(pictured: Dashun Jackson, 2013 FosterClub All-Star)

Lucette Lagnado from the Wall Street Journal wrote an investigative journalism piece on the abuse of psychotropic medication prescriptions for youth in foster care with the help of FosterClub All-Stars and Outstanding Young Leaders. 

The numbers and statistics are alarming. 11.9% for youth in foster care receiving antipsychotic medications compared to 2.6% of non-foster care youth. Frequently, these medications are prescribed without a proper diagnosis, or follow up mental health support.

Chris Nobles (2012 FosterClub Outstanding Young Leader), Jen Hope (2007 FosterClub All-Star), Sharanda Crews (2012 FosterClub All-Star), and Dashun Jackson (2013 FosterClub All-Star) all helped contribute to the content of this article. These brave youth shared their experiences in order to improve the lives and outcomes of foster youth still in the system. 

Read all three of their stories and learn more about the misuse of psychotropic medications in the foster care system. Text from Lucette Lagnado's full ​WSJ article can be read on this blog.