Posted on 11/23/2004 11:48:27 PM PST by nickcarraway
Big Brother is on the march. A plan to subject all children to mental health screening is under way, and pharmaceutical companies are gearing up for bigger sales of psychotropic drugs.
Like most liberal big-spending ideas, this one was slipped into the law under cover of soft semantics. Its genesis was the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health created by President George W. Bush in 2002.
The commission recommends "routine and comprehensive" testing and mental health screening for every child in the United States, including preschoolers. The president has instructed 25 federal agencies to develop a plan to implement the commission's recommendations.
The commission proposes using electronic medical records for mental health interrogation of both children and adults for mental illnesses in school and during routine physical exams. The commission also recommends integrating electronic health records and personal health information systems.
It recommends "linkage" of these mental examinations with "state-of-the-art treatments" using "specific medications for specific conditions." That means prescribing more expensive patented antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs.
Illinois became the first state to jump on board. By near-unanimous votes in 2003, the General Assembly passed the $10 million Illinois Children's Mental Health Act creating a Children's Mental Health Partnership, which is expected to become a model for other states. The partnership's plan, released July 16, calls for periodic social and emotional developmental examinations to be administered to all children, and for all women to be interrogated for depression during pregnancy and up to a year postpartum. When the partnership showcased this plan with five public hearings stacked with bureaucrats and social service workers, a political tempest erupted, with state legislators saying they had no idea this was what they had voted for.
Illinois legislators were shocked to hear the details. The plan includes periodic developmental exams for children ages 0-18 years, a statewide data-reporting system to track information on each child, social-emotional development screens with all mandated school exams in kindergarten, fourth grade and ninth grade, and report cards on children's social-emotional development.
The plan is to add mental health assessment to the state's physical examination certificate, along with mandatory immunization records. All children in Illinois, unless religiously exempt, are required to have up-to-date health examinations and immunizations for school entry.
The partnership requires the Illinois State Board of Education to develop and implement a plan that incorporates social and emotional standards as part of the mandated Illinois Learning Standards, which are due on Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich's desk by Dec. 31. This inevitably opens up screening for politically incorrect attitudes and nonconformity with liberal attitudes of tolerance.
Mental health diagnoses are inherently subjective and social constructions, as even the diagnostic manuals admit. Many thousands, if not millions, of children would receive stigmatizing diagnoses that would follow them for the rest of their lives.
"State-of-the-art treatments" will result in many thousands of children being medicated by expensive, ineffective, and dangerous drugs. The long-term safety and effectiveness of psychiatric medications on children have never been proven.
The side effects of suggested medications in children are severe. They include suicide, violence, psychosis, cardiac toxicity, and growth suppression. Several school shooters, such as Eric Harris (Columbine) and Kip Kinkel (Oregon) had been on antidepressants or stimulants when they committed their crimes.
The validity of much scientific research has lost its credibility because the Food and Drug Administration has allowed the pharmaceutical industry to withhold data not favorable to their products and because people in the pay of the pharmaceutical companies are the ones recommending medications.
The current controversy about links between suicide and antidepressant drugs that have not been adequately tested has contributed to the uproar. The FDA posted an analysis in August that some antidepressants pose a risk of suicide in children.
Parental rights are unclear or nonexistent under these mental screening programs. What are the rights of youth and parents to refuse or opt out of mental screening?
Will they face coercion and threats of removal from school, or child neglect charges, if they refuse privacy-invading interrogations or unproved medications? How will a child remove a stigmatizing label from his records?
A Columbia University pilot project of screening students called TeenScreen resulted in one-third being flagged as "positive" for mental health problems, and half of those being turned over for mental health treatment. If this is preview of what would happen when 52 million public school students are screened, it would mean hanging a libelous label on 17 million American children and putting 8 million children into the hands of the psychiatric/pharmaceutical industry.
Whole program sounds like a bad idea if you ask me.
I agree. Add in that many parents are young adults too that the state can easily bully and the problem is worse.
As you read this article, keep repeating over and over, "Bush is a Conservative, Bush is a Conservative ... "
>>Illinois legislators were shocked to hear the details. <<
True to form, the legislators are the last to know what's happening.
This is very scary stuff!
Thanks for posting this thread.
Time we took this to the media.
"and pharmaceutical companies are gearing up for bigger sales of psychotropic drugs."
"Like most liberal big-spending ideas, this one was slipped into the law under cover of soft semantics. Its genesis was the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health created by President George W. Bush in 2002."
Once again Bush gives his big donors a taxpayer funded welfare gift. Do you still believe he's a Conservative? Do you believe he's pushing this? Glad I didn't vote for him.
If every voter read his book, we would have a different type of legislator in three days!
I am in constant communication with D.C. and the ignorance there is frightening. Two or three people write a Bill, send out a one sentence summary, and who it comes from is the key to support or denial.
Well my co-signing his Bill help me with the Bill I'm writing is the only question they have.
When we run an email campaign, they do very little as witnessed by the Spector dealings. 20 million emails, 5 million phone calls and it still goes the other way!
The legislator is primarily involved in his re-election ....from the day after his election untill the next election. A constant search for money and support is what they are doing every day. Having to vote on Bills is a constant annoyance for them.
The few staff in their offices are the ones who actually assist the people from the Districts. Writing a 'official' letter with the Reps name on it is what prompts other goverment offices to actually move on your behalf.....only because they are concerned about next years budget.
Like hell they are.
This needs to be stopped in its tracks!
I smell something here.
We have to fight this!
scream and holler -write snail mail letters that pile up on desks...
flood email boxes
It must not stand.
these millions of children will have their futures stolen - they wont be able to get into the service, many jobs, colleges? - with a background of mental treatment and drugs.
I wonder if this isn't the plan for a whole new of generation of "dependent constituents"
This is a disaster of cataclysmic proportions in the making
Illinois legislators were shocked to hear the details. The plan includes periodic developmental exams for children ages 0-18 years, a statewide data-reporting system to track information on each child, social-emotional development screens with all mandated school exams in kindergarten, fourth grade and ninth grade, and report cards on children's social-emotional development.
Move over Floriduh! Illinois has edged you out for title of "stupid state."
Not to mention gun control... which sounds an awful lot like another reason why Illinois wants this. Brand the people before they become adults with an "unfit to bear arms" label.
Well, conservatives got a quasi-solution out of it; they made Specter publicly promise not to sidetrack either the nuclear option or pro-life judges. Now will that snake keep his promise, well we know about promises and politicians and that's coin flipping odds at best.
Anyhow, I expect to see very vigorous lawsuits brought if this thing ever actually goes into action. I think SCOTUS will side with privacy of the parent, but just barely.
Brought to you by the Republican Majority! Ain't one Party rule grand? Blackbird.
read what the Pres said:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020429-1.html
every word counts in laws or regulations. Bush is saying "...all ...who suffer.." Not all shall be tested. I believe he wants to be sure that those who need it, will not be shoved aside...i.e., access to but not blanket treatment.
I suspicion the wording has been changed - it only takes the shifting of two or three words to turn it on it's head.
Instead of all who suffer shall be treated we move "all" around and have all children will be tested
I really smell something here. We need someone that can get this thru' to the Pres. - or maybe Laura Bush - and maybe someone like Mark Racicot or someone else that can see that he gets it or hears it and what the intent is now.?
Does anyone have any idea? We also need to contact the doctors.maybe we could get in touch with Rep. Paul, per below:
"Last September, AAPS lifetime member Rep. Ron Paul, M.D., R-Tex., tried to stop the plan by offering an amendment to the Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Act for FY 2005. The amendment received 95 “yes” votes, but it failed to pass. Paul tells NewsMax: “At issue is the fundamental right of parents to decide what medical treatment is appropriate for their children. The notion of federal bureaucrats ordering potentially millions of youngsters to take psychotropic drugs like Ritalin strikes an emotional chord with American parents, who are sick of relinquishing more and more parental control to government. “Once created, federal programs are nearly impossible to eliminate.that are aghast at this
Dear Lord, What a catastrophe! This is a frightening concept.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41606
What if thousands upon thousands of parents refused to go along with this? Do you think there would be enough social workers in this country to harass parents into forcing their children to comply? I don't think so.
There is a movement underway in Texas asking people to sign a Declaration of Refusal. A Declaration of Refusal means no way, no how are we going to put up with this.
People in Illinois are really upset about this. This will never come to fruition because the vast majority of people don't want it.
This will be the low hanging fruit for the social workers, however. Why go mess around with nasty stubborn rednecks when they will now have plenty of sheeple that will go along with their "Johnnie is crazy" screeds.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.