Personal Injury Law

Foster Kids Put On Drugs At Alarming Rates

By Eddie Farah

A new report by the state finds that hundreds of kids in foster care have been placed on psychiatric drugs by their caregivers in Northeast Florida. What's especially shocking is that no one gave authority for these drugs to be used on the children, and most of the drugs are not even approved for use in children.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) undertook a review of children put on powerful drugs for depression and ADHD after the death of Gabriel Myers, 7, in Fort Lauderdale. Gabriel was put on at least four different medications, some of which are known to contribute to suicidal thoughts. With the system, his parents, and caregivers along the way letting him down, the little boy killed himself in the shower of a foster home in Broward County. He had been in the foster care system less than one year but his life had been a living hell.

The story of Gabriel is heartbreaking and cries out for change. DCF has just issued an audit sparked by Myers' death.

It shows in Northeast Florida - 205 kids in Duval, Clay, and Nassau counties were found to be on at least one psychotropic drug. In St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler, and Volusia counties 136 kids are medicated and 76 are on drugs in Baker, Union, Bradford, Gilchrist, Alachua and Levy counties, reports the Florida Times Union.

Under Florida law, parental consent must be granted in writing before children in foster care can be given psychotropic drugs to modify behavior. Oversight by a psychiatrist is required, along with court orders. DCF will now aggressively seek out those parents to get consent in about 16 percent of the cases where no permission was given.

What's interesting in the report is that kids who stayed with family members were only placed on medication about 4 percent of the time, while those with strangers or in group homes were on medication up to 30 percent of the time, especially teenagers. Grandma will put up with far more than an hourly employee. Let's home more kids can stay with family members.

And DCF appears to be improving its handling of information, setting up a Web site with full information which is the first step to healing a long-term festering wound. That's a far cry from the days of deny and cover-up which placed Florida among the worst foster care systems in the country. #

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on May 31, 2009 (boomark / email).