Trump administration must stop giving psychotropic drugs to migrant children without consent, judge rules

[smilesammich 10,727]

Quote

A federal judge on Monday found that U.S. government officials have been giving psychotropic medication to migrant children at a Texas facility without first seeking the consent of their parents or guardians, in violation of state child welfare laws.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles ordered the Trump administration to obtain consent or a court order before administering any psychotropic medications to migrant children, except in cases of dire emergencies. She also ordered that the government move all children out of a Texas facility, Shiloh Residential Treatment Center in Manvel, except for children deemed by a licensed professional to pose a “risk of harm” to themselves or others.

Staff members at Shiloh admitted to signing off on medications in lieu of a parent, relative or legal guardian, according to Gee’s ruling. Government officials defended this practice, saying they provided these drugs only on “an emergency basis” when a child’s “extreme psychiatric symptoms” became dangerous.

The judge didn’t buy this explanation, pointing to testimony from children who said they were given pills “every morning and every night.” Officials “could not have possibly” administered medications to children on an emergency basis every day, Gee wrote.

Children testified in court filings that staff with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement would sometimes not tell them what drugs they were being given or why. They recalled feeling side effects such as nausea, dizziness, depression and weight gain. Some reported being forcibly injected with drugs, and others said they felt that refusing medications would cause them to be detained longer.

“I witnessed staff members forcefully give medication four times,” one child held at Shiloh, identified as Isabella M., said. “. . . Two staff members pinned down the girl . . . and a doctor gave her one or two injections.”

Isabella was prescribed multiple psychotropic medications at Shiloh, including topiramate, without her mother’s consent, according to an April court filing. “Nobody asked me for permission to give medications to my daughter, even though the staff at Shiloh has always had my telephone number and address,” the mother testified.

The mother said Isabella’s anxiety medications were causing her to tremble and feel nervous. Isabella “tells me that she has fallen several times,” her mother testified, “because the medications were too powerful and she couldn’t walk.”

The Shiloh Residential Treatment Center, the judge ruled, violated a long-standing settlement that set strict standards for detaining immigrant children, including those who crossed the border unaccompanied and those who were separated from their parents. The 1997 Flores agreement requires the government to place children in the “least restrictive” setting appropriate to their age and any special needs.

stop giving psychotropic drugs to migrant children

 

i can't believe they were giving meds to kids without a licensed professional making an assessment. 

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

4 minutes ago, smilesammich said:

stop giving psychotropic drugs to migrant children

 

i can't believe they were giving meds to kids without a licensed professional making an assessment. 

Where are you getting this stuff from, reddit? I know in the Immigration subforum on Reddit this has been on there for 2 days now. 

[smilesammich 10,727]

Just now, Cyberfx1024 said:

Where are you getting this stuff from, reddit? I know in the Immigration subforum on Reddit this has been on there for 2 days now. 

um, this is the washington post. i am on reddit, but i've never been to or seen the immigration subforum. not sure what that has to do with anything.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

Just now, smilesammich said:

um, this is the washington post. i am on reddit, but i've never been to or seen the immigration subforum. not sure what that has to do with anything.

It's not worth going to in all honesty. 

[smilesammich 10,727]

Just now, Cyberfx1024 said:

It's not worth going to in all honesty. 

wasn't planning on it. why do you ask where i'm getting this from, do you think this isn't real or something?

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

17 minutes ago, smilesammich said:

wasn't planning on it. why do you ask where i'm getting this from, do you think this isn't real or something?

I was just curious is all. Sorry if it came out wrong, I didn't mean to sound like that. I just saw this on Reddit and now on here so I was curious.