MindFreedom Florida News
Top Five Mental Health Issues In The News Relevant to Floridians
1. The over-drugging of youths in foster care
The case of Gabriel Myers, told below, best illustrates this problem. The Miami Herald conducted an investigation of the matter.
2. Off label and over-drugging in the Juvenile Justice System
I imagine this problem isn't restricted to the state of Florida, but the Palm Beach Sun had conducted an investigation of conditions in this state's Juvenile Justice System. Youths in the Juvenile Justice System, like youths in foster care, are being labeled and drugged at a much higher rate than youths in general. This high rate is too high, in fact, to be easily explained away.
3. The atrocious conditions in some of Florida's Assisted Living Facilities
There have been deaths associated with the terrible conditions existing in some ALF's in the state of Florida.
4. Neuroleptic Drugs in Nursing Home Facilities
This is an issue across much of the world. Nursing homes in Great Britian have come under scrutiny, too, for instance. Elderly people with senile dementia have been put on neuroleptics. These drugs are not recommended for the treating of dementia, and they can shorten the life-spans of those loved ones taking them significantly.
5. South Florida's Medicaid Fraud Swindle
Recently a San Diego, California, Medicaid fraud scheme came to light, but this follows troubles we have had in the Miami area.
Death At A Young Age
A seven year old boy in south Florida, Gabriel Myers, commited suicide by hanging himself in the shower on April 16, 2009. Gabriel had been diagnosed ADHD, and had been prescribed antidepressant drugs. The young boy's death has been blamed on the use of the drugs he was taking. Gabriel was living with a foster family at the time of his death. Due to Gabriel's untimely death, the situations of Florida's foster children on psychiatric drugs are being investigated by Florida's welfare administrators.
Another young patient, Emilio Valimar, was only 16 years old when he died of a heart attack while being treated by psychiatrist Dr. Sohail Punjwani. Dr. Punjwani is the same doctor who had been treating Gabriel Myers. He is being sued by Emilio's family.
Under The Law
Under a 2005 law, the Agency for Health Care Administration oversees a state program monitoring the prescribing of drugs to children under Medicaid.
The program, Medicaid Drug Therapy Management, tracks the prescribing of psychiatric drugs to children and flags psychiatrists veering from accepted protocals.
300-450 psychiatrists of the 17,000 doctors who prescribe drugs to children on Medicaid have been red flagged by this program.
Fact Sheet
Nearly 3 of every 10 children in foster care are on psychiatric drugs.
73 children younger than 6 are taking psychiatric drugs.
2,669 children, or 13%, are on drugs.
The largest group, almost 60%, are teenagers.
The figure 2,669 is 1/3 more children than the Department of Children & Families reported being on the drugs.
Florida has had a law for 4 years (since 2005) requiring parental or judical consent to the use of such drugs on children.
Out of 20,235 children's case files studied, no parental or judical consent was given for 16% of those cases.
A review using data from Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN) found no consent or court order record in 433 out of 2,669 cases.
Providers say some of the cases lack a paper trail, consent was given, but documentation is lacking.
4% of children living with relatives are on psychiatric drugs as compared to 21% for children in foster homes, and 26% for children living in other out of home settings.
In older children--13 to 17 years old--12% living with relatives are on psychiatric drugs compared to 35% in foster care, and 33% in other institutional settings.
30% of the kids in a Miami-Dade private agency were given psychiatric drugs compared to 28% for Broward County foster kids.
Contrasted to kids in state care, 4-5% of kids in the general population are taking psychiatric drugs.
Corrective Measures
A report has been drawn up outlining steps for the Department of Children & Families to take, included among these steps are the following:
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State child welfare lawyers are to seek consent from parents or go to courts.
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Administrators are launching an immediate review to determine how reliable the DCF database is.
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DCF administrators and private agencies are to have weekly telephone discussions on the use of psychiatric drugs by foster children.
State legislators are presently looking at the drafting of more laws for the protection of children in foster care in Florida from the over use of psychiatric drugs.
Website
An In Memory of Gabriel Myers website has been set up where news stories on what is being done to curb the excessive drugging of Florida's foster children have been archived, and where these articles may be easily accessed. You can visit the website by clicking the hyperlink below.