Washington • Thousands of children in foster care may be getting powerful psychiatric drugs prescribed to them without basic safeguards, according to a federal watchdog’s investigation that finds a failure to care for youngsters whose lives have already been disrupted.
The report due Monday from 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, which are considered standard for sound medical care.
Kids getting mood-altering drugs they don't need is only part of the problem.