National Archive On Child Welfare Fraud

It is institutional reports like this that makes me wonder the abilities of the researchers to do basic review of the literature outside of the traditional academic journal articles.


There is no psychotropic medication oversight in foster care.  This one fact can easily be found just by subscribing to daily feeds of my site.


David Sessions did an expose on the issue of Psychiatric Drug Abuse in Foster Care Costs Government Billions, but this was before the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Attorney General stepped in.


In this federal settlement agreement, Forest Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $313 million for the wrongful and illegal marketing of Lexapro and Celexa to children.


Then there was the $2.3 Billion federal settlement with Pfizer for using children as lab rats and kiddy kickbacks.


I could continue providing evidence on the unregulated use of psychotropic medication in foster care, but I prefer to just refer you to the National Archive On Child Welfare Fraud.


What this report does successfully present is a quantitative formula to detect potential Medicaid fraud in child welfare.

Psychotropic Medication and Youth in Foster Care Report

Released: 9/23/2010 7:00 AM EDT
Source: Tufts University

Newswise — The Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) today issued a landmark report from a multi-state study on psychotropic medication oversight in foster care. Led by Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH at Tufts CTSI, Christopher Bellonci, MD at Tufts Medical Center and Justeen Hyde, PhD at Cambridge Health Alliance, the study examined state policies and practices in 47 states, including Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia regarding the use of medication for treating behavioral and mental health problems in foster care children and adolescents ages 2 to 21 years.

Over the past decade, psychotropic medication use in the general youth population has more than doubled. Estimated rates of psychotropic medication use in foster care youth, however, are much higher (ranging from 13-52%) than those in the general youth population (4%).

In 2008, President Bush signed into law the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which requires state child welfare agencies and Medicaid to provide ongoing oversight and coordination of medical and mental health services, including psychotropic medications, for youth in foster care. Since then, state child welfare agencies have been working to develop sound policies and practices for this population of kids.

The Tufts CTSI multi-state study, begun in 2009, concluded that while oversight of psychotropic medication is a high priority of the state child welfare agencies, there is also great variability among the state policies and practices governing such oversight. The Study Report calls for a national approach and resources for medication oversight for youth in foster care. A more detailed national look at which state policies and practices are the most effective for improving the mental health of these youth is also needed. Without a national approach, crossing a state border could mean the difference between a youth in foster care being appropriately treated with medications or not. The report also stresses the need for youth-serving organizations and state agencies to work together, and for more informed decision-making and appropriate medication monitoring for youth in foster care.