Watchdog slams safeguards for foster children on psych drugs

WASHINGTON—Thousands of foster children may be getting powerful psychiatric drugs prescribed to them without basic safeguards, says a federal watchdog agency that found a failure to care for youngsters whose lives have already been disrupted.

A report released Monday by the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office found that about 1 in 3 foster kids from a sample of states were prescribed psychiatric drugs without treatment plans or follow-up, standard steps in sound medical care.

Kids getting mood-altering drugs they don’t need is only part of the problem. Investigators also said children who need medication to help them function at school or get along in social settings may be going untreated.

The drugs include medications for attention deficit disorder, anxiety, PTSD, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Foster children are much more likely to get psychiatric drugs than children overall.

“We are worried about the gap in compliance because it has an immediate, real-world impact on children’s lives,” said Ann Maxwell, an assistant inspector general.

Among the situations investigators encountered was the case of a 6-yearold boy diagnosed with ADHD, learning and speech disorders, outbursts of temper and defiance, and hair-pulling disorder.

He had been put on four psychiatric drugs.

But a medication review questioned the need for some of the medications. Of the four, two were discontinued and one was reduced in dosage, investigators said.

Two different medications were then prescribed.

“These children are at greater risk of not getting the medications they need, but equally important, they are at risk of getting powerful medications that they do not need,” Maxwell said.