3-year-old prescribed six psychotropic drugs in CPS' care

Published on May 24, 2012

HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
Updated: May 16, 2012 9:39 PM CDT
Randy Wallace, Investigative Reporter

Here's 4-year-old Rachel Harrison before Child Protective Services took her away from her parents.

Once CPS takes over, you can see the drastic changes for yourself.

"And as a parent it's very hard to deal with because your baby's in trouble and you can't do anything to help," said Rachel's mother Christina Harrison.

Watch as the bubbly little girl starts looking more like some neglected waif while under CPS's care.

"She was never abused or neglected in any way except by CPS," said Debbie Flores, Rachel's grandmother.

In numerous court hearings CPS caseworkers would admit they had no reason to think Rachel's parents ever neglected or abused her.

The only reason CPS took custody was the young parent's recreational drug use.

Something they admitted to and lived to regret.

But ironically Rachel would be the one hooked on drugs while under CPS's watch including Risperdal, a drug used to treat Schizophrenia and Bi-Polar disorder and according to the FDA, should not be given to a child under 10.

"3-years-old, given psychotropic drugs, there's no reason for it none at all," said David Harrison, Rachel's father.

It was 2007 when CPS first entered the family's life.

The state agency took Rachel into protective custody soon after her birth because her mom tested positive for marijuana.

This 2007 home video shows a horrific case of diaper rash Rachel had while in foster care. The baby's awful condition is pointed out to 2 CPS caseworkers but neither decides to seek immediate medical attention.

Even after a judge ordered the foster mom to get Rachel to a doctor A.S.A.P., CPS failed to make sure that happened. Later CPS admitted to making big mistakes.

Fast forward to July 2010.

"I went to the hospital to get my appendix out and tested positive for cocaine," Rachel's mother said.

That was enough for CPS to take Rachel again and spend over a year trying to terminate David and Christina's parental rights.

CPS wouldn't allow the family to see Rachel for two months. What they say they saw was a drooling, lethargic emaciated looking little girl who wanted to play a very strange game.

"She was also writing prescriptions, Rachel which is not normal," her mother said. "They might play doctor but she was writing prescriptions on paper, here take your medicine."

The family spent months asking CPS if Rachel was on drugs.

"We kept asking but they kept denying," Christina Harrison said.

"You could just tell there was a physical change between when she was with us and the time they had her at that point." David Harrison said.

CPS's own policy dictates parents must be told within 24 hours about their child needing or receiving medical treatment.

But these parents didn't know for 6 months until it finally came out in a court hearing.

"You're completely powerless," Rachel's mother said.

You're powerless against these people, they hold all the cards and do whatever they want," said Rachel's father.

After the judge started questioning CPS about the little girl's declining condition, CPS gave up trying to terminate the couple's parental right's and gave them their daughter back.

According to court testimony Dr. Owen Osagie is the psychiatrist who prescribed psychotropic drugs to a then 3-year-old.

"He testified he had seen Rachel for approximately 15 minutes," Flores said.

According to the Texas Medical Board, Dr. Osagie prescribed Clonidine to Rachel in excess of the dosing guidelines, while simultaneously increasing her dose of Risperdal, then failed to properly monitor the little girl.

"There's paperwork saying she was screaming for mommy and daddy," Rachel's mother said.

"And the easiest way to handle her acting up was to medicate her," said Rachel's father.

Osagie ignored our attempts to contact him for a response.

According to an agreed order with the medical board Osagie must complete at least 24 hours of continuing medical education and pay a 5 thousand dollar administrative fee.

"I know a lot of other families and a lot of other parents who are going through the same thing," said Rachel's grandmother.

Late last year the United States Government Accountability Office reported these disturbing findings:

"Texas is one of 5 states where children in foster care were prescribed psychotropic drugs 2.7 to 4.5 times more often than children who were not in foster care, with children in Texas foster care being the most likely to receive psychotropic drugs."

CPS wouldn't discuss the Rachael Harrison case with us. According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Osagie has treated 755 children in CPS foster care and continues to do so.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/184...

*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207

Münchausen syndrome by proxy

In Münchausen syndrome, the affected person exaggerates or creates symptoms of illnesses in themselves to gain investigation, treatment, attention, sympathy, and comfort from medical personnel. In some extreme cases, people suffering from Münchausen's syndrome are highly knowledgeable about the practice of medicine and are able to produce symptoms that result in lengthy and costly medical analysis, prolonged hospital stay and unnecessary operations. The role of "patient" is a familiar and comforting one, and it fills a psychological need in people with Münchausen's. It is distinct from hypochondriasis in that patients with Münchausen syndrome are aware that they are exaggerating, whereas sufferers of hypochondriasis believe they actually have a disease. Risk factors for developing Münchausen syndrome include childhood traumas and growing up with parents/caretakers who were emotionally unavailable due to illness or emotional problems. Arrhythmogenic Münchausen syndrome describes individuals who simulate or stimulate cardiac arrhythmias to gain medical attention.^[2]

A similar behavior called Münchausen syndrome by proxy [as opposed to Munchausan syndrome] has been documented in the parent or guardian of a child. The adult ensures that his or her child will experience some medical affliction, therefore compelling the child to suffer treatment for a significant portion of their youth in hospitals. Furthermore, a disease may actually be initiated in the child by the parent or guardian. This condition is considered distinct from Münchausen syndrome. In fact, there is growing consensus in the pediatric community that this disorder should be renamed "medical abuse" to highlight the real harm caused by the deception and to make it less likely that a perpetrator can use a psychiatric defense when real harm is done.[3] Parents who perpetrate this abuse are often affected by concomitant psychiatric problems like depression, spouse abuse, psychopathy, or psychosis. In rare cases, multiple children in one family may be affected either directly as victims or as witnesses who are threatened to keep them silent.

Source
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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

First published in 1952, DSM-I was 130 pages long and listed 106 mental disorders. DSM-IV, the latest version published in 1994, lists 297 disorders in 886 pages. DSM is considered the "bible" of psychiatric disorders, as it contains a categorization of symptoms that are used as "billing codes". These are essentially included in the DSM using a system of voting by the members of the American Psychiatric Association. Is your child having difficulty learning arithmetic in school? This is probably caused by 315.1 Mathematics Disorder. Having trouble dealing with your teenager? Undoubtedtly you suffer from V61.20 Parent-Child Relational Problem. Have you found that you sometimes forget things, now that you're a little older? 780.93 Age-Related Cognitive Decline, undoubtedly. And if you decide that your psychiatrist isn't helping you and decide to quit going, you're suffering from V15.81 Noncompliance With Treatment. It is quite a simple matter to subjectively find a code associated with any problem that used to be attributed to the process of living one's life; any person can be diagnosed with at least one disorder, syndrome, or problem. Having a handy code associated with any of such symptoms makes it possible not only to bilk insurance companies out of millions of dollars annually, it opens the door to prescribing drugs to "manage" the symptoms.

Read more: CCHR Silicon Valley - Understand The Problem http://cchrsiliconvalley.org/understand.phtml#ixzz1uOBXz9WZ

[301.81 brings a few people to mind.] 
 The symptoms of Narcissistic personality disorder can be similar to the traits of individuals with strong self-esteem and confidence; differentiation occurs when the underlying psychological structures of these traits are considered pathological. Narcissists have such an elevated sense of self-worth that they value themselves as inherently better than others. Yet, they have a fragile self-esteem and cannot handle criticism, and will often try to compensate for this inner fragility by belittling or disparaging others in an attempt to validate their own self-worth. It is this sadistic tendency that is characteristic of narcissism as opposed to other psychological conditions affecting level of self-worth.

Hence... a God Like Attitude! Characteristic of CPS (OCS).

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DSM-IV Codes  

  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   

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ABC News reports, "Of all the psychiatric medications, antipsychotics are, by far, the most prescribed, especially for foster children. Foster children are given anti-psychotics at a rate nine times higher than children not in foster care, according to a 2010 16-state analysis by Rutgers University of nearly 300,000 foster children."
These antipsychotic drugs -- including Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa -- can lead to obesity, elevated blood sugar and diabetes, pancreatitis, cardiovascular abnormalities and a disfiguring and sometimes disabling movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia. It's been suggested they could shorten lifespan by up to 25 years in patients exposed to them for decades. Evidence is accumulating that they can also lead to shrinkage of the brain in those patients exposed to them for years.

Read More:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-peter-breggin/foster-children_b_1149805.html

*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207