Florida is Giving Foster Children Powerful Psychotropic Drugs Without Proper Records, Audit Finds

September 28, 2023

More than 1 in 3 Florida foster kids over 13 is taking psychotropic medications, but the state often doesn’t follow rules requiring it to keep records of prescriptions.

by Emma Camp Reason.com

An audit conducted this summer revealed that children in Florida’s foster care system are being prescribed powerful psychotropic medications at alarmingly high rates. In many cases, state child welfare officials are failing to properly document prescriptions, resulting in children taking powerful medications with scant medical records available to justify them.

Over 2,200 children that are currently in Florida’s foster care system—around one in 10—are prescribed psychotropic medications, reported the Tampa Bay Times. For foster children over the age of 13, more than one in three are on this kind of medication, which includes treatments for conditions like ADHD, depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.