Pilot program to review use of psychotropic prescription drugs in Georgia's foster care system

Indeed, it would be interesting to see how Georgia rates and measures-up against neighboring Florida, a state known to be rich in over-medicating nightmares, (IF you are a foster-child.)

To my knowledge, PPL has  one out-dated study (1990) related to the over-sedation of "disturbed children" in Georgia's DHS system.  Don't worry, it's still a doozy...

For almost seven months, an assistant district attorney from Cobb County, a local child protective services worker and a group of Cobb County citizens have complained to DHR officials that untrained staff at the home have been drugging small children into a near stupor with various medications, including the anti-psychotic drug Thorazine.

Their allegations focus on "S.," an 8-year-old child who they say has exhibited dangerous signs of Thorazine overdose.

"The child's negligent treatment by this state-supported facility is representative of that given other children at Murphy-Harpst," Assistant District Attorney

Bruce D. Hornbuckle wrote in a formal complaint filed last week with the department's child care licensing section. "Every child in S.'s dormitory unit is on some type of medication. This issue must be investigated."

The complaints are not the first that have been lodged against the facility. Between May 1987 and September 1989, 12 reports of child sexual or physical abuse were filed with the department, according to a report prepared for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under the Georgia Open Records Act.

Among the allegations: "October 13, 1988. A former resident of Murphy-Harpst alleged that he witnessed a staff member having anal intercourse with a male resident." The staff member subsequently resigned.

Because of the large number of complaints, at one point the department called in local law enforcement and then the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. But GBI officials said last week that after failing to substantiate any of the allegations, they closed their case. The DHR took no further action.

Here's an insider's tip or two:

1. Drugs used to "control behaviors" are known as 'chemical restraints'.
2. Many anti-depressants come with a black-box warning .
3. Before giving consent to treatment, one needs to read about psychotropics BEFORE giving them to a child, since risks v. benefits may get a little tricky.  [You see, if one is more concerned about immediate benefits, than long-term consequences, the end result may be either an unwanted death, patient suicide, or future birth defects.]

 Those crazy crazy Natural Consequences... you'd think men-of-pharma-science  would have all the answers by now.... 

In any case, other posts/threads that go further into the use of medication in foster care can be found here:  Some Texas foster kids' doctors have drug firm ties and  Greater Psychotropic Medication Use in Foster Care Raises Concerns - both posted on PPL in 2008.