Children’s Rights Advocates Celebrate Historic Settlement Agreement with Maine Regarding the Administration of Powerful Psychotropic Medication to Foster Youth
Portland, Maine — Today, Judge Nancy Torresen for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine approved the settlement agreement in Bryan C. v. Lambrew, which will establish comprehensive oversight mechanisms and protections for children in Maine’s foster system who are prescribed or administered psychotropic medications while in state care.
This settlement is the result of a 2021 lawsuit brought by national advocacy organization Children’s Rights, New England-based law firm Bernstein Shur, and civil legal aid organization Maine Equal Justice, against the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Maine Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) on behalf of children in the State’s foster system subject to psychotropic medications.
Psychotropic medications are powerful prescription drugs, such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, mood stabilizers, and anti-anxiety medications, that can cause serious side effects. These may include seizures, psychosis, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, weight gain, excessive fatigue, aggression, involuntary movements, diabetes, cardiovascular events, and organ damage.
As many as 500 children in the Maine foster system have been prescribed or administered at least one psychotropic medication. More than a quarter of children in the U.S. child welfare system are given these drugs, putting them at risk when proper protections are not in place.
As part of this settlement, Maine has committed to implementing statewide practices for creating a comprehensive portable health record at the time of a child’s initial placement that will be routinely updated and travel with them upon subsequent placements, a new informed consent process for the administration of all psychotropic medications, and a secondary review system to guard against outlier prescription practices that may be inappropriate or put children at risk, all under the oversight of an Implementation Reviewer. These new safeguards established by the settlement will provide more opportunities for children in state custody to be better informed about and involved in their own care.
“Children in Maine’s foster care system have been subjected to powerful psychotropic medication without adequate guardrails for far too long,” said Marissa C. Nardi, Lead Counsel at Children’s Rights. “This landmark settlement establishes critical oversight mechanisms to help ensure that children receive psychotropic medications only when safe and necessary. We are thrilled the Court approved this settlement and hopeful that it will lead to lasting change.”
“This settlement marks a significant step forward in protecting the rights and well-being of children in Maine’s foster care system,” said Jack Woodcock, lead attorney at Bernstein Shur. “Mainers have every reason to celebrate this settlement. The agreement, which establishes safeguards for administering powerful psychotropic medication to some of Maine’s most vulnerable children, is clearly in the best interest of our State’s citizens.”
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Children’s Rights is a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of children living in or impacted by America’s child welfare, juvenile legal, immigration, education, and healthcare systems. We use civil rights impact litigation, advocacy and policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Our work centers on creating lasting systemic change that will advance the rights of children for generations. For more information, please visit childrensrights.org.