck by ‘the number of children [who] were prescribed psychotropic medications without a psychiatric diagnosis’ or a diagnosis that seemed to justify the use of such drugs. Medicaid pays for most of foster kids' medical needs” (2002). How long does it take for this kind of inconsistency to suggest that something is amiss here? Among some of the most alarming reports on the overmedicating of foster children is arguably the one produced by Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn in 2004. Strayhorn’s report, entitled Forgotten Children, contends that Strayhorn “uncovered evidence that 60% of children in the Texas foster care system are being drugged with powerful psychotropic drugs, most of which have not been tested in or approved for use by children” (Sharav, …show more content…
He notes, “The report found that there was little meaningful oversight of the use of psychotropic drugs even though the FDA has not approved such medications for use on children. Possible side effects of these drugs include suicidal tendencies, diabetes, and cardiac arrhythmia. The report also noted that in 2004 about 100 children in the foster-care system received treatment for poisoning from medication” (2008). One aspect of this problem is in assessing and identifying children who are actually in need of psychiatric treatment from those who are perhaps experiencing normal reactions to being removed from the homes of families for extended periods of time. These are adjustment problems, not mental illness, and as such, medication is not only inappropriate but can also be quite harmful to the children. This situation has clearly been reported by MSNBC.com in citing comments made by Mike Arsham of the Child Welfare Organizing Project: “Children who are having normal reactions to the trauma of being separated from their families are often misdiagnosed or over-diagnosed as suffering from psychiatric problems, and the system is too quick to medicate. It’s a chemical sledgehammer that makes children easier to manage” (MSNBC.com,