Several States have developed policies, guidelines, and services for working with children and youth who have been prescribed psychotropic medications. This section provides State examples that could serve as a model to other States and Territories to help child welfare and related professionals work with children, youth, and families and to better understand and ensure the proper use of psychotropic medications.
Fiscal Year 2021: Administration of Psychotropic Medications to Children Act: A Report to the General Assembly (PDF - 419 KB)
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services & University of Illinois at Chicago, Institute for Juvenile Research (2021)
Reviews the number of clinicians and facilities that administer psychotropic medications to children and youth without the consent of the Department of Children and Family Services.
Improving the Use of Psychotropic Medication Among Children and Youth in Foster Care
California Department of Social Services & California Department of Health Care Services
Summarizes a quality improvement project in California to improve safe and appropriate prescribing and monitoring of psychotropic medication use among children and youth in foster care.
Psychotropic Medication
Indiana Department of Child Services
Shares information about an initiative in Indiana to provide oversight and curb the overuse of psychotropic medications among youth in State custody.
Psychotropic Medication Advisory Committee (PMAC): 2019 Annual Report (PDF - 141 KB)
Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division (2020)
Explains how Missouri’s Psychotropic Medication Advisory Committee collaborated with several child welfare agencies across the State to address the needs of children on psychotropic medication in foster care.
Psychotropic Medication in Foster Care (PDF - 197 KB)
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (2021)
Offers guidelines on the use of psychotropic medications for children in Michigan and information for caseworkers, including on roles and responsibilities, medication oversight, and more.
Psychotropic Medication Management
Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families
Presents guidelines for child welfare staff or resource families to follow when children or youth involved with the child welfare system are receiving psychotropic medications.
Pyschotropic Medication Tool-Kit
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, Office of Children & Families in the Courts
Presents information about the oversight and monitoring of psychotropic medication use by children and youth in child welfare in Pennsylvania. The toolkit includes links to information on medication oversight, frequently asked questions, informed consent, information from foster care alumni, and more.
Psychotropic Mediation Utilization Parameters for Children and Youth in Texas Public Behavioral Health (PDF - 1,096 KB)
Texas Health and Human Services (2019)
Discusses how reactions to trauma may present as various mental health disorders and offers guidelines to professionals completing psychological assessments for children and youth in care.
Update on the Use of Psychotropic Medications for Children in Texas Foster Care: State Fiscal Years 2002–2019 Data Report
Texas Health and Human Services (2021)
Provides data on the use of psychotropic medications for children in Texas foster care from the years 2002 to 2019 based on Medicaid prescription and medical claims.