BOSTON — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s Office has released an audit of the Department of Children and Families, which reviewed the period from July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023.
DCF is tasked with providing services to children who are at risk or who have been victims of abuse or neglect, as well as their families. These services include adoption, guardianship, foster care, housing stabilization, and family support and stabilization.
Among the audit’s findings is that DCF did not always obtain or renew court approval before children in its protective custody were administered antipsychotic medications. If DCF does not obtain or renew court approvals for antipsychotic medications, which includes presenting treatment plans to the courts, it cannot ensure that these treatment plans are safe and appropriate. In addition, this is removing the courts’ oversight of children in DCF protective custody, who are too young to consent to their treatment plans and need a neutral, third party to ensure any prescribed medications are in the children’s best interest.
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