one child on 17 different medications.

[soulwinner]

http://www.woai.com/troubleshooters/story....D1-1789D8F2A18A I happpen to work for a rescue mission and the gentlemen that come in alot of them are on medications and the doctors hand these out like M&M's. I have seen this type of thing first hand so it is no surprise to me. But this story is still alarming.

Why would a child as young as 3 ever be on mind-altering drugs? For the past eight months, the News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters have poured through reams of state documents and discovered thousands of foster kids appear to be on powerful psychotropic drugs. Many of these children are barely in kindergarten. Some are mere toddlers.

"We didn't even know he was in the hospital until he called us from Laurel Ridge himself," a woman we'll refer to as "Magdalana" tells us. We're disguising her name in order to protect the identity of her six year old grandson she's referring to.

She says he was confined to a psychiatric hospital following a temper tantrum when he called his grandmother for help.

"I mean he was like," Magdalana describes, "maybe you could say he looked more like a zombie."

News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Tanji Patton asks, "How could you tell by looking at him that he was on medication?" Magdalana answers, "His attitude, his eyes, his way of speech. All that."

Magdalana says a nurse confirmed her fears. Her grandchild was on 2 different psychotropic or mind-altering drugs, plus benadryl to help him sleep. As it turns out, Magdalana's grandchild isn't alone.

A sampling of state records released by the State Comptroller's office shows two out of three foster kids in texas appear to be on psychotropic meds. The Medicaid prescription records are from November of last year and show that many kids are taking two or more of these drugs.

At the risk of losing her job, a Child Protective Services worker spoke to the Trouble Shooters following a hearing by State Rep. Carlos Uresti last month. She talked about one child on 17 different medications. That's right. Seventeen!

"I think he had three to four psychotropic medications in addition to the Depakote, in addition to Zoloft, in addition to Trazadone to help him sleep." Some of these drugs the FDA states are not even safe for kids. "He did need medications," she continues, "But I had concerns about how could this child require 17 different medications."

What's perhaps even more alarming, child advocates say, are the ages of the kids. The Trouble Shooters obtained a never before released study that tracks the ages of the foster kids on these drugs during a one month period of time. At least 300 of these children are under the age of 7.

Tanji Patton recently asked the President and CEO of the Children's Shelter in San Antonio, Jack Downey, "How big a problem do you think this is?"

Downey says, "I think it's far larger than you or I or anyone else suspects." This longtime advocate for children says his heart aches when he talks about the cases. He shared the story of one family he remembers in particular.

[koppen]

I worked for several years in a children's treatment center here in Texas , as well as my brother who worked directly with the girls in this facility.

These children are so medicated, some need it but a mojority of them are simply children acting like children, normal behavors, however, they are medicatedas well. I saw a few files while working there where they had made mistakes in meds by giving some children the wrong meds and giving too much. But nothing was reported to their case workers but kept quiet with in the office where I worked. it was a night mare working there, such an emotional strain!

[Leonard]

They're easier to take care of if you

'buzz' them out on meds and stick

them in a corner. Absolutely depraved

and disgusting!!!

[hmh]

It seems like the parents do not want to spend any time with their children and rather drug them up and put them aside instead of taking care of their responsibilities. I would NEVER do that to my daughter. I want her to grow up and experience life along the way with all of her senses, not sit all day in a drugged up stupor. GRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

[Adstar]

Not only are doped kids easier to handle but don't forget the other important benefit of using as much drugs as possible. Yeah higher returns on investments for the shareholders of pharmaceutical corporations and there are all those "inducements" that are offered to institutions to use more of the product. Ahhh deregulation and free enterprise its great isn't it.

All Praise The Ancient Of Days

PS: if it isn't obvious i'm being sarcastic.

[koppen]

Absolutely... the children that came to the place I worked at where sent there by the courts and children that had been taken away from their parents, only to come to a place that medicated them and didn't respect them whatsoever. This was a Lutheran facility and they wouldn't even allow you to speak of God on the campus. It was the hardest job I ever had and it was the greatest day when I left.

[soulwinner]

Here at the mission there is one doctor some of our guys go to and he asks them what meds do they want. Can you believe it. "What meds do you want!"

[Guest Thomas I believe]

Here at the mission there is one doctor some of our guys go to and he asks them what meds do they want. Can you believe it. "What meds do you want!"

[The Journey]

Having practiced family medicine for 9 years and emergency medicine for 2 I can tell you there are patients and parents who simply want medications.

If you keep going to doctors because you have problems of daily living you will eventually end up with all kinds of prescription that you do not need. It becomes a hassel for the doctors who will do almost anything to get rid of those kind of patients.

The mental, physical and spiritual fatigue that I suffered is one of the reasons I no longer practice family medicine.

- Steve

[soulwinner]

There is also a bill coming up in the congress where they want to screen all children in america for health issues, I forget what the bill is called but its coming up this week!