LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Thousands of foster children are over medicated with unnecessary psychotropic drugs, according to a new study by the Government Accountability Office.
The study also found that the federal government has done too little to oversee their treatment. In hearings on Capitol Hill, a former foster child Ke'Onte Cook, testified before a Senate panel he was given drugs for ADHD, depression and other diagnoses that caused him to zone out. Once placed with the family that eventually adopted him, he got off his meds and began therapy which has helped him heal.
His adoptive mother Carol Cook said she noticed an immediate difference in his behavior once he was taken off the medication.
The GAO report followed a two year investigation looking at foster children in five states, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Texas.
The study found some of the children were given as many as five medications at a time, some of them at doses higher than the Food and Drug Administration allows.
Over 20,000 children had doses above set by FDA, which also can increase the risk of side effects without providing additional benefits.
Over medication is a concerned for the state Department of Human Services. According to DHS spokesperson Amy Webb, polices have been put in place to help prevent it from occurring. Since 2009, doctors must have prior approval from the College of Pharmacy and a team of consulting psychiatrists before medicating a child under 5. that's receiving Medicaid. Since then, they've seen about a 70 percent drop in usage.
Last month, a policy made for all foster kids under 18 to have signed consent by their caregiver that they knew the benefits and side effects of the medications they were given. The state has also began metabolic testing to determine the side effects of some of the medications.