Jun 10, 2009 7:45 pm US/Eastern
I-Team: DCF Drug Rules For Foster Children Ignored
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Gabriel Myers, the 7-year-old Broward boy who hanged himself in the shower of his foster home.
Miami Herald
The suicide of a 7-year old boy who hanged himself in April while in foster care is shedding new light on how caseworkers with Florida's Department of Children and Families are failing to comply with the rules put in place to protect children from powerful and sometimes unnecessary psychiatric medications, according to a state review of records.
CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald obtain a DCF report Tuesday which reviews the records for 112 foster children younger than age 6 being given the medications.
The review shows caseworkers failed to complete treatment plans, didn't consult psychiatrists contracted by DCF and failed to get consent for the drugs.
DCF Secretary George Sheldon calls the findings "unacceptable."
The state has been reviewing mental-health drug use among foster children since 7-year-old Gabriel Myers, given several psychiatric medications during a nine-month stay in foster care, hanged himself from the extendable shower head in his Margate foster home in April.
Myers had been taking powerful, psychotropic medications. Some of the drugs are not approved for use in children by the Food & Drug Administration. They include Lexapro, a drug for depression and anxiety; Vyvanse, for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); and 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.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
Burned Teen's Family Staying Positive
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