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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2015)
June 3, 2015 Page 7 2SLQLRQDUWLFOHVGRQRWQHFHVVDULO\UHSUHVHQWWKHYLHZVRIWKH 3RUWODQG2EVHUYHU:HZHOFRPHUHDGHUHVVD\VSKRWRVDQG VWRU\LGHDV6XEPLWWRQHZV#SRUWODQGREVHUYHUFRP O PINION Overmedicating Children in Foster Care Other treatments can build on better outcomes M ARIAN W RIGHT E DELMAN On any given day nearly one in four chil- dren in foster care is taking at least one psy- chotropic medication — more than four times the rate for all children. Nearly half of children living in residential treatment centers or group homes take psychotropic medications. Children in foster care are more likely to be prescribed multiple psychotropic medications at very high doses, although research shows higher doses can result in serious side effects. Viewers of the ABC News SURJUDP PD\ UHPHPEHU Ke’onte Cook from a few years ago, a 10-year-old who had al- ready spent four years in foster care being treated with a dozen different medications for condi- tions including seizures, bipolar BY GLVRUGHU DQG $'+' .H¶RQWH had never been diagnosed with the conditions some of the med- LFDWLRQV ZHUH PHDQW WR WUHDW 8Q- der his adoptive parents’ care he stopped taking all the medications and started relying on therapy, and with that new treatment plan he was transformed. Why are some children in foster care being over- medicated, and what steps do we need to take to do something about it? Psychotropic medica- tions act on the brain and central nervous system to cause changes in mood, behavior, or perception. They can be effective treatments for certain serious mental health conditions but there is a growing concern that too many children in foster care are overmedicated — in some cases as a form of behav- ior control. Children who come into foster care often have been exposed to multiple traumatic events includ- ing the removal from their fam- ilies, and may be at higher risk for mental health problems and emotional disorders. Too often multiple medications may be used without other kinds of effective treatments that might better ad- dress the underlying trauma chil- dren are experiencing. There’s ev- idence some children in foster care are subjected to powerful medica- WLRQVDWYHU\\RXQJDJHVDQGRULQ combinations and amounts that are unsafe for children of any age. pany the use of such powerful drugs — all essential considering the serious side effects from some that can include nightmares, hal- lucinations, suicidal thoughts, and even death. 7KH VSHFLDO LQFOXGHG the heartbreaking story of Gabriel Myers, a Florida seven-year-old who hung himself in his foster 7KH\FDQEHHIIHFWLYHWUHDWPHQWVIRU FHUWDLQVHULRXVPHQWDOKHDOWKFRQGLWLRQV but there is a growing concern that WRRPDQ\FKLOGUHQLQIRVWHUFDUHDUH RYHUPHGLFDWHG²LQVRPHFDVHVDVD IRUPRIEHKDYLRUFRQWURO Many psychotropic medications are not approved for use in chil- dren at all. Often children in foster care are prescribed drugs without any psychotherapy because resources aren’t available. They may not re- ceive a proper initial diagnosis or any of the ongoing monitoring or extra services that should accom- family’s bathroom. A state inves- tigation concluded the use of psy- chotropic drugs was a contribut- ing factor in his death. His foster father said the doctor who pre- scribed the many drugs Gabriel was taking — some so strong that HYHQ WKH SKDUPDF\ ¿OOLQJ WKHP UDLVHGUHGÀDJV²ZRXOGVSHQGQR PRUH WKDQ ¿YH PLQXWHV ZLWK WKH little boy before sending him out the door with another prescription. We must do better. Too many child welfare agencies lack the proper non-pharmacological treat- ments to address the mental health needs of children in foster care. The Administration seeks to reduce the over-reliance on drugs and increase the use of appropri- ate screening, assessment, and interventions. It wants incentives to states that demonstrate im- provements to reduce inappropri- ate drug prescribing practices and overutilization of psychotropic medications, increase access to evidence-based and trauma-in- formed therapeutic interventions, promote child and adolescent wellbeing, and improve outcomes for children in the child welfare system. These common sense and nec- essary steps build on best practic- es already in place in some states. Now is the right time to ensure children in foster care get the treatment and care they truly need. 0DULDQ :ULJKW (GHOPDQ LV 3UHVLGHQW RI WKH &KLOGUHQ¶V 'H IHQVH)XQG 2SHQLQJD1HZ'RRUDQGD1HZ6HWRI&KDOOHQJHV To the Class of 2016 M ARC H. M ORIAL If you are disposed to using the Internet as your guide, a diploma will generally be de- scribed as the proof of your successful com- pletion of a course of study, or the bestowal of an academic degree. Speaking from personal experi- ence, I can tell you that diploma in your grasp, occupying a promi- nent space on a wall or waiting to be pressed into your eager hand is so much more than the sum of your years-long efforts to be where you are today. Your degree is a key that opens a new door, a new phase of life and a new set of challenges. Your life’s journey—and its achievements—does not end here. Celebrate, because you’ve earned it; bask in your well-earned feel- ing of accomplishment today, be- FDXVHWRPRUURZ\RXZLOO¿QGWKDW there is much work to be done. On the other side of that new door is a staircase, and that stair- case may not be the kind fash- ioned from crystal with smooth, reliable, clear-cut steps. Obstacles BY may slow or impede your climb. 7KHUHPD\EHWDFNVEURNHQÀRRU- boards and torn up carpet that would trip, or at worst, defeat someone without the training you have been so fortunate to attain. There is no shortcut here, no elevator, or bypassing of these GLI¿FXOWVWHSVDQGWXUQV7KHUH is, however, the choice to apply the perseverance and commitment to excellence you have already shown in your higher education journey. On the one hand, there is much to celebrate in our country when it comes to academic achievement in African-American communi- ties. Today, we enjoy the highest high school graduation rates in history. More students of color are in college and dropout rates are at historic lows. But the wealth and unemployment gap between blacks and whites remains wide. While the black unemployment UDWHKDV¿QDOO\GLSSHGLQWRWKHVLQ- gle digits, it stubbornly remains more than twice as high as the job- less rate for whites. As our coun- try’s economy continues to make steady gains after the debilitating 2008 recession, millions in black and brown communities are be- ing left behind. In this country— founded largely on the principle of economic progress through hard work—the American dream of upward mobility remains only a dream for too many of its citizens. Your education, drive and di- ploma, may likely shield you from the harsh economic realities expe- rienced throughout communities of color across our nation, but it does not strip you of an obliga- tion to be an actor, rather than a spectator, in our country’s struggle to create one nation with liberty, justice and economic opportunity for all. No one gets to where they are on his or her own. You have par- ents, grandparents, friends and family members who invested in your future success, put you on this path and made sure you stayed the course. How will you repay their commitment to you? Whether your ancestors came here by plane, by train, by ship or shackled underneath the hull of a ship; whether the continent they called home was Asia, Europe or Africa, what they did when they reached the shores of our nation, ZKDW WKH\ VDFUL¿FHG²DOO RI LW is debt incurred. How will you choose to compensate them for their struggles? Among you are the teachers who will lift the standard of ed- ucation in poor communities and begin to close the achievement gap; among you are the preach- ers who will heal the wounds of communities torn apart by vio- lence; among you are the elected RI¿FLDOV ZKR ZLOO LQVWLWXWH ODZV and policies that promote social and economic fairness for all of America’s citizens. Herein lies the answer. The answer our nation has been searching for is you and your talent, put to a higher purpose. I cannot promise you that your climb to success in this life will be a crystal stair. You may very well encounter dark corners and obstacles. What I can promise you is that you have been prepared to meet these challenges head on. And more than meet these chal- lenges, you have also been pre- pared to be an actor in solving so many of the longstanding issues and inequities facing our nation, so “don’t you turn back.” 0DUF + 0RULDO LV SUHVLGHQW DQG FKLHI H[HFXWLYH RI¿FHU RI WKH 1DWLRQDO8UEDQ/HDJXH The Law Offices of Patrick John Sweeney, P.C. Patrick John Sweeney Attorney at Law 1549 SE Ladd Portland, Oregon Portland: Hillsoboro: Facsimile: Email: (503) 244-2080 (503) 244-2081 (503) 244-2084 Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com
