We are Robert and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, and today we’d like to bring attention to the thousands of foster children who are being placed at risk by taking psychiatric medications they don’t need. While we understand kids in the system have often been abused and many face a host of psychiatric and emotional issues, medication is not always the answer. However, far too often, meds are all these children are getting when it may not be the best answer.

Disorders like oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety, depression, attachment disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and ADHD are seen all too often in the system, and children can take many pills each day to keep their disorders under control. But what happens when the medication is doing more harm than good? Foster parents may not have much say in the matter, and biological parents have even less input.

Nearly 80% of kids who enter the system suffer from psychological issues. Far too often the system does what is easier instead of what is right, and the kids are paying for it. These medications can have serious side-effects that can impact children’s health, and a recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services found that kids are taking pills they don’t need.

It’s time to fight for foster children’s right to adequate healthcare, and now! Won’t you join us in our quest to hold these agencies accountable?