State’s Audit Reveals Rampant Abuse of Psychotropic Drugs on Children in State Care
November 13, 2024
A recent audit conducted by the Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor reveals that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) apparently is really bad at doing its job and the fact that the well-being of children is at stake makes the incompetence incomprehensible.
The DCF is tasked with providing services to children who are at risk, victims of abuse or neglect. The services the state is responsible for providing include adoption, guardianship, foster care, housing stabilization and family support.
Specifically, AbleChild is interested in the section of the audit that reviews the oversight of the drugging of children with serious psychiatric mind-altering drugs. The audit reviewed the period from July of 2019 to December of 2023.
During the audit period, 3,899 (22%) of the 17,891 children in DCF’s protective custody were prescribed at least one psychotropic medication. During the audit period, the number of prescriptions filled for each drug category included 1,065 prescriptions for Antianxiety meds, 21,585 Antidepressants, 10,564 Antipsychotics, 10,776 Mood Stabilizers, and 48,453 Stimulants. Clearly chemical behavior modification is a common practice and the state’s DCF social workers are required to participate in, follow and document the medication history of each child under their care.