Other News, Information, and Resources (Washington Update, September 19, 2018)

Inappropriate Psychotropic Medication for Foster Children
A recent report from the Office of the Inspector General, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), reveals that many children in foster care are inappropriately receiving psychotropic medications, while other children are not receiving the medications they need. See the report: Treatment Planning and Medication Monitoring Were Lacking for Children in Foster Care Receiving Psychotropic Medication (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Sept. 2018). See also Watchdog Slams Safeguards for Foster Kids on Psych Drugs (Associated Press, 9/17/18).

Care Coordination for Children with Medical Complexity – Q&A
On July 26, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health held a webinar, “Conversation on Care Coordination for Children with Medical Complexity: Whose Care Is It, Anyway?” Now available are responses to questions that were submitted during the webinar but were not answered in the allotted time. Read the Q&A.

National Standards for Systems of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs 
The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) and the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), with funding from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, have developed National Standards for Systems of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) to define the core components of a comprehensive, coordinated, and family-centered system of care for CYSHCN. This interactive toolkit provides a portal to tools, fact sheets, and other resources that states can use to design, strengthen, and improve health care systems serving CYSHCN and their families.

WORTH REPEATING: MCHB Grand Challenges
As reported earlier, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau will award four prizes in a Grand Challenges competition to develop innovative, low-cost, and scalable solutions to improve the health of mothers and children across the U.S. The Care Coordination for CSHCN Challenge proposals are due October 30.