DHS hits back at rights group | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger: "Naming an outside administrator to run the state's child welfare services, as a New York-based child advocacy group suggests, is 'absolutely unnecessary and improper,' Mississippi's Department of Human Services says.
Children's Rights successfully sued DHS in 2004, prompting wholesale foster-care mandates in a court-ordered settlement four years later. And in October, citing a slow pace of reforms, the organization filed a contempt of court motion."
Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Medicaid-funded ADHD treatment for children misses the mark | Science News
Medicaid-funded ADHD treatment for children misses the mark | Science News
Washington, DC, 7 December 2010 ? The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 expands Medicare benefits to scores of previously uninsured individuals including many of our nation's children. While access to treatment is laudable, the quality of such treatment is the subject of an article in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
In the article titled "Quality of Care for Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a Managed Care Medicaid Program," Dr. Bonnie Zima and colleagues report on the treatment of ADHD in 530 children aged 5 to 11 years receiving ADHD care in primary care or specialty mental health clinics from November 2004 through September 2006 in a large, countywide, managed care Medicaid program. 1 The investigators used a set of longitudinal analyses drawn from Medicaid service and pharmacy claims data, parent and child interviews, and school records, to characterize the mental health care and clinical outcomes of children across three 6-month time intervals.
The rationale in choosing to evaluate the quality of care among children with ADHD is twofold. First is the fact that ADHD represents one of the most common mental health disorders, affecting 3% to 10% of children in the U.S.; and second, more than one-third of the national healthcare expenditures for child mental disorders are paid for by Medicaid.
Dr. Zima and colleagues found that despite a federal policy that requires medical necessity for Medicaid reimbursement of specialty mental health services, the clinical severity of the children in primary care and community mental health clinics was similar. Nevertheless, treatment varied widely, such that most children in primary care were prescribed stimulant medication but seen only one to two times per year compared to less than one- third of children in specialty mental health programs who had on average five mental health visits per month. The infrequency of follow-up visits in primary care was significant because about one-quarter of the children were prescribed combined psychotropic medication treatment. Across both sectors, more than one-third of children dropped out of care and had unmet need for mental health care, persistence of stimulant medication refills was poor, and clinical outcomes did not differ for those children who remained in care compared to those that received no care.
In the article, the researchers state, "Findings from this study identify several areas for quality improvement for ADHD care within the managed care Medicaid program studied. These areas are alignment of the child's clinical severity with provider type, frequency of follow-up visits, stimulant medication use in specialty mental health, agency data infrastructure to document delivery of evidence-based psychosocial treatments, and stimulant medication refill prescription persistence. The enduring symptoms, impairment, and poor academic achievement of the children who remain in care and those untreated underscores the public health significance of improving the quality of care for publicly insured children with ADHD."
This article is discussed in an editorial by Dr. Mark Olfson in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2 Reflecting on the relevance of Dr. Zima and colleagues findings, Dr. Olfson states, "The report by Zima and colleagues adds renewed urgency to the call for reform of Medicaid-financed community care of children with ADHD. Closer clinical monitoring with more frequent follow-up contact may be needed to increase continuity of care. Improvements are also needed in medication management, especially in specialty mental health clinics."
This study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (RO1 MH061540, P30 MH068639, and P30 MH082760).
The study is published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and online at www.jaacap.org.
References
1. Zima BT, Bussing R, Tang L, Zhang L, Ettner S, Belin TR, Wells KB. Quality of Care for Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a Managed Care Medicaid Program. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2010; 49(12):1225-1237.
2. Olfson M. Evaluating the Quality of Community Care for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2010; 49(12):1183-1185.
Notes to Editors:
For further information, please contact Rebecca Jensen, Managing Editor, JAACAP, rjensen@jaacap.org or 202.966.7300 x 112.
About the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) is the official publication of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. JAACAP is the leading journal focusing exclusively on today's psychiatric research and treatment of the child and adolescent. Published twelve times per year, each issue is committed to its mission of advancing the science of pediatric mental health and promoting the care of youth and their families.
The Journal's purpose is to advance research, clinical practice, and theory in child and adolescent psychiatry. It is interested in manuscripts from diverse viewpoints, including genetic, epidemiological, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, social, cultural, and economic. Studies of diagnostic reliability and validity, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment efficacy, and mental health services effectiveness are encouraged. The Journal also seeks to promote the well-being of children and families by publishing scholarly papers on such subjects as health policy, legislation, advocacy, culture and society, and service provision as they pertain to the mental health of children and families.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including the Lancet (www.thelancet.com) and Cell (www.cell.com), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com), Scopus (www.scopus.com), Reaxys (www.reaxys.com), MD Consult (www.mdconsult.com) and Nursing Consult (www.nursingconsult.com), which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite (www.scival.com) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (www.medai.com), which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier (www.elsevier.com) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
Washington, DC, 7 December 2010 ? The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 expands Medicare benefits to scores of previously uninsured individuals including many of our nation's children. While access to treatment is laudable, the quality of such treatment is the subject of an article in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
In the article titled "Quality of Care for Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a Managed Care Medicaid Program," Dr. Bonnie Zima and colleagues report on the treatment of ADHD in 530 children aged 5 to 11 years receiving ADHD care in primary care or specialty mental health clinics from November 2004 through September 2006 in a large, countywide, managed care Medicaid program. 1 The investigators used a set of longitudinal analyses drawn from Medicaid service and pharmacy claims data, parent and child interviews, and school records, to characterize the mental health care and clinical outcomes of children across three 6-month time intervals.
The rationale in choosing to evaluate the quality of care among children with ADHD is twofold. First is the fact that ADHD represents one of the most common mental health disorders, affecting 3% to 10% of children in the U.S.; and second, more than one-third of the national healthcare expenditures for child mental disorders are paid for by Medicaid.
Dr. Zima and colleagues found that despite a federal policy that requires medical necessity for Medicaid reimbursement of specialty mental health services, the clinical severity of the children in primary care and community mental health clinics was similar. Nevertheless, treatment varied widely, such that most children in primary care were prescribed stimulant medication but seen only one to two times per year compared to less than one- third of children in specialty mental health programs who had on average five mental health visits per month. The infrequency of follow-up visits in primary care was significant because about one-quarter of the children were prescribed combined psychotropic medication treatment. Across both sectors, more than one-third of children dropped out of care and had unmet need for mental health care, persistence of stimulant medication refills was poor, and clinical outcomes did not differ for those children who remained in care compared to those that received no care.
In the article, the researchers state, "Findings from this study identify several areas for quality improvement for ADHD care within the managed care Medicaid program studied. These areas are alignment of the child's clinical severity with provider type, frequency of follow-up visits, stimulant medication use in specialty mental health, agency data infrastructure to document delivery of evidence-based psychosocial treatments, and stimulant medication refill prescription persistence. The enduring symptoms, impairment, and poor academic achievement of the children who remain in care and those untreated underscores the public health significance of improving the quality of care for publicly insured children with ADHD."
This article is discussed in an editorial by Dr. Mark Olfson in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2 Reflecting on the relevance of Dr. Zima and colleagues findings, Dr. Olfson states, "The report by Zima and colleagues adds renewed urgency to the call for reform of Medicaid-financed community care of children with ADHD. Closer clinical monitoring with more frequent follow-up contact may be needed to increase continuity of care. Improvements are also needed in medication management, especially in specialty mental health clinics."
This study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (RO1 MH061540, P30 MH068639, and P30 MH082760).
The study is published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and online at www.jaacap.org.
References
1. Zima BT, Bussing R, Tang L, Zhang L, Ettner S, Belin TR, Wells KB. Quality of Care for Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a Managed Care Medicaid Program. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2010; 49(12):1225-1237.
2. Olfson M. Evaluating the Quality of Community Care for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2010; 49(12):1183-1185.
Notes to Editors:
For further information, please contact Rebecca Jensen, Managing Editor, JAACAP, rjensen@jaacap.org or 202.966.7300 x 112.
About the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) is the official publication of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. JAACAP is the leading journal focusing exclusively on today's psychiatric research and treatment of the child and adolescent. Published twelve times per year, each issue is committed to its mission of advancing the science of pediatric mental health and promoting the care of youth and their families.
The Journal's purpose is to advance research, clinical practice, and theory in child and adolescent psychiatry. It is interested in manuscripts from diverse viewpoints, including genetic, epidemiological, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, social, cultural, and economic. Studies of diagnostic reliability and validity, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment efficacy, and mental health services effectiveness are encouraged. The Journal also seeks to promote the well-being of children and families by publishing scholarly papers on such subjects as health policy, legislation, advocacy, culture and society, and service provision as they pertain to the mental health of children and families.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including the Lancet (www.thelancet.com) and Cell (www.cell.com), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com), Scopus (www.scopus.com), Reaxys (www.reaxys.com), MD Consult (www.mdconsult.com) and Nursing Consult (www.nursingconsult.com), which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite (www.scival.com) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (www.medai.com), which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier (www.elsevier.com) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
Monday, December 6, 2010
Money, Child Protective Services, and Greed - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com
Money, Child Protective Services, and Greed - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com:
"We all hear the horror stories involving Child Protective Services but believe it will never happen to us. Maybe we like to believe that those horror stories are the exception to the rule. Maybe we like to think that the media is sensationalizing the facts for ratings and profit, after all, that is what the media does. Maybe we think that we are doing everything right and will never have to deal with the system."
"We all hear the horror stories involving Child Protective Services but believe it will never happen to us. Maybe we like to believe that those horror stories are the exception to the rule. Maybe we like to think that the media is sensationalizing the facts for ratings and profit, after all, that is what the media does. Maybe we think that we are doing everything right and will never have to deal with the system."
Facebook Message to Stop the Abuse of Children and Families by CPS/DCYF and the Court's!
Starting Dec.7th, please change your profile pic's to the most horrible character's of TV and Movie's to represent the abuse of children and families by child protective services and the court's. We need to get our message out. Everyone need's to be made aware of the destruction and put a stop to the abuse. Your family could be next!
Foster parent charged with rape of child | DailyComet.com
Foster parent charged with rape of child | DailyComet.com: "RACELAND -- A 36-year-old foster parent has been arrested in connection with allegations he sexually abused at least one child who was in his custody.
Yancy Miller was picked up Friday and charged with one count of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual battery, said Lafourceh Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lesley Hill. Miller's current residence is listed in Sheriff's Office records as 217 Hospital Drive in Raceland."
Yancy Miller was picked up Friday and charged with one count of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual battery, said Lafourceh Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lesley Hill. Miller's current residence is listed in Sheriff's Office records as 217 Hospital Drive in Raceland."
15 Signs Your Child May Have ADHD - ADHD and Your Child - Everyday Health
15 Signs Your Child May Have ADHD - ADHD and Your Child - Everyday Health
Is your child's fidgeting and inattention just normal childhood behavior or could it be ADHD? Learn the signs that it might be time to have your child evaluated.
By Beth W. Orenstein
Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH
These are the sign's my grandson experienced AFTER he was put on Adderall by NH DCYF!
15 Warning Signs of ADHD
According to the criteria that the American Academy of Pediatrics uses for the diagnosis of this mental disorder, children must exhibit ADHD behaviors before the age of seven and consistently for at least six months. Here are 15 signs that your child may have ADHD:
Fidgets or squirms almost all the time. Children with ADHD are constantly moving their hands, arms, feet, and legs. They squirm a lot.
Can’t sit in the same place for any length of time. A common symptom of children with ADHD is that they have trouble sitting still, Davenport says. They may get up at times when they know they are expected to stay seated.
Doesn’t learn from experience. “These are the kids that you find yourself saying, ‘If I told you once, I told you a thousand times,’” Davenport says.
Runs and climbs excessively. In teenagers, this symptom is often described as restlessness.
Can’t wait her turn. The child cuts in line and butts into games other children may be playing.
Interrupts others. Children with ADHD have trouble taking turns speaking and often blurt out answers. When they interrupt, they don’t realize they’re doing it, Davenport says.
Has trouble following directions, no matter how simple.
Seems not to listen when spoken to directly. You may ask your child over and over again to clean up his toys or to brush his teeth, and he can’t focus enough to respond and do what you say, Davenport says.
Loses possessions. The child often loses things needed for school or at home, such as toys, pencils, books, or homework.
Is disorganized. The child can’t organize tasks or activities so that he can complete them.
Is unfocused. She is reluctant to do things that require thinking, such as homework or schoolwork.
Can’t plan ahead. For example, your child may forget to bring home the books he needs for homework.
Is forgetful. She may frequently forget to bring her lunch to school.
Is unable to focus attention on activities or details. Children with ADHD are likely to lose interest in what they’re doing after about 20 minutes, sometimes even sooner, Davenport says. They constantly go from one activity to another.
Goes off in his own world. You might suspect your child has ADHD if, when he is climbing on the sofa or jumping on the bed, he goes off into a world of his own and doesn’t respond when you tell him to stop. Your child may appear to be daydreaming frequently
Is your child's fidgeting and inattention just normal childhood behavior or could it be ADHD? Learn the signs that it might be time to have your child evaluated.
By Beth W. Orenstein
Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH
These are the sign's my grandson experienced AFTER he was put on Adderall by NH DCYF!
15 Warning Signs of ADHD
According to the criteria that the American Academy of Pediatrics uses for the diagnosis of this mental disorder, children must exhibit ADHD behaviors before the age of seven and consistently for at least six months. Here are 15 signs that your child may have ADHD:
Fidgets or squirms almost all the time. Children with ADHD are constantly moving their hands, arms, feet, and legs. They squirm a lot.
Can’t sit in the same place for any length of time. A common symptom of children with ADHD is that they have trouble sitting still, Davenport says. They may get up at times when they know they are expected to stay seated.
Doesn’t learn from experience. “These are the kids that you find yourself saying, ‘If I told you once, I told you a thousand times,’” Davenport says.
Runs and climbs excessively. In teenagers, this symptom is often described as restlessness.
Can’t wait her turn. The child cuts in line and butts into games other children may be playing.
Interrupts others. Children with ADHD have trouble taking turns speaking and often blurt out answers. When they interrupt, they don’t realize they’re doing it, Davenport says.
Has trouble following directions, no matter how simple.
Seems not to listen when spoken to directly. You may ask your child over and over again to clean up his toys or to brush his teeth, and he can’t focus enough to respond and do what you say, Davenport says.
Loses possessions. The child often loses things needed for school or at home, such as toys, pencils, books, or homework.
Is disorganized. The child can’t organize tasks or activities so that he can complete them.
Is unfocused. She is reluctant to do things that require thinking, such as homework or schoolwork.
Can’t plan ahead. For example, your child may forget to bring home the books he needs for homework.
Is forgetful. She may frequently forget to bring her lunch to school.
Is unable to focus attention on activities or details. Children with ADHD are likely to lose interest in what they’re doing after about 20 minutes, sometimes even sooner, Davenport says. They constantly go from one activity to another.
Goes off in his own world. You might suspect your child has ADHD if, when he is climbing on the sofa or jumping on the bed, he goes off into a world of his own and doesn’t respond when you tell him to stop. Your child may appear to be daydreaming frequently
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