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State leaders 'appalled' by report of drug prescriptions to juveniles in Colorado correction facilities [The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) :: ]
[August 27, 2014]

State leaders 'appalled' by report of drug prescriptions to juveniles in Colorado correction facilities [The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) :: ]


(Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 28--DENVER -- Juveniles in the state's correction facilities have been prescribed psychotropic and other medications without proper parental consent, important medical screenings or adequate record keeping of symptoms and diagnosis, according to a report released Tuesday by the Colorado Office of the State Auditor.



"Why weren't these things found and corrected?" asked Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, of state officials who oversee the Department of Youth Corrections. "It just seems like (the juveniles) are getting really bad care. ... I'm just appalled at this." The Department of Youth Corrections oversees 10 state-run juvenile detention facilities and 38 facilities run by private contractors. That includes the state-run Spring Creek Youth Services Center in Colorado Springs, which is undergoing major administrative and operational changes after safety concerns were brought to light in part by reporting by The Gazette.

The division served on average 851 juveniles between ages 10 and 21 on any given day in 2013 and is responsible for their medical care while they are detained or incarcerated.


The report looked at five of the state's youth corrections facilities. Two were operated by the state and three operated by contractors. Spokeswoman Jenny Atchley with the auditor's office said names of the facilities included in the report are confidential under a state law that protects the working papers of the auditor's office.

Reggie Bicha, executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services, which oversees youth corrections, told lawmakers on the State Audit Committee, that he too was appalled by the findings, which indicated problems at all of the facilities whether they were state run or privately managed.

"What clearly is pointed out by this audit is that the division needs to move from what I would consider a late 20th-Century model of how we did business," Bicha said. "We had kids here we contracted out with physicians who did all of the health care, and we trusted that the physicians were doing things well." Bicha said the department will move to an approach where "the state has more responsibility, has better controls and more direction of our contracted health providers than we've had in the past." In the state facilities the private company Correctional Health Partners provides most of the medical services administered to youth detained by the state.

Julie Krow, director of the DHS Office of Children, Youth and Families, said she will begin requiring that Correctional Health Partners "take immediate action to ensure youth in our facilities have been correctly diagnosed and are receiving the correct medication for their diagnoses in the correct dosage at the correct time." The report found that: - In 22 of 60 youth medical records reviewed, there was no indication what "diagnosis or symptoms prescribed medications were intended to treat." - In eight of 11 cases reviewed the juveniles reported they had asthma and the doctor prescribed medication without any diagnostic work.

- In 13 cases psychotropic medications -- those used to treat a variety of mental illnesses -- were prescribed without proper consent from a parent or guardian if the patient was under the age of 15. In six cases there was no evidence that the benefits and risks of using the drug had been discussed.

- In one case Tegretol, a drug used to treat seizures and bipolar disorders, was prescribed without the initial heart screening required because of the drugs "propensity to cause cardiotoxicity." - In nine cases doctors had prescribed Neurontin and Topamax, epilepsy medications, for uses other than the drugs approved use "with no indications or rationale for the drug's use." - Contact Megan Schrader: 286-0644 Twitter: @CapitolSchrader ___ (c)2014 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Visit The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at www.gazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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