STATE PANEL INPLICATES FOSTER CARE WORKERS IN SOUTH FLORIDA 7-YEAR-OLD’S SUICIDE

State panel implicates foster care workers in South Florida 7-year-old’s suicide

 

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/panel-says-foster-care-workers-ignored-drug-policies-for-kids/1029390

By Kris Hundley, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Friday, August 21, 2009

Foster care workers at all levels routinely ignored policies designed to protect children in their care from being given psychotropic drugs without proper consent or monitoring.

That was the conclusion of a panel looking into the April suicide of Gabriel Myers, a 7-year-old foster child who killed himself in Margate, South Florida, while taking two psychotropic medications.

The 26-page report, released Thursday, highlighted a lack of communication, inadequate supervision and inaccurate information in the Department of Children and Families’ handling of Myers’ case. About 15 percent of foster children in out of home care are on at least one psychotropic medication.

DCF Secretary George Sheldon said he looks forward to hearing the work group’s recommendations. Among the options: a second-party review of all foster children on psychotropic drugs regardless of the diagnosis.

FLORDIA CHILD WELFARE LACKS ACCOUNTABILITY

Drugs and Foster Care: Myers Report Critical of DCF

 

 

 

Gabriel Myers: picture from Florida DCF webpage

 

 

 

http://www.jaxobserver.com/2009/08/14/drugs-and-foster-care-myers-report-critical-of-dcf-workers/

News Service of Florida – Aug 14th, 2009

A draft report written by a work group investigating the April 2009 suicide of a Margate boy says children in state care are often being given mind-altering drugs for behavioral problems instead of being treated.

The draft report, released Thursday, stems from the death of Gabriel Myers, a 7-year-old who hanged himself with a shower hose in his Broward County foster home. A DCF investigation found that Myers had been on psychotropic drugs, but that proper consent had not been obtained regarding the treatment and that the prescribed drugs were not accurately reflected in his case files.

Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon appointed a work group to study the Myers death and the use of psychotropic drugs on foster kids. Earlier this summer, the department revealed that 3,020 of 19,761, or about 15 percent, of foster children were found to be on the high power drugs.

And now, the Myers work group is saying that many children might be receiving drugs unnecessarily.

“Psychotherapeutic medications are often being used to help parents, teachers, and other caregivers calm and manage, rather than treat children,” the report reads.

Sheldon told reporters earlier this year that he was not anti-drug, but that the Myers’ work group findings regarding the number of foster children on psychotropic drugs raised serious questions.

In Myers’ case, the group found that no individual was looking out for his needs and that there were numerous red flags signaling problems. However, they were not addressed. The report also criticizes the individuals and agencies involved in Myers’ cares.

“Reports on his behavior, medication, and life changes were not fully and regularly shared among those charged with ensuring his welfare,” it reads.

The draft report made nine suggestions, including that the doctor prescribing the medicine should have ongoing communication with the child. It also suggests that youth and families be consistently provided with continuous information regarding mental health disorders and treatments.

“These principles should be accepted and clearly articulated as necessary and appropriate for the treatment of children within Florida’s child welfare system,” the report concluded.

 

Report: Fla. child welfare lacks accountability

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1185218.html

By KELLI KENNEDY

Associated Press Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The head of the state’s child welfare agency is recommending stricter rules for prescribing powerful anti-depressants and other drugs to foster children after a 7-year-old in state care committed suicide.

George Sheldon, the secretary of the Department of Children and Families, said Thursday he might consider recommending additional review for all children in state custody on such medications and the appointment of a new in-house state medical director to keep tabs on cases.

The department released a 55-page preliminary finding in the case Thursday, four months after Gabriel Myers hung himself with a retractable showerhead at his foster home.

“If you (prescribe psychotropic meds) there’s got to be a treatment plan in place, there’s got to be an end date in place and there’s got to be ongoing dialogue,” Sheldon told The Associated Press.

The new report found a lack of accountability and inadequate supervision in every step of Gabriel’s case.

The state has been struggling to admit and fix such problems since 2002, when a 4-year-old girl went missing for a year before state officials realized it. She is presumed dead.

“If everybody is responsible for your children then no one is responsible,” Jim Sewell, Former Assistant Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said at one meeting of the task force that issued the report.

In Gabriel’s case and others like it, workers did not use procedures adopted years ago, such as keeping a form that included his diagnosis and medications. Gabriel was on several psychiatric drugs linked by federal regulators to potentially dangerous side effects, including suicide, but the risks may not have been adequately communicated to his foster parents.

A records check after he died found nearly 2,700 children, 13 percent of all those in out-of-home foster care, taking psychotropic drugs, compared with an estimated 4 to 5 percent in the general population.

“Psychotherapeutic medications are often being used to help parents, teachers and other child workers quiet and manage, rather than treat, children,” the report says.

The records check showed that 433 of those children, or 16 percent, had not had their drugs approved by parents or court orders. Even if they had, people on the task force said, such approvals was often just a rubber stamp from judges with little understanding of such drugs and their side effects.

Sheldon also said cases need to be reviewed again after an initial diagnosis when a child enters foster care.

“When a child comes into care, that’s when they’re the most traumatized, probably sad, bordering on depression, should we be making a long-term assessment at that point that will follow them for the rest of their care?” he asked.

Those assessments need to be re-evaluted a month or 90 days later, Sheldon said.

In Gabriel’s case, Sheldon said, he was flooded with services, therapuetic sessions, medical evaluations and psychiatric appointments, “but nobody in the case was acting as a parent.”

The report found that caseworkers didn’t talk to doctors. Teachers didn’t talk to caseworkers. Caseworkers and the psychiatrist made the same cookie cutter notes in Gabriel’s file nearly every visit, despite his increasingly troubled behavior. Nearly every opportunity to help him instead became a symbol of the department’s inefficencies and blame shifting.

Red flags were repeatedly ignored, the panel found.

Myers choked himself so badly he once left red marks on his neck. He stole knives at his foster home, telling classmates he would kill them and repeatedly touching classmates’ private parts. He later told a therapist he had been sexually abused by a 12-year-old boy while living in Ohio with his grandparents.

A Florida therapist recommended the state place Myers in a residential program that deals with abused children, but that never happened.

Task force member Dr. Rajiv Tandon, a psychiatrist with the University of Florida, called Myers case a “10 in terms of a red flag for a child who is crying out….but this information was not all pulled together.”

Kimberly Foster, who was on psychotropic medications every day during a decade in foster care, hopes the department will make changes to help children like her. She told the panel that children in state care are overmedicated.

“They looked at me as a troublemaker instead of a child who is coming out of a troubled environment, said Foster, now 25. “If you cry, you’re depressed. If you act out in school, you’re a behavior problem. We’re so quick to put these diagnoses on children.”

DID FLORIDA GOV. CHARLIE CRIST BLOW OFF CONCERNS OF OVER-MEDICATED FOSTER CHILDREN?

Gov. Charlie Crist urged to stop ‘chemical restraint’ of foster kids

 

A pair of adoptive parents are urging Gov. Charlie Crist and lawmakers to stop the `chemical restraint’ of children in state care.

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/1153602.html

BY MARC CAPUTO

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE — As Gov. Charlie Crist barnstormed the state to boast about record adoptions in Florida, two adoptive parents urged him Tuesday to go a step further and stop what they called the “chemical restraint” of over-medicated children in state care.

Mirko and Regina Ceska told Crist that when they adopted their two 12-year-old children last year, each was taking 11 pills daily, including the powerful anti-psychotic drug, Seroquel.

“These girls were overdosed and would fall asleep right in front of us several times a day,” Mirko Ceska said.

“It seems to be a prerequisite for foster children to be on medication,” he added. “So many are on psychotropic drugs.”

The Crawfordville couple weaned the girls off their medication, and their behavior markedly improved, they said.

Crist thanked the Ceskas for their story but focused his comments on declaring July 22 “Explore Adoption Day” and touting the record-breaking number of adoptions last year in Florida: 3,700. (who cares if their drugged…adopt them anyway!!! sarcasm intended)

Crist also appeared to soften his support for Florida’s ban on gay adoptions, by saying he’d “have to see” whether he’d support legislation that would lift the ban.

LINKED TO SUICIDE

Shortly after the Ceskas spoke, Crist’s head of the Department of Children and Families, George Sheldon, asked them to testify Friday in Tampa before a special panel that’s investigating the April suicide of a Margate 7-year-old, Gabriel Myers.

Like the Ceskas’ adopted children, Gabriel was prescribed a number of medications including a psychotropic drug. One of the drugs, the anti-depressant Symbyax, isn’t supposed to be prescribed to children and has been linked to suicidal behavior.

The committee’s findings — and testimony such as the Ceskas’ — will likely form the backbone of legislation aimed at curbing and improving the monitoring of prescription drugs for minors in state care.

MEDICATED

Of the 20,000 children in state care, about 3,100 or 15.5 percent are medicated, primarily with psychotropic drugs, Sheldon said. In the general population, he said, about 4 to 5 percent of children are on some medication.

A DCF study of the 268 6- and 7-year-olds medicated while in state care found that child-welfare doctors and case managers routinely failed to complete legally required treatment plans, share information or properly document the prescribing of powerful psychiatric drugs.

“Nobody has studied the interactions of those drugs children are being prescribed, which makes it a very frightening situation,” said Andrea Moore, a Broward attorney and child advocate.

Regina Ceska, a nurse, said she and her husband found a “shocking” number of children in the foster system appear to be medicated with Seroquel, which she said shouldn’t be used on children.

“This is, in my profession, considered a chemical restraint,” she said.

Sheldon said children in the foster-care system might require more medication, but it’s not clear how many kids are being over-prescribed psychotropic drugs. He said the Ceskas’ testimony helps shed light on the problem.

“Regrettably, the story they’re telling is far too common,” Sheldon said. Marc Caputo can be reached at mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com

ANYBODY WANT TO BUY A KID? DRUGS INCLUDED

Austin Knightly was stolen by NH DCYF and is now up for sale.

A MESSAGE FROM AUSTINS GRANDPARENTS:

This is a picture of our grandson Austin, which DCYF had taken to look for adoptive parents, even though we were told not to worry about a thing. That the worker was advocating for Austin to be placed in our home, where we would have custody of him before adopting him. Just another lie by the almighty DCYF. After many made up excuses, we were denied placement, even though Austin spent the first three years of his life with us and the next three years visiting us every day, where he also staid weekends. Austin is now considered “Special Needs”, since being taken from his mother by DCYF and is on psychiatric medication. He has suffered dearly and tried to hang himself when first placed in foster care. All he wants is his grandfather, but all DCYF wants is money. Being special needs and on psychiatric medication, makes Austin worth more to DCYF. If he is not returned, I fear the next time he try’s to commit suicide, he will succeed. We will never give up on our grandson, illegally taken by DCYF and kept from us through illegal practices. Austin we love you.

http://www.flds.ws/2009/07/06/anybody-want-to-buy-a-kid-drugs-included/

 

 

 

 

Austin Doped Out of His Mind By CPS

 

 

  

A Closer Look

His Eyes Can't Even Focus!!!!!!

 

Description:

 

This is a picture of Austin at St. Charles Childrens Home in Rochester, NH, doped up on Adderol, which his mother never agreed to, before her rights were terminated.

Even when parents refuse to have their children taken out of state by the foster strangers or put on drugs, the Judge court orders it any way. Parents have no say once DCYF is thrown into their lives. These kids are angry, being taken away from their families.

They have good reason to be. Drugging them does not heal the pain, but the state doesn’t know how to deal with the mess theyv’e made.

This is how the State handles children taken from their families. The State knows nothing about bringing up children. They drug them so the kids can’t fight back and turn them into robots and zombies.

They tell them they no longer have parents. These poor kids feel like they’ve been disowned and their not loved or wanted, when in all reality they are very much loved and wanted by their families they were stolen from due to the decitful practices of DCYF.

Austin, you do have a Mommy who loves you and always will. Grampie and I will fight for your return for as long as it takes. We love you with all our hearts and so does the rest of your family. Don’t worry buddy, you will come home, before your eighteen!

WMUR took the first picture off, because someone who said they were the mother called and wanted the picture off. I know it wasn’t Austin’s mother, but I do have an idea who did call. I guess the truth really hurts as to the children taken and drugged by DCYF!

So please let everyone know Austin’s picture and story is back. Comment and let the State know how you feel about the drugging of children in foster care.

Adderall

Generic Name: amphetamine and dextroamphetamine (am FET a meen and DEX troe am FET a meen)
Brand Names: Adderall, Adderall XR

What is Adderall?

Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant. It affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control.

Adderall is used to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Adderall may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Important information about Adderall

Do not take Adderall if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), or selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you take Adderall before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body. Do not use this medication if you are allergic to amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, or if you have hardened arteries (arteriosclerosis), heart disease, moderate to severe high blood pressure (hypertension), overactive thyroid, glaucoma, severe anxiety or agitation, or a history of drug or alcohol addiction. Some stimulants have caused sudden death in children and adolescents with serious heart problems or congenital heart defects. Before taking Adderall, tell your doctor if you have any type of heart problems.

Long-term use of this medicine can slow a child’s growth. Tell your doctor if the child using Adderall is not growing or gaining weight properly.

Adderall is a drug of abuse and may be habit-forming. Keep track of how many pills have been used from each new bottle of this medicine. You should be aware if any person in the household is using this medicine improperly or without a prescription. Using this medication improperly can cause death or serious side effects on the heart.

Before taking Adderall

Do not take Adderall if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), or selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you take Adderall before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body.

Do not use Adderall if you are allergic to amphetamine and dextroamphetamine or if you have:

• heart disease or moderate to severe high blood pressure (hypertension);
• arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries);
• overactive thyroid;
• glaucoma;
• severe anxiety, tension, or agitation; or
• if you have a history of drug or alcohol addiction.

Some stimulants have caused sudden death in children and adolescents with serious heart problems or congenital heart defects.

Before using Adderall, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have:

• a congenital heart defect;
• high blood pressure;
• heart failure, heart rhythm disorder, or recent heart attack;
• a personal or family history of mental illness, psychotic disorder, bipolar illness, depression, or suicide attempt;
• epilepsy or other seizure disorder; or
• tics (muscle twitches) or Tourette’s syndrome.

If you have any of these conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take Adderall.

FDA pregnancy category C. This medication may be harmful to an unborn baby. It could also cause premature birth, low birth weight, or withdrawal symptoms in a newborn if the mother takes Adderall during pregnancy. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. Amphetamine and dextroamphetamine can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Do not use Adderall without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Long-term use of Adderall can slow a child’s growth. Tell your doctor if the child using Adderall is not growing or gaining weight properly.

How should I take Adderall?

Take this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

Your doctor may occasionally change your dose to make sure you get the best results from Adderall.

Take this medication with a full glass of water. Do not crush, chew, break, or open an Adderall extended-release capsule. Swallow the pill whole. It is specially made to release medicine slowly in the body. Breaking or opening the pill would cause too much of the drug to be released at one time.

To be sure Adderall is helping your condition, your doctor will need to see you on a regular basis. Do not miss any scheduled visits to your doctor.

This medication can cause you to have unusual results with certain medical tests. Tell any doctor who treats you that you are using Adderall.

Store Adderall at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light. Adderall is a drug of abuse and may be habit-forming. Keep track of how many pills have been used from each new bottle of this medicine. You should be aware if any person in the household is using this medicine improperly or without a prescription. Using Adderall improperly can cause death or serious side effects on the heart.

What happens if I miss a dose?

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, or if it is already evening, skip the missed dose and take the medicine the next morning. Taking this medicine late in the day can cause sleep problems. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. An overdose of Adderall can be fatal.

Overdose symptoms may include restlessness, tremor, muscle twitches, rapid breathing, confusion, hallucinations, panic, aggressiveness, unexplained muscle pain or tenderness, muscle weakness, fever or flu symptoms, and dark colored urine. These symptoms may be followed by depression and tiredness. Other overdose symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, uneven heartbeats, feeling light-headed, fainting, seizure (convulsions), or coma.

What should I avoid while taking Adderall?

Adderall can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Do not take Adderall late in the day. A dose taken too late in the day can cause sleep problems (insomnia).

Avoid drinking fruit juices or taking vitamin C at the same time you take Adderall. These can make your body absorb less of the medicine.

Adderall side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Stop using Adderall and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeats;
• feeling light-headed, fainting;
• increased blood pressure (severe headache, blurred vision, trouble concentrating, chest pain, numbness, seizure); or
• tremor, restlessness, hallucinations, unusual behavior, or motor tics (muscle twitches).

Less serious Adderall side effects may include:

• headache or dizziness;
• sleep problems (insomnia);
• dry mouth or an unpleasant taste in your mouth;
• diarrhea, constipation;
• loss of appetite, weight loss; or
• loss of interest in sex, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What other drugs will affect Adderall?

Before taking Adderall, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs:

• blood pressure medications;
• a diuretic (water pill);
• cold or allergy medicines (antihistamines);
• acetazolamide (Diamox);
• chlorpromazine (Thorazine);
• ethosuximide (Zarontin);
• guanethidine (Ismelin);
• haloperidol (Haldol);
• lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid);
• methenamine (Hiprex, Mandelamine, Urex);
• phenytoin (Dilantin), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton);
• propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvocet);
• reserpine;
• sodium bicarbonate (Alka-Seltzer); or
• antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil), amoxapine (Ascendin), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), imipramine (Tofranil), or nortriptyline (Pamelor).

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with Adderall. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about Adderall.

• Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use Adderall only for the indication prescribed
• Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. (‘Multum’) is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum’s drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum’s drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Copyright 1996-2009 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 4.07. Revision Date: 4/12/2009 4:42:24 PM

 

SYSTEM FAULTED IN BOY’S DEATH IN FOSTER CARE

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1130172.html

BY MARC CAPUTO

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE — Child-welfare doctors and case managers routinely failed to complete legally required treatment plans, share information or properly document the prescribing of powerful psychiatric drugs for children, according to a new state study of 6- and 7-year-olds medicated in state care.

One of the 268 children was Gabriel Myers. The troubled 7-year-old, medicated with an adult anti-depressant known to cause suicides in children, hanged himself in April in his Margate foster home.

But the state study, which documents how many times caseworkers and doctors followed child-welfare rules and laws, shows that it would be a mistake to blame Gabriel’s death solely on the drug, Symbyax, said Florida’s drug czar, William Janes.

”It wasn’t just the medications,” said Janes, who sits on a committee investigating ways to prevent cases like Gabriel’s. “It was the system and his world. His environment just collapsed on him. And there was no one there to really put their arms around him.”

The Department of Children and Families study, presented Monday to the committee, indicates that a number of rules and laws on medication for children in state care weren’t followed for all 6- and 7-year-olds:

• In 86 percent of cases, the prescribing physician didn’t complete what’s known as a Psychotherapeutic Medication Treatment Plan, which helps case workers, legal guardians, judges and other physicians determine a child’s mental well being.

• In 75 percent of the cases, the case workers did not provide physicians with pertinent medical information about the child.

• In 76 percent of the cases, the case worker didn’t provide parents with information about the psychotropic drugs their kids were being prescribed. Nor did the case worker help arrange transportation or phone conversations between the doctor and the child’s guardian.

• In 58 percent of the cases, the case manager didn’t attempt to speak with or meet the parent or guardian prior to seeking a court order to medicate the child.

• In 89 percent of the cases where parental consent wasn’t obtained to medicate children, case managers failed to inform state lawyers that they were seeking a court order to administer the medication.

The DCF study also found numerous record-keeping and data discrepancies in the state’s child-tracking system, Florida Safe Families Network. The study follows a similar review last month concerning the drugging of children in state care under the age of 6. DCF is now studying other age groups.

Dr. R. Scott Benson, former head of the American Psychiatric Association, pointed out the difficulties physicians have in meeting all the state record-keeping requirements.

Benson, who doesn’t treat children in state care, said he found it ”horribly troubling” that physicians weren’t given all the pertinent medical information about the children prior to making a prescription. But, he said, he wasn’t surprised because of the complicated nature of child-welfare cases and clients.

The committee probing the child-welfare system plans to issue a report by Aug. 20.

It is only touching on Gabriel’s case, which is the subject of a Margate police investigation. Some doctors and case workers — all of whom work for privatized agencies under contract with the state — might face sanctions, depending on what the report finds.

The DCF study, as well as Gabriel’s case, show the troubles with 2005 legislation designed to curb the prescribing of mental-health drugs to kids in state care.

Among its requirements, the law mandates more information sharing, parental involvement and second-party review of doctors’ prescriptions for the youngest children.

One committee member, Dr. Rajiv Tandon, pushed for a simple electronic record system that physicians and case workers can share.

He said the system also needs to be ”tweaked” to clarify who’s in charge and who needs to do what.

”There’s only so much we can do. There’s no substitute for common sense,” Tandon said. “There’s no substitute for people doing the right thing. Sadly, in this case, the right thing wasn’t done by some people.”

KIDS NEED CARE, NOT PILLS, EX-FOSTER CHILDREN TELL PANEL

 

A state group looking at the suicide of a young foster child met Thursday to discuss ways to improve care and listened to adults who said they were overmedicated in the foster-care system.

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/486/story/1104243-p2.html

BY AMY SHERMAN

asherman@MiamiHerald.com

As Florida child-welfare administrators study failures in the foster-care system believed to have led a 7-year-old boy to kill himself in April, they turned Thursday to experts they don’t often consult: young adults who came of age in state care.

Mez Pierre, 22, and Kimberly Foster, 25, both from Broward County, told the group that mental health drugs — already at the center of the investigation of Gabriel Myers’s tragic death — aren’t the answer for many foster youth. Children need caring adults who will look at the causes of their difficult behavior, they said — not simply write prescriptions in an attempt to control it.

Foster said doctors prescribed medication when she got upset about being removed from her home. She was ultimately placed in facilities with locked windows and restraints.

”They were trying to control the symptoms I had from being put into the system. . . . How I reacted was normal,” Foster said. “I was sad. I was taken away from my home. Because of that they felt medication was the right way to treat me.”

Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) administrators and child advocates who formed a work group to study Gabriel’s death held their third meeting Thursday in Fort Lauderdale. Gabriel hanged himself in the bathroom of his Margate foster home in April. He had been prescribed several psychiatric drugs during his nine months in foster care.

Workgroup members spent much of the day talking about issues such as how to improve communication between various professionals who care for foster kids. The leaders discussed various forms and documents collected for each child, and the potential roadblocks in gathering the data — sometimes as simple as a fax not going through.

Anne Wells, pharmacy director for the state Agency for Health Care Administration, questioned how some of these efforts will help children in foster care. .

”I don’t mean to criticize, but I have listened to improvements, and checked boxes, forms and paperwork. I’m sorry. I just don’t get it,” she said. “Where does all of this stuff head off the outcome that Gabriel had?”

Wells also questioned whether administrators were too quick to blame medication for Gabriel’s death, rather than talking about what led to his being medicated in the first place.

OVER-MEDICATED

But both Pierre and Foster told the group that they were over-medicated as foster children.

”To hear a story about a foster youth who lost his life, I take that very, very personally,” said Pierre, who choked back tears during his presentation. “I went through a lot of things that Gabriel went through and to see one loss is very painful.”

Gabriel ‘wasn’t being cared for. He was just told `you have problems,’ ” Pierre said.

Pierre added that he was first prescribed medications when he entered the foster-care system at age 5. He was given multiple pills and various diagnoses, including attention deficit/hyperactivity and bipolar disorders.

”When I was on medications, I always felt like a zombie,” he said. “I felt drowsy. I didn’t feel human. I felt like I was an animal on a farm being tested.”

Today, Pierre is doing what many told him he couldn’t do: living a successful life without medications. Pierre, who lives in Deerfield Beach, said he has a job, attends Broward College and hopes to become a lawyer.

”Consider the lives . . . even though it’s a difficult job,” he told the group. “That doesn’t mean to neglect your responsibility and to not work together.”

 

Foster said she took herself off the medications when she was 18 and pregnant. She now lives in Pompano Beach with her husband and son.

NEVER SUICIDAL

”I have never displayed any suicidal ideations, no mutilations, no disorientations,” Foster said. ‘We are lost if we send a message to youth, `if you cry you are depressed.’ We are so quick to put diagnoses on a child for a lot of times being a normal adolescent.”

Both Pierre and Foster are active in a group called Florida Youth Shine which, among other things, testifies in Tallahassee about foster-care issues.

A Miami Herald article that showed Gabriel had been on several drugs, including anti-depressants associated with a higher risk of suicide, prompted DCF to investigate the prescribing of mental health drugs to children.

DCF Secretary George Sheldon formed the work group as part of the wide-ranging investigation.

The group Thursday discussed a recent state review of more than 100 foster children age 5 or younger receiving psychiatric drugs. The study revealed that child welfare administrators are ignoring rules designed to protect the children.

In the majority of cases, for example, there was no documentation to show that case managers coordinated with the prescribing practitioner to obtain a psychiatric evaluation.

Broward County’s top child-welfare judge, Circuit Judge John A. Frusciante, read a statement that he recently wrote to ChildNet, Broward’s private foster care agency, in response to child advocates in recent hearings who had no knowledge about the existence of ”black box warnings” on medications. He called for more education of case workers.

”It is deeply disturbing that child advocates have no knowledge of the FDA’s highest warnings for possibly life-threatening adverse effects of medications,” he wrote.

GABRIEL MYERS: DCF OFFICIALS DISCUSS SUICIDE OF 7-YEAR-OLD MARGATE BOY

DCF officials discuss suicide of 7-year-old Margate boy

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1103119.html

Gabriel Myers: picture from Florida DCF webpage

BY AMY SHERMAN

asherman@MiamiHerald.com

A group of officials from the Department of Children & Families and other child advocates are holding a daylong public meeting Thursday in the aftermath of the hanging death of a child in foster care. The work group will listen to the experiences of two young adults who spent time in the foster care system.

A medical director at a school in Massachusetts is also expected to speak at the meeting in Fort Lauderdale. He will discuss the best practices for mental health in child welfare. DCF secretary George Sheldon formed the work group as part of the investigation into Gabriel Myers’ death and the practices of prescribing powerful drugs to foster children.

Gabriel, 7, hung himself in the bathroom of his Margate foster home in April. He had been prescribed several psychiatric drugs during his nine-month stay in foster care.

A Miami Herald article that showed Gabriel had been on several drugs, including anti-depressants associated with suicide risk, prompted DCF to investigate the practices of prescribing such drugs to children.

A recent state review of more than 100 foster care children receiving psychiatric drugs revealed that child welfare administrators are ignoring rules designed to protect the children. For example, caseworkers have failed to seek a second opinion from a psychiatrist before administering mental-health drugs to children younger than 6.

Four years ago legislators passed a law to reduce the amount of psychiatric drugs prescribed to children in state care. That law requires consent from a parent or judge, among other rules.

The work group will next meet July 6 in Tallahassee.

AN ARTICLE THAT I FOUND…NOT EVEN SURE OF THE DATE

Child’s Death in Overcrowded Foster Home Highlights Statewide Problem’ Advocates Call for Strike For

I found this article, believe it or not, on one of those adoption pages that show foster children who are available for adoption…I have no idea how old it is, but I do know that the foster care concerns mentioned in this article, are still occurring.  I thought I would post it here.  I am sure this death occurred at least a year ago, although again, I am not sure of the date of this article…One thing I am sure of….HOW MANY WAKE UP CALLS DOES THE STATE OF FLORIDA NEED…This article was apparently a while before Gabriel Myer’s committed suicide, yet even in it they are calling for a strike force to investigate, “over crowded foster homes”, when what they need to do is abolish the entire system and start fresh with a different program that might actually work.

The lawsuit was filed in 2000, so the state of Florida has been aware of this issue for a long time, hell, am I the only person who remembers years ago when Florida didn’t even know where the children in its care were????  Yet this corruption and government abuse is not just happening in Florida, it is everywhere…every time I read the news there is yet another dead foster child,  dead adopted child, or a child killed by their parents…who were being or had been investigated before by CPS… I mean first the state of  Florida don’t know where the children are…and now they don’t know how many are illegally being prescribed drugs…great parenting by the state of Florida….You should all be charged with Child Abuse and neglect…your behavior in many of these cases are worse then the parents  you removed the children from.  Who protects the children from you, who investigates you, and removes children from your care?  Florida needs the children in their custody removed and their rights to these children terminated~~~~~!

How many children have to die, before the United States Government realizes that America’s CPS system is corrupt and broken beyond repair.  How many children have to suffer abuse at the hands of “trained foster parents, group home staff, CPS workers,” before something is done to protect children from the people who are supposed to protect them?

Read the article below…

http://library.adoption.com/articles/childs-death-in-overcrowded-foster-home-highlights-statewide-problem-advocates-call-for-strike-force-to-investigate-overcrowding-and-abuse-by-foster-parents.html

PRESS RELEASE

Following the death of a 17-month-old child in an overcrowded foster home in Florida and the arrest of her foster mother for first-degree murder, national and local child advocacy groups are calling for an independent federal investigative Strike Force. The Strike Force would immediately investigate all foster homes with more than five children and monitor the safety of children placed in overcrowded foster homes by Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF). The coalition of child advocates says the conditions surrounding the toddler’s death in foster care are not isolated but symptomatic of a failure by DCF to protect and care for foster children throughout the state. A federal audit of the Florida foster care system by the Department of Human Service begins this month.

Foster child Latiana Hamilton was found beaten and drowned in a bathtub on July 18. Her foster mother, Lena Cumberbatch, was arrested on July 27 for first-degree murder. Eight children (four foster children and four biological children of Cumberbatch’s), ranging in age from 2 months to 10 years, were living in the home. The biological children told police about a history of abuse by Cumberbatch since the foster children arrived. One child witnessed the drowning of Latiana.

“The death of this toddler must be a wake-up call to the citizens of Florida about the dangerous conditions facing all children who enter foster care in our state,” said Deborah Schroth of Florida Legal Services, a statewide non-profit organization that is part of a federal class action lawsuit, Bonnie L v. Jeb Bush, charging Florida’s foster care system with violating the federal constitutional and statutory rights of children in their care. “These children, in need of the protection of the State, are suffering emotional, physical and even sexual abuse while in the very homes intended to protect them. Other tragedies like Latiana’s death are waiting to happen throughout the state.”

There are more children in Florida’s foster care than ever before (an estimated 18,000 in foster homes, group homes and other facilities). A February 2001 state report on overcrowding found that:

*Out of 4,242 foster homes, 16% of foster homes are over their licensed capacity even though 52% of foster homes are under their licensed capacity.

*There are currently 62 foster homes with more than 10 children.

A recent DCF report states that ” there may be a substantial number of homes that are over the five-child limit during any given point in time” and that “foster parents who must deal with too many children…are prime targets for stress which may result in maltreatment.”

“This death is on the state’s hands,” stated Karen Gievers, an attorney in Tallahassee who initiated the Bonnie L. lawsuit. “State officials, being aware of the increased risk of maltreatment that comes with homes having more than 5 children, are only examining homes with over 10 children. That is not good enough. Foster children are abused daily in overcrowded homes and now a little girl has been killed. We are calling for an independent federal Strike Force to begin an immediate investigation into all foster homes with more than five children. It must also examine all foster homes that are underutilized to determine if they are capable of caring for children safely.”

“The rate of maltreatment of children in Florida foster care is 2,000 times the maximum permissible rate set by the federal government,” stated Rose Firestein, an attorney at Children’s Rights, a national non-profit child advocacy group that is co-counsel on the Bonnie L. lawsuit. “In the fiscal year 1999-2000, a shockingly high 81 out of every thousand children in Florida’s foster care system were neglected or abused by their foster parents or by the staff at a foster care facility. In contrast, 18.9 out of every thousand children in Florida’s general population were the subjects of a confirmed report of neglect or abuse at the hands of their biological parents or custodians. Unlike the biological parents who maltreated their children, the foster caregivers were selected, trained, approved and paid by DCF (or its agents) to provide a safe place for children to live.”

Background on Bonnie L. v. Jeb Bush

The Bonnie L. v. Jeb Bush federal lawsuit was filed in 2000 on behalf of 23 named plaintiffs- children who have suffered serious physical and psychological harm while in the care of DCF and on behalf of the approximately 15,000 foster care children who are currently dependent on DCF for their care and protection. The defendants in the suit include Governor Jeb Bush and Kathleen Kearney, secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Key facts and claims in the lawsuit regarding overcrowding of foster homes state that:

*DCF’s continued overcrowding and inadequately supervised foster homes and other out-of-home care facilities expose children in DCF’s custody to the imminent risk of sexual and other abuse, neglect and other dangers while they remain in DCF’s care.

*DCF has put children in foster care placements that were dangerous, abusive, neglectful, overcrowded or wholly inappropriate and incapable of meeting the children’s individual needs.

A federal magistrate in Florida, the Hon. Robert Dubé, recently upheld the legal claims in the lawsuit even thought the state had moved to have all of the legal claims dismissed. He recommended to the district court judge, the Hon. Federico Moreno, that the case proceed as a class action on behalf of all the children in the state. His recommendations are now under consideration by the federal judge and a hearing is scheduled for August 28, 2001.

Media contacts throughout Florida:

Jacksonville: Deborah Schroth: 904-355-5200; Wayne Hogan: 904-632-2424

West Palm: Ted Babbit: 561-684-2500 and Robert Montgomery: 561-832-2880

Miami: Carolyn Salisbury: 305-284-4321; Greg Samms: 305-573-2444:

Orlando: Kevin Cannon: 407-839-1040

Tampa/St. Petersburg: Neil Spector: 813-229-0900

Sarasota: Susan Stockham: 941-957-0094

Pensacola: Bob Kerrigan: 850-444-4444

Gainesville: Claudia Wright: 352-392-0412

Ft. Lauderdale: Chris Zawisza: 954-262-6027

Daytona Beach: Bill Chanfrau: 800-969-7313 or 904-258-7313

Children’s Rights works throughout the United States in partnership with national and local experts, advocates and government officials to document the needs of children in the care of child welfare systems. Children’s Rights helps develop realistic solutions and, where necessary, uses the power of litigation to ensure that reform takes place.

DEATH OF GABRIEL MYERS RAISES CONCERN ABOUT PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS.

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-psychotropic-drugs-editorialsbjun08,0,2212606.story

THE ISSUE: Death raises concern about psychotropic drugs.

Sun Sentinel Editorial Board

June 8, 2009

Gabriel Myers committed suicide in a Margate foster home, and his death resurrects a problem many thought had been addressed by state law — the misuse of psychotropic medication.

Unfortunately, too many youths in Florida’s foster care system — 2,669 at last count — are still on potentially dangerous, mood-altering medication. Almost one of every six of those youngsters is given these drugs without court order or parental consent.

State lawmakers might be forgiven for thinking that they’ve been there, done that on this controversy. In 2005, the Legislature approved SB 1090, a bill that tightened state procedures to make sure that psychotropic drugs weren’t prescribed to minors without proper oversight. The law stressed physicians’ need to get consent or a court order before dispensing the drugs.

The lawmakers did their job; Myers’ tragedy suggests the child welfare officials who run community based foster care services apparently didn’t do theirs.

At the time of his death, Myers had been prescribed Symbyax and Vyvanse, two mood-altering drugs that had not been approved by either the boy’s parents or a judge. Symbyax carries a “black box” warning that the drug may increase suicidal thoughts or behavior in children. Vyvanse’s warning says the medication carries arisk of aggressive behavior, strange thoughts and mania.

The fact that Myers is the new face for an ongoing problem shows a flaw in the state’s child welfare program, which has undergone its own reforms. Local community-based nonprofits now run foster-care services, but the fact that Myers died tragically under the care of a local bureaucracy instead of a state one is no reason to think the state’s safety net is rock solid.

The investigation continues, and child welfare officials are, again, fending off allegations they use drugs designed for serious mental disorders to subdue behavior. Lawmakers undoubtedly will propose new bills to strengthen laws already on the books.

New legislation is fine. The trick now is to make sure all the rules are being followed.

BOTTOM LINE: Rules must be followed.

PANEL TO INVESTIGATE BOY’S DEATH IN FOSTER CARE

 

http://cbs4.com/local/gabriel.myers.margate.2.1034777.html

Reporting John MacLauchlan

E-mail TAMPA

 

An investigative panel formed by Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon to look into what led up to the death of a Margate boy living in foster home will convene Monday in Tampa.

Gabriel Myers, 7, died April 16th after he apparently hanged himself from a shower rod.

Sheldon has asked the group to conduct a full inquiry into the events that led up to the boy’s death including case management, judicial decisions and the contributing effects that psychotropic drugs and sexual abuse had.

“It is incomprehensible to me—even now—to understand how a child so young may have deliberately and consciously made a decision to end his life,” said Sheldon last month during a press conference on psychotropic drug among foster children. “Anyone who heard of Gabriel’s story was in disbelief; and parents everywhere are wondering to themselves: how could this happen?”

The panel is being chaired by Dr. Jim Sewell, a former assistant commissioner of FDLE.

Sheldon said he’s been disturbed by some of the initial findings of the work group in the case.

“Gabriel’s physician had prescribed several psychotherapeutic drugs, but this information was not reflected in our database,” said Sheldon. “There also was no evidence in Gabriel’s files that the statutorily required parental consent or a court order where obtained.”

According to documents released by the DCF, Myers was taken from his drug-abusing mother less than a year ago. He had apparently been sexually abused and exposed to adult videos since the age of three. Teachers had reported that he had exposed himself, and touched other children inappropriately.

The Margate foster home where Gabriel Myers allegedly took his life was the third for the boy in less than a year. The DCF documents obtained by the CBS4 I-Team show he first entered the foster care system on June 29, 2008.

He was placed in a licensed home through Kids in Distress. Some days later, he was moved to the home of his aunt and uncle. He lived there for some three months until Broward Sheriff’s Office investigators received a report alleging sexual and physical abuse.

While investigators found no signs of sexual abuse, the uncle revealed he “did try corporal punishment” and hit the child with a belt. A Broward County judge issued an emergency order and moved Gabriel Myers back to the licensed home.

According to the documents, when Gabriel first entered the system, he had with him a prescription bottle of Adderall XR, a drug typically taken for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The medication appeared melted. A new prescription was filled, but ultimately stopped. The DCF documents show Gabriel began seeing a psychiatrist soon after entering the system.

The psychiatrist later prescribed Lexapro, a drug for depression and anxiety, and Vyvanse for the child’s ADHD. In March, doctors took Gabriel off Lexapro, and put him on Symbyax, also for depression and possible schizophrenia.

All three of the drugs have an FDA-mandated “black box” warning — a statement on the prescription’s box which describes its possible adverse reactions, including suicidal thoughts.