ABLECHILD FILES FRIEND OF COURT BRIEF IN COURT CASE INVOLVING DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES

AbleChild, a national parent's rights organization dedicated to protecting full informed consent and providing support against the use of psychotropic drugs and restraints used on children, has submitted to federal judge, Honorable Christopher F. Drony a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of children within the Department of Children and Family (DCF) services in Connecticut in the Juan F. vs. Rell case.

The Juan F. vs. Rell case stemmed from a child in State care that died due to services provided by the State of Connecticut. The death prompted an investigation into the types of services that Connecticut offers and/or mandates. AbleChild's goal is to protect the rights of a child so that services offered or mandated to families do not include subjective checklist evaluations and forced prescribing of psychiatric drug "treatments" for a child without a parent's consent or without providing alternative educational and natural mental health solutions. All too often mandated treatments for children in State care are psychiatric drugs that may or may not be approved by the FDA and of which carry dangerous side effects.

Connecticut uses outside mental health vendors to supply services. Additionally, the billion dollar biotech industry lobbies to increase the number of children who are mandated to use mental health services under the DCF. This industry has great influence on policies relating to "treatment plans" for the children, which includes psychiatric drugs. AbleChild's focus is to increase oversight and accountability on the intake procedures to avoid mandated psychiatric evaluations and forced drug "treatment" plans.

The "friend of court" briefing sent to the Judge also includes a current case pending before the United States Supreme Court regarding a constitutional concern relating to the DCF Hotline abuse reporting system. According to the States report, Juan F. Rell Exit Plan Quarterly Report July 1, 2009 – September 30, 2009, "A key finding was the failure to incorporate stakeholder feedback and points of view, services needs, clarification and decisions, and important permanency considerations and action steps. The report indicated mixed results in the Department's efforts to increase the engagement of key participants."

It is AbleChild's position that these findings indicate a glaring lack of informed consent.

According to the briefing submitted by Ablechild, educational evaluations and real medical approaches which utilize legitimate science based tools should be implemented to test for visible health conditions and educational needs.

AbleChild stands ready to assist the State of Connecticut to protect children's rights inside and outside of State care. It is the mission of AbleChild, and the reason for the "friend of court" briefing that no family or child is forced into subjective testing or drug "treatment".