Report shows high use of psychotropic drugs in Florida foster care kids

Out of 1,180 children reviewed, 652 of them - 55 percent - are on one or more psychotropic drugs, according to a report prepared by the Florida Statewide Advocacy Council. Seventeen of the children were aged 5 or younger, including two 1-year-olds and four 2-year-olds. The report also said that 44 percent of the children on medication had not had a medical evaluation. "These records are cause for alarm because of the age of the children," the report said. "Diagnosing psychiatric illness in children below the age of six is difficult because of the child's inability to accurately and completely describe their feelings."