Judges’ comments: Michael LaForgia used data analysis to show that children in juvenile-justice facilities were being kept docile through heavy doses of powerful antipsychotic drugs that can cause serious health problems. He also found that psychiatrists writing the prescriptions were in many cases paid “consultants” to drug manufacturing companies. The story made waves in Florida. The Department of Juvenile Justice assigned investigators to do an exhaustive review, and the Legislature is getting involved.
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Parts of the project were edited by Breaking News Editor Rick Christie and Investigative Editor Joel Engelhardt; research that required paid access (i.e., statewide criminal background checks) was provided by Staff Researcher Niels Heimeriks on a request basis; the reporter’s analysis was double-checked by computer-assisted reporting specialist Adam Playford.
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
May 22, May 23, May 25, June 19, Aug. 14, Oct. 20 and Nov. 4, 2011
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
In the words of one former federal prosecutor, a Palm Beach Post investigation uncovered a “truly stunning and troubling story” playing out in Florida’s jails for wayward kids. The series has started Florida on the path to the most significant reforms of the state juvenile justice system in the past decade. The Post found that Florida was restraining jailed children with heavy doses of potent antipsychotic drugs, medications that can turn troublemakers into “zombies” — and cause serious health problems in kids. The stories also showed that a third of the psychiatrists hired by the state to evaluate and prescribe drugs for jailed children had taken speaker fees or gifts from the companies that make antipsychotic drugs. The stories also showed that Florida had hired psychiatrists to work in state juvenile jails even after the psychiatrists had used delinquents to defraud Medicaid, or had medicated children until the children overdosed and died.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
This story relied on drug purchasing data from Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice*; drug company payment disclosure forms published by major pharmaceutical companies; Medicaid billing data from Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration*; state grand jury reports; state and federal court documents; probable cause affidavits from law enforcment agencies*; disciplinary records maintained by the Florida Department of Health; malpractice claims data kept by Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation; thousands of pages of DJJ inspection reports; police reports*; and DJJ physician contracts*. (* obtained through Florida’s open records laws.)
Explain types of human sources used.
Former inmates of the state Department of Juvenile Justice; top DJJ officials; representatives of private prison companies that contract to operate homes for kids; attorneys and child advocates; medical ethicists and researchers; current and former federal prosecutors; attorneys with the Florida Attorney General’s office; current and former DJJ psychiatrists; national experts in child psychiatry; current and former state lawmakers.
Results (if any).
Before the series was published, the head of the state juvenile justice department assigned two full-time internal investigators to conduct an exhaustive review — the first of its kind in agency history — of DJJ’s use of antipsychotic drugs, with special emphasis on prescribing patterns of state contractors and the Medicaid billing habits of DJJ psychiatrists. The probe soon expanded to include three state agencies. It still was ongoing as of the entry deadline. — The Florida Attorney General’s Office is closely following the administrative review, with an eye toward launching a criminal investigation into possible misuse of Medicaid dollars by DJJ psychiatrists. — A powerful state senator blasted DJJ and ordered the agency’s head to appear before a senate committee, to explain DJJ’s use of antipsychotic drugs; the senator also was working out a proposal to upgrade DJJ’s electronic medical records system, which was so shoddy that even DJJ officials couldn’t gather basic information on drugged delinquents. — The juvenile justice department asked the legislature for $3.5 million to set up an electronic records system that would allow officials to track prescribingl, evaluate how many kids are on drugs at any given time and assess whether kids were being drugged improperly. — DJJ’s chief medical officer circulated a strongly worded, 11-point advisory to the agency’s psychiatrists. The memo cautioned them never to prescribe mind-altering drugs to kids “as a means of punishment, discipline, coercion, restraint or retaliation; for the convenience of the facility; or in quantities that lead to a loss of functional status.” — Following citations by ProPublica, Time Magazine’s website, Mother Jones, The Huffington Post, Al Jazeera and other media outlets, the series also rekindled a conversation at the national level about the use of antipsychotic and other mind-altering drugs on children locked in juvenile jails.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Don’t get discouraged when the government fails to hand over key records, either because it won’t or it can’t. In this case, the reporter began with a two-year snapshot of drug use in jails for kids, and he wanted data for more recent years for comparison. As it turned out, the state was unable to produce the records. Some prodding revealed the reason: the state’s records system was so shoddy that not even the officials who administer it could make it spit out this valuable information. The point became a key finding in The Post’s stories, which effectively turned a setback into a strengthening element.