Missouri works to settle lawsuit on medicine for foster kids

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A federal judge Monday gave preliminary approval to a settlement agreement for a lawsuit alleging Missouri overmedicated children in foster care with psychotropic drugs.

The agreement, which still needs final approval, calls for the state to make systemic changes to how it oversees prescriptions given to children in its care, including additional staff training and regular check-ups for kids on psychotropic medications.

Children's Rights and other advocacy groups last year filed the class-action lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Social Services on behalf of all foster children in the state.

The lawsuit claims psychotropic drugs are often prescribed as "chemical straight-jackets" for foster care children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or conduct disorder even though there are few to no Food and Drug Administration-approved uses for the drugs among children. The plaintiffs' attorneys said there's little research on how the drugs affect children's brains and possible side effects include disorders causing twitching, Type 2 diabetes, psychosis and suicidal thoughts.

"For too long, Missouri's most vulnerable children have been subjected to powerful drugs with little state accountability or oversight," Samantha Bartosz, an attorney at the national advocacy group Children's Rights, said in a statement.

"We are pleased that we have been able to work with DSS to create meaningful guardrails to protect the health and well-being of children in foster care," the statement said.

The proposed settlement agreement would require children on psychotropic medications to be checked on by a doctor at least every three months. The department must have children's medical records and medication history on file, and staff would need to undergo training on psychotropic drugs.

The department also would be required to create a policy to trigger automatic reviews of children ages 4 or younger on antipsychotic medicine, as well as children ages 5 and older taking multiple psychotropic or antipsychotic drugs for more than 90 days at a time.

U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey scheduled a final hearing on the agreement for Nov. 20.