United States: A new report says that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) did a poor job of managing mental health care for children.
The report, by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, found that DCF didn’t always get court approval before giving children under its care antipsychotic medications. It also showed that the agency didn’t keep track of the medications properly in children’s medical records, and many files were missing important information.
DiZoglio said this means procedures must evolve.
‘Each of these case files has young lives tied to them, and proper documentation can literally make all the difference when it comes to a child’s protection,’ she said during her Friday sit-down interview with NBC10 Boston Friday.
A department spokesperson responded to DiZoglio’s report through a statement noting that it appreciated her efforts towards achievement of safety and health of foster care children and further said that the department was already in the process of addressing the documentation shortcomings.
” We also understand the value of updating current medical information relevant to the child in the electronic case record on a regular basis and are in the process of considering changes to policy and practice,” the statement added.
“After the audit period in June 2021, DCF started to receive monthly MassHealth Pharmacy claims data where electronic medication records are created and any time a prescriber suggests an anti-psychotic for a child on DCF, a medical necessity review is done.”
Furthermore, the DCF spokesperson stated that after the audit period, which ended in June 2021, the department began receiving hereby the monthly data from MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, to help track pharmacy claims and medication records.
This new system hereby allows the department to better monitor the use of antipsychotic medications and ensure that any prescribed medications are medically necessary for the children under their care. Additionally, the department now conducts a medical necessity review whenever a prescriber recommends an antipsychotic for a child in the foster care system.
While these improvements are really very much promising, the report underscores the need for ongoing reforms to ensure that children in state care receive the best possible treatment and that their health and safety are always prioritized. The state is facing growing pressure to make these changes quickly, as the well-being of vulnerable children depends on it.