 2023 CASA NEWSLETTER Dear CASA Jefferson Advocates, On behalf of all our team, Thank you for your commitment to our CASA Jefferson foster children. We are grateful to you for all that you have done to advocate for the best interest of your assigned Jefferson parish foster child this past year. As we enter into the last month of the year, our staff highly encourages all advocates to conduct visits with their CASA child prior to the holidays. Also, don’t forget to enter your notes in Optima early in December, so that you can enjoy much needed time with your family. Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season! ♥ Wendy Magee CASA Jefferson Executive Director    Grinchmas Winter Fest Celebration Party When: December 15, 202 Time: 5:30pm – 8:00pm Where: Marrero’s Lyons Club 2334 Barataria Blvd Marrero La. 70072 Invitations have been mailed to all CASA Jefferson children’s caregivers address on file. Christmas gifts will be given to our CASA Jefferson foster children at the end of the party. Advocates, please encourage caregivers to RSVP asap.  Psych News Alert: Youth in Foster Care More Likely Than Peers to Be Prescribed Multiple Psychiatric Medications Youth in the foster care system are more likely to be prescribed two or more psychiatric medications than other youth covered by Medicaid, according to a report published this week in JAMA Pediatrics. “High rates of psychotropic prescription are concerning because of the limited safety and efficacy data for individuals younger than 18 years,” wrote Sarah Lieff, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Mathematica and colleagues at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mathematica is a research and data analytics consulting firm. The final study sample included 719,908 youth in foster care and 31,473,608 youth covered by Medicaid who were not in foster care. The researchers compared the rates of psychotropic medication and psychotropic polypharmacy (defined as prescription of two or more classes of psychiatric medications) between these two groups of youth, as well as diagnoses of mental health conditions. Among youth in the foster care group, 26.25% had been prescribed a psychotropic medication and 13.27% were prescribed two or more psychotropic medications compared with 9.06% and 3.11%, respectively, among other Medicaid-enrolled youth. The most common class of psychotropic medication prescribed to youth in the foster care group was stimulants (15.95%), followed by antidepressants (9.88%), and antipsychotics (7.87%). The most common medications prescribed to the other Medicaid-enrolled youth were stimulants (4.41%), antidepressants (2.75%), and antipsychotics (1.74%). In the foster care group, 42.85% had a diagnosed mental health condition compared with 13.53% in the other group. Trauma or stressor-related disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and behavior or conduct disorder were the most common mental health diagnoses in the foster care group. For more information access 8/23/23 psych news article below: https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/08/youth-in-foster-care-more-likely-than.html Multiple studies have concluded that children infoster care, many of whom are victims of abuse and trauma, are prescribed psychiatric medication at a rate significantly higher than other populations of children. Much of the time, the medications are used to control behavior and anger. The below “red flags” can help advocates recognize situations where your CASA child’s medication prescription treatment may be problematic and you should possibly consider recommending that their doctor re-evaluate the meds that they are taking. Clinical Red Flags - a child is prescribed medication without first having been treated with and not responded to psychotherapy - a child 13-17 is prescribed a 4th psychiatric medication - a child 9-12 is prescribed a 3rd medication - a child 6-8 or under is prescribed a 2nd medication - a child 5 or under is prescribed any medication - a child is prescribed 2 or more medications at the same time - a child is prescribed a medication to treat side effects - a child of any age is prescribed a second medication in the same class as the child is currently taking (for example, a second anti-psychotic) *REMEMBER TO ASK HARD QUESTIONS*  CASA Jefferson’s Mission is to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect through volunteers advocating for safe, nurturing, and permanent homes for foster children in our community.  Anne Caperino Ben Haney Janet Emig Julie Kutcha Latoya Olivier Michelle Cullison Sheree Schmidt Taffie Autry  Vincent Ferrand - 9 years  Our Mission is to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect through volunteers advocatingfor safe, nurturing, and permanent homes for foster children in our community. Our Vision is to have volunteers recruited, trained, and assigned to every child in the foster care system in Jefferson Parish. New Advocate Volunteer Pre-Service Training classes are Self-Guided & completed ON-LINE from the comfort of your home. As of December 1, 2023, we have 58 children waiting for a volunteer to advocate for them. Please have family/friends/coworkers call 504 533-8757 and speak to Margaret Ether to learn more about becoming a CASA Jefferson volunteer advocate.  |
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