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	<title>CCHR International &#187; TeenScreen</title>
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		<title>Ron Paul is right—Mental &#8220;screening&#8221; of school kids aims to Leave No Child Unmedicated</title>
		<link>http://www.cchrint.org/2011/10/24/ron-paul-is-right%e2%80%94mental-screening-of-school-kids-aims-to-leave-no-child-unmedicated/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:02:28 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.cchrint.org/?p=12821</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Congressman Ron Paul has noted the potential for universal or mandatory mental health screenings to be used for politically motivated purposes. One federally-funded violence prevention program already lists “intolerance” as a mental problem that may lead a child to commit violent acts at school, and there are efforts underway to add a diagnosis of “extreme intolerance” to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. “Because ‘intolerance’ is often a code word for believing in traditional values, children who share their parents’ values could be labeled as having mental problems and a risk of causing violence,” said Paul as he reintroduced his Parental Consent Act before the House of Representatives in August.

First introduced in 2005, Paul’s bill would forbid the use of federal funds to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health screening program. The bill also states that no federal education funds may be paid to any local education agency that uses the refusal of a parent or guardian to consent to mental health screening as a basis of child abuse or neglect.

More than 30,000 people have signed an online petition to stop using TeenScreen in schools. Parents and other concerned citizens should also tell their Members of Congress to support Paul’s bill. They should oppose mental health screening at the school board and state legislature levels, and ask state representatives to pass Pupil Rights legislation to keep students from being subjected to nosy psychological or psychiatric questions without prior, informed, written parental consent.]]></description>
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<p>The Moral Liberal &#8211; October 24, 2011</p>
<h2>TeenScreen Expandiing Despite Concerns</h2>
<div id="attachment_12825" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/harming-youth1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-12825" title="harming-youth" src="http://www.cchrint.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/harming-youth1-300x168.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="168" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">More than 30,000 people have signed an online petition to stop using TeenScreen in schools.</p></div>
<p>More and more public schools are using TeenScreen, a controversial mental health screening diagnostic, despite public protests, myriad problems, and known conflicts of interest. According to TeenScreen deputy director Leslie McGuire, the program has expanded from 30 sites in 2003 to 600 sites in 46 states today. Requests for their screening questionnaires have almost tripled to 426,000 in 2010, according to the group.</p>
<p>One school district in Wisconsin has subjected its students to this dubious diagnostic for almost a decade. “Since 2002, we have been implementing TeenScreen mental health checkups throughout our system of 7,300 students,” wrote Fond du Lac High School principal Jon Wiltzius and district superintendent James Sebert in a letter urging fellow administrators to adopt the program.</p>
<p>A report authored by TeenScreen officials and published by the <em>Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry</em> in August said that nearly 20% of participating students attending Fond du Lac district high schools between 2005 and 2009 were deemed “at risk” for mental illness or suicide. The computerized 52-item survey screens for social phobia, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues using questions like these:</p>
<div> Has there been a time when you felt you couldn’t do anything well or that you weren’t as good-looking or smart as other people?</div>
<ol>
<li>Have you often felt very nervous or uncomfortable when you have been with a group of children or young people, like in the lunchroom at school, or at a party?</li>
<li>In the last year, has there been any situation when you had less energy than usual?</li>
</ol>
<p>But what normal high-school student hasn’t experienced self-doubt or felt very nervous or been tired? Even TeenScreen creator David Shaffer of Columbia University conceded in a 2004 article that the test (also known as the Columbia SuicideScreen) “would result in 84 nonsuicidal teens being referred for further evaluation for every 16 youths correctly identified.” Still, maintained Shaffer, “many of these so-called false-positive cases may be experiencing painful depressive symptoms . . . and are likely to benefit from treatment.”</p>
<p><strong>No Child Left Unmedicated?</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_12827" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/RonPaulparentalconsentact1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-12827" title="RonPaulparentalconsentact1" src="http://www.cchrint.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/RonPaulparentalconsentact1-300x239.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="239" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Congressman Ron Paul has re-introduced The Parental Consent Act , A bill which prohibits federal funds from being used to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health, psychiatric, or socioemotional screening program.</p></div>
<p>Allen Jones, former investigator with the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General, charges that the translation of normal human emotions into symptoms of mental illness is driven not by genuine concern for kids, but by a profit motive. “TeenScreen was developed and promoted by persons with deep financial ties to makers of psychiatric drugs,” said Jones. Indeed, a stated priority of the TeenScreen program is to “connect” kids with mental health treatment – which all-too-often means prescribing psychotropic drugs. (Referrals to medical doctors who might diagnose physical problems are not part of the TeenScreen protocol.)</p>
<p>Jones’ claim is backed up by at least two watchdog groups who have noted TeenScreen leadership’s ties to pharmaceutical firms. David Shaffer has served as a paid consultant for Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and numerous other manufacturers of psychiatric drugs. Laurie Flynn, TeenScreen Director, previously served as executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which receives about three quarters of its funding from drug companies, according to a 2009 investigation by <em>The New York Times</em>.</p>
<p>TeenScreen advisory board member Michael Hogan served in leadership roles for at least two entities that are heavily funded by drug company “educational grants.” As director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health, Hogan is largely responsible for making Ohio one of the first states to roll out and fund TeenScreen in 2002. Under Hogan’s watch, nearly 40,000 kids on Medicaid were taking drugs for anxiety, depression, delusions, hyperactivity and violent behavior by July of 2004. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spent $65.5 million for kids’ mental health drugs that year alone, according the <em>Columbus Dispatch</em>.</p>
<p>Ohio is not alone in this record level of spending to medicate children. Nationally, the Medco 2010 Drug Trend Report found that the number of children taking antipsychotic drugs has doubled over the past nine years.</p>
<p>But the unnecessary expense isn’t the worst aspect of this trend. Antipsychotics can cause severe physiological and mental side effects, including apathy, obesity, diabetes and involuntary tremors. Robert Whitaker, author of <em>Anatomy of an Epidemic</em>, suggests that over-prescribed stimulants and antidepressants have contributed to the 40-fold increase in the number of children diagnosed as bipolar since 1995. Whitaker explains that stimulants can trigger periods of mania followed by sluggishness in children. These kids may then be re-diagnosed as bipolar, a disorder which only a few decades ago was considered to be an exclusively adult malady.</p>
<p><strong>Many Problems, Few Benefits</strong></p>
<p>There are still more problems with universal mental health screening. One of the major selling points for TeenScreen advocates is suicide prevention, but the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found “no evidence” that screening for suicide risk reduces suicide attempts or mortality.</p>
<p>Furthermore, even authors of the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM), the bible of psychiatric diagnosis upon which TeenScreen questions are based, admit that the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for mental illness are vague and without “clear empirical data supporting . . . the diagnosis.”</p>
<p>Although the TeenScreen website explicitly states that questionnaire results are not linked to students’ academic records, a 2003 Illinois law illustrates that this is not necessarily true. The Illinois Children’s Mental Health Act calls for a statewide data-reporting system to track the results of periodic social-emotional development screens in kindergarten, 4th and 9th grades. It also calls for report cards on children’s social-emotional development. These records may be available to government officials and special interest groups without parental or child consent.</p>
<div> Even if the mental illness diagnosis is correct, the prescribed drug may not, in fact, be helpful. A September 2004 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing revealed that more than two-thirds of the studies done on the efficacy of antidepressants for children found that prescription drugs were no more effective than placebos. The only positive trials were published by the pharmaceutical industry. That same month, the FDA issued its most severe Black Box Warning for some newer antidepressants found to increase suicidal thoughts and behavior in children.</div>
<p>Underlying all of these problems is the fact that mental health screening plans override parents’ rights to control the care of their children. Despite assurances that both parents and children must provide consent before TeenScreen or similar surveys are administered, schools and TeenScreen officials are not above using underhanded means. Kids have been bribed with movie passes or pizza parties if they participate. Schools sometimes require only “passive” consent from parents, meaning that if parents don’t sign a form explicitly opting their child out of the program, their consent is assumed.</p>
<p>Parents have also been coerced into putting their kids on unsafe psychiatric medications. Patricia Weathers, the Carrolls, Johnstons, and Salazars have all been charged or threatened with child abuse charges for resisting efforts to drug their children. Just recently, Detroit officials seized a mentally handicapped 13-year-old from mother Maryanne Godboldo’s home because Godboldo stopped injecting her child with Risperdal, a psychotic drug notorious for severe side effects including suicidal thoughts and an inability to control motor functions.</p>
<p><strong>Congressman Ron Paul has noted the potential for universal or mandatory mental health screenings to be used for politically motivated purposes. One federally-funded violence prevention program already lists “intolerance” as a mental problem that may lead a child to commit violent acts at school, and there are efforts underway to add a diagnosis of “extreme intolerance” to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. “Because ‘intolerance’ is often a code word for believing in traditional values, children who share their parents’ values could be labeled as having mental problems and a risk of causing violence,” said Paul as he reintroduced his Parental Consent Act before the House of Representatives in August.</strong></p>
<p><strong>First introduced in 2005, Paul’s bill would forbid the use of federal funds to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health screening program. The bill also states that no federal education funds may be paid to any local education agency that uses the refusal of a parent or guardian to consent to mental health screening as a basis of child abuse or neglect.</strong></p>
<p><strong>More than 30,000 people have signed an online petition to stop using TeenScreen in schools. Parents and other concerned citizens should also tell their Members of Congress to support Paul’s bill. They should oppose mental health screening at the school board and state legislature levels, and ask state representatives to pass Pupil Rights legislation to keep students from being subjected to nosy psychological or psychiatric questions without prior, informed, written parental consent.</strong> (<em>Wall Street Journal</em>, 8-30-11; blogs.ScientificAmerican. com, 9-2-11; RepublicMagazine.com, 8-31-11; cchrint.org, 8-26-09)</p>
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<h3  class="related_post_title">Related Posts</h3><ul class="related_post"><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2009/10/14/congressman-ron-pauls-parental-consent-act/" title="Congressman Ron Paul&#8217;s Parental Consent Act">Congressman Ron Paul&#8217;s Parental Consent Act</a> (15)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/08/22/ron-paul-reintroduces-the-parental-consent-act-2011-prohibits-federal-funding-for-psychiatric-%e2%80%98screening%e2%80%99-of-kids/" title="Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011- Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric ‘Screening’ of Kids">Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011- Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric ‘Screening’ of Kids</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/12/14/no-mandatory-mental-health-screening-for-children-by-ron-paul/" title="&#8220;No Mandatory Mental Health Screening For Children!&#8221; by Ron Paul">&#8220;No Mandatory Mental Health Screening For Children!&#8221; by Ron Paul</a> (0)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/08/09/ron-paul-reintroduces-the-parental-consent-act-2011-prohibits-federal-funding-for-psychiatric-screening-of-kids/" title="Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011! Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric &#8216;Screening&#8217; of Kids">Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011! Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric &#8216;Screening&#8217; of Kids</a> (7)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2012/01/16/u-s-to-force-drug-firms-to-report-money-paid-to-doctors/" title="U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors">U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors</a> (0)</li></ul>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011! Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric &#8216;Screening&#8217; of Kids</title>
		<link>http://www.cchrint.org/2011/08/09/ron-paul-reintroduces-the-parental-consent-act-2011-prohibits-federal-funding-for-psychiatric-screening-of-kids/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:08:39 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.cchrint.org/?p=11720</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Congressman Ron Paul has re-introduced H.R. 2769, known as The Parental Consent Act of 2011 - A bill which prohibits federal funds from being used to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health, psychiatric, or socioemotional screening program.]]></description>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RonPaulparentalconsentact.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-11737" title="RonPaulparentalconsentact" src="http://www.cchrint.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RonPaulparentalconsentact.jpg" alt="" width="459" height="366" /></a> </strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #000080;">Congressman Ron Paul has re-introduced  The Parental Consent Act ,  A bill which prohibits federal funds from being used to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health, psychiatric, or socioemotional screening program.</span></strong></p>
<div id="attachment_11722" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 210px"><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/videos/experts/ron-pauls-parental-consent-act-of-2009/"><img class="size-full wp-image-11722  " title="kent_snyder_200x133" src="http://www.cchrint.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/kent_snyder_200x133.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="133" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Click Video for more information on the Parental Consent Act</p></div>
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><strong>Sign the petition in support of the Parental Consent Act here</strong>: <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/rppca/petition.html">http://www.petitiononline.com/rppca/petition.html</a></span></p>
<p>Bill information<strong>:  The Parental Consent Act 2011 (H.R. 2769 &#8211; previously H.R. 2218  in 2009)</strong> Prohibits federal education funds from being used to pay any local educational agency or other instrument of government that uses the refusal of a parent or legal guardian to provide consent to mental health screening as the basis of a charge of child abuse, child neglect, medical neglect, or education neglect until the agency or instrument demonstrates that it is no longer using such refusal as a basis of such charge.</p>
<p>Defines a screening program under this Act as any mental health screening program in which a set of individuals is automatically screened without regard to whether there was a prior indication of a need for mental health treatment, including: (1) any program of state incentive grants to implement recommendations in the July 2003 report of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the State Early Childhood Comprehensive System, grants for TeenScreen, and the Foundations for Learning Grants; and (2) any student mental health screening program that allows mental health screening of individuals under 18 years of age without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of the parent or legal guardian of the individual involved.</p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;">Ron Paul speech given on April 30, 2009 on his bill, The Parental Consent Act (formerly H.R. 2218, now  reintroduced as H.R. 2769 ):</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;">Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Parental Consent Act. This bill forbids Federal funds from being used for any universal or mandatory mental-health screening of students without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of their parents or legal guardians. This bill protects the fundamental right of parents to direct and control the upbringing and education of their children.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;">The New Freedom Commission on Mental Health has recommended that the federal and state governments work toward the implementation of a comprehensive system of mental-health screening for all Americans. The commission recommends that universal or mandatory mental-health screening first be implemented in public schools as a prelude to expanding it to the general public. However, neither the commission&#8217;s report nor any related mental-health screening proposal requires parental consent before a child is subjected to mental-health screening. Federally-funded universal or mandatory mental-health screening in schools without parental consent could lead to labeling more children as &#8220;ADD&#8221; or &#8220;hyperactive&#8221; and thus force more children to take psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin, against their parents&#8217; wishes.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;">Already, too many children are suffering from being prescribed psychotropic drugs for nothing more than children&#8217;s typical rambunctious behavior. According to Medco Health Solutions, more than 2.2 million children are receiving more than one psychotropic drug at one time. In fact, according to Medico Trends, in 2003, total spending on psychiatric drugs for children exceeded spending on antibiotics or asthma medication.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;">Many children have suffered harmful side effects from using psychotropic drugs. Some of the possible side effects include mania, violence, dependence, and weight gain. Yet, parents are already being threatened with child abuse charges if they resist efforts to drug their children. Imagine how much easier it will be to drug children against their parents&#8217; wishes if a federally-funded mental-health screener makes the recommendation.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;">Universal or mandatory mental-health screening could also provide a justification for stigmatizing children from families that support traditional values. Even the authors of mental-health diagnosis manuals admit that mental-health diagnoses are subjective and based on social constructions. Therefore, it is all too easy for a psychiatrist to label a person&#8217;s disagreement with the psychiatrist&#8217;s political beliefs a mental disorder. For example, a federally-funded school violence prevention program lists &#8220;intolerance&#8221; as a mental problem that may lead to school violence. Because &#8220;intolerance&#8221; is often a code word for believing in traditional values, children who share their parents&#8217; values could be labeled as having mental problems and a risk of causing violence. If the mandatory mental-health screening program applies to adults, everyone who believes in traditional values could have his or her beliefs stigmatized as a sign of a mental disorder. Taxpayer dollars should not support programs that may label those who adhere to traditional values as having a &#8220;mental disorder.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;">Madam Speaker, universal or mandatory mental-health screening threatens to undermine parents&#8217; right to raise their children as the parents see fit. Forced mental-health screening could also endanger the health of children by leading to more children being improperly placed on psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin, or stigmatized as &#8220;mentally ill&#8221; or a risk of causing violence because they adhere to traditional values. Congress has a responsibility to the nation&#8217;s parents and children to stop this from happening. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Parental Consent Act.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><strong>For more information on the Parental Consent Act watch this video featuring Kent Snyder, Ron Paul&#8217;s Presidential campaign manager 2008, and former Executive Director of the Liberty Committee</strong></span>  <a href="http://www.cchrint.org/videos/experts/ron-pauls-parental-consent-act-of-2009/">http://www.cchrint.org/videos/experts/ron-pauls-parental-consent-act-of-2009/</a></p>
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<h3  class="related_post_title">Related Posts</h3><ul class="related_post"><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/08/22/ron-paul-reintroduces-the-parental-consent-act-2011-prohibits-federal-funding-for-psychiatric-%e2%80%98screening%e2%80%99-of-kids/" title="Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011- Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric ‘Screening’ of Kids">Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011- Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric ‘Screening’ of Kids</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/03/15/profiting-from-mental-ill-health/" title="Profiting from mental ill-health">Profiting from mental ill-health</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/12/07/can-prozac-cause-kids-to-kill-a-canadian-judge-has-ruled-it-can/" title="Can Prozac Cause Kids to Kill? A Canadian Judge Has Ruled it Can">Can Prozac Cause Kids to Kill? A Canadian Judge Has Ruled it Can</a> (2)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2009/10/14/congressman-ron-pauls-parental-consent-act/" title="Congressman Ron Paul&#8217;s Parental Consent Act">Congressman Ron Paul&#8217;s Parental Consent Act</a> (15)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/12/21/prozac-is-now-a-defense-for-murder-writes-australian-member-of-parliament-martin-whitely/" title="Prozac is now a defense for murder, writes Australian Member of Parliament Martin Whitely">Prozac is now a defense for murder, writes Australian Member of Parliament Martin Whitely</a> (0)</li></ul>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Senator Grassley tells TeenScreen Executive Director (&amp; former head of NAMI) to disclose all TeenScreen pharma funding</title>
		<link>http://www.cchrint.org/2009/12/13/grassley-tells-teenscreen-ed-disclose-all-teenscreen-pharma-funding/</link>
		<comments>http://www.cchrint.org/2009/12/13/grassley-tells-teenscreen-ed-disclose-all-teenscreen-pharma-funding/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:57:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cchrint</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Columbia University]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Institute of Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Laurie Flynn]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[National Alliance on Mental Illness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pharmceutical funding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Senate Committee on Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Senator Charles Grassley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TeenScreen]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Senator Grassley's letter states, "Operating with transparency sends a message that there is nothing to hide.  Accordingly, I would appreciate an accounting of industry funding that pharmaceutical, medical device companies, foundations established by these companies or the insurance industry have provided to the TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University (TeenScreen) (The term 'industry funding' means any transfer of value, including but not limited to grants, donations, and sponsorship for meetings or programs, etc.) This request covers the period of January 2006 to the present."]]></description>
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<p>United States Senate<br />
Committee on Finance<br />
Washington, D.C. 20510-6200</p>
<p>December 7, 2009</p>
<p>Via Electronic Transmission</p>
<p>Laurie Flynn<br />
Executive Director<br />
TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University<br />
1775 Broadway, Suite 610<br />
New York, NY 10019</p>
<p>Dear Ms. Flynn:</p>
<p>The United States Senate Committee on Finance (Committee) has jurisdiction over the Medicare and Medicaid programs and, accordingly, a responsibility to the more than 100 million Americans who receive health care coverage under these programs. As Ranking Member of the Committee, I have a duty to protect the health of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and safeguard taxpayer dollars authorized by Congress for these programs.</p>
<p>For the last three years, the Committee has been looking into various aspects of the pharmaceutical industry, including consulting arrangements, and industry funding for Continuing Medical Education (CME). My inquiry was spurred, in part by press accounts documenting the lack of transparency in the relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and nonprofit organizations. For instance, in April 2008, <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> reported that industry representatives, including ten major drug<br />
companies, formed a coalition to promote looser restrictions on off-label marketing. The coalition asked the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to speak in favor of this issue.</p>
<p>On October 6th of this year, I sent letters to all fifty state chapters of NAMI asking them to disclose income from pharmaceutical companies. In that letter, I explained that NAMI National receives almost two-thirds of its funding from the drug industry.  I learned recently that a few days after I sent those letters, one of the founders of NAMI and member of the NAMI National Board of Directors emailed his resignation,<br />
stating that he was shocked at NAMI’s reliance on pharmaceutical industry funding. In particular he said: “This financial dependency presents a number of problems.”</p>
<p>Read entire letter: <a href="http://www.psychsearch.net/Letter_to_TeenScreen.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.psychsearch.net/Letter_to_TeenScreen.pdf</a></p>
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<h3  class="related_post_title">Related Posts</h3><ul class="related_post"><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/01/14/why-mental-health-advocacy-groups-arent-calling-for-psychiatric-drug-investigation-in-arizona-shooting-theyre-pharma-funded/" title="Why Mental Health &#8220;Advocacy&#8221; Groups Aren&#8217;t Calling for Psychiatric Drug Investigation in Arizona Shooting: They&#8217;re Pharma Funded">Why Mental Health &#8220;Advocacy&#8221; Groups Aren&#8217;t Calling for Psychiatric Drug Investigation in Arizona Shooting: They&#8217;re Pharma Funded</a> (0)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2009/12/08/grassley-asks-more-mh-patients-rights-groups-to-disclose-pharma/" title="Grassley asks more mental health &#8216;patients rights&#8217; groups (for ADHD, Bi-Polar, TeenScreen, etc.) to disclose Pharma $$">Grassley asks more mental health &#8216;patients rights&#8217; groups (for ADHD, Bi-Polar, TeenScreen, etc.) to disclose Pharma $$</a> (0)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/08/29/cchr-exposes-front-groups/" title="CCHR exposes list of psycho-pharma front groups ">CCHR exposes list of psycho-pharma front groups </a> (0)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/07/29/harvard-expert-ties-mental-illness-epidemic-to-big-pharmas-agenda/" title="Harvard Expert Ties Mental Illness &#8220;Epidemic&#8221; to Big Pharma&#8217;s Agenda ">Harvard Expert Ties Mental Illness &#8220;Epidemic&#8221; to Big Pharma&#8217;s Agenda </a> (0)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/06/20/the-illusions-of-psychiatry/" title="The Illusions of Psychiatry">The Illusions of Psychiatry</a> (0)</li></ul>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Grassley asks more mental health &#8216;patients rights&#8217; groups (for ADHD, Bi-Polar, TeenScreen, etc.) to disclose Pharma $$</title>
		<link>http://www.cchrint.org/2009/12/08/grassley-asks-more-mh-patients-rights-groups-to-disclose-pharma/</link>
		<comments>http://www.cchrint.org/2009/12/08/grassley-asks-more-mh-patients-rights-groups-to-disclose-pharma/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:59:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>cchrint</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Senator Grassley has asked 33 medical groups for information about their financial backing they get from the medical device, insurance and pharmaceutical industries, including several psychiatric front groups such as Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, Mental Health America, NARSAD, Screening for Mental Health Inc. and the National Center for Mental Checkups at Columbia University (TeenScreen).]]></description>
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<p>For several years now, Senator Grassley has conducted extensive oversight and sought disclosure of financial ties with industry from research physicians, medical schools, medical journals, continuing medical education, and the patient advocacy community.   Now Senator Grassley has asked 33 medical groups for information about their financial backing they get from the medical device, insurance and pharmaceutical industries, including several psychiatric front groups such as Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, Mental Health America, NARSAD, Screening for Mental Health Inc. and the National Center for Mental Checkups at Columbia University (TeenScreen).  Senator Grassley’s previous inquiry into the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that the majority of funding received was from the pharmaceutical industry; more than $28 million from pharmaceutical companies in the last four years.</p>
<p>In just the last two years, Grassley investigated and exposed extensive financial conflicts of interest of prominent psychiatrists with the pharmaceutical industry amounting to millions of dollars including Dr. Charles Nemeroff, Dr. Joseph Biederman, Dr. Melissa DelBello, Dr. Timothy Wilens, Dr. Thomas Spencer, Dr. Alan Schatzberg, Dr. Martin Keller, Dr. A. John Rush, Dr. Karen Wagner, Dr. Jeffrey Bostic and former head of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Frederick Goodwin.  Additionally, Grassley investigated the American Psychiatric Association and the funding they received from the pharmaceutical industry.</p>
<p>For the latest inquiry from Senator Grassley read this article: <a href="http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=179090" target="_blank">http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=179090</a></p>
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		<title>Congressman Ron Paul&#8217;s Parental Consent Act</title>
		<link>http://www.cchrint.org/2009/10/14/congressman-ron-pauls-parental-consent-act/</link>
		<comments>http://www.cchrint.org/2009/10/14/congressman-ron-pauls-parental-consent-act/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:49:31 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[On April 30, 2009, Congressman Ron Paul introduced H.R. 2218, known as the Parental Consent Act of 2009.  The bill forbids federal funding for universal or mandatory mental health screening, and also forbids money for any educational or other government agency that would use a parent’s refusal to consent to their child’s screening as basis for a charge of child neglect or abuse. ... The Parental Consent Act of 2009 is a great idea.  Passing this thing in Washington would make a significant difference in protecting children and families against further intrusion of psychiatry into the schools.]]></description>
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<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2533" style="border: 9px solid gray;" title="Ron Paul" src="http://www.cchrint.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ron_paul_459x366.jpg" alt="Ron Paul" width="459" height="366" /><strong>By John Breeding<br />
Psychologist, Author, <em>The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses<br />
</em>October 14, 2009</strong></p>
<div style="padding-top: 1em;">On April 30, 2009, Congressman Ron Paul introduced H.R. 2218, known as <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2218" target="_blank">The Parental Consent Act</a> of 2009.</div>
<p>The bill forbids federal funding for universal or mandatory mental health screening, and also forbids money for any educational or other government agency that would use a parent’s refusal to consent to their child’s screening as basis for a charge of child neglect or abuse.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: red;" href="/videos/experts/ron-pauls-parental-consent-act-of-2009/"><strong>Click here for video interview with Kent Snyder,  Ron Paul&#8217;s Presidential Campaign Manager, speaking about why Congressman Paul introduced the Parental Consent Act.</strong></a></div>
<p><span><br />
</span><br />
A little recent history is relevant.  On April 29, 2002, President George Bush created the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.  In 2003, this industry-studded commission presented their recommendations for the reform of the United States mental health system.</p>
<p>“To aid in transforming the system,” the authors of the report wanted to do many things, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Improve and expand school mental health programs.</li>
<li>Screen for co-occurring mental and substance use disorders and link with integrated treatment strategies.</li>
<li>Screen for mental disorders in primary health care, across the lifespan, and connect to treatment and supports.</li>
</ul>
<p>This rhetoric serves to hide the truth that New Freedom is better called No Freedom or New Intrusion, and that mental health screening really means mass marketing and target recruitment of a captive population.</p>
<p>By the time of these New Freedom Commission recommendations, there already existed very large numbers of citizens around the country wising up to the extraordinary intrusion of psychiatry into our schools, as demonstrated in the first four years of this millennium by a number of resolutions, education department statements and state laws, all defending a parent’s right to make treatment decisions for a child without coercion, and a child’s right to education without psychiatric labeling and drugs.</p>
<p>Through 2003, there had been at least 46 state bills or resolutions supporting parental choice, in 28 states, that had either passed or were still pending action across the United States.  For example, Connecticut, Minnesota and Texas had passed laws explicitly stating that a parent’s refusal to consent to the administration of a psychotropic drug to a child does not constitute neglect, therefore is not in itself grounds for Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation.  Other states have passed related laws either monitoring or curbing CPS policy in this area.</p>
<p>Many states are pursuing related legislation as the wave of activity in support of parental choice continues to expand.  Texas law now prohibits school personnel from suggesting a diagnosis or recommending a psychotropic drug to a parent for their child.  The public will is clearly for the schools to educate, not medicate, and for the state to allow privacy and autonomy to parents and families.  At a federal level the fight over the Child Medication Safety Act was eventually won so that nowhere in the country is it legal to require a psychiatric controlled substance as a condition of attending school.</p>
<p>Ron Paul has been a key leader in this effort for some time.  On October 6, 2004, he introduced an earlier incarnation of his current Parental Consent Act.  This one, aptly titled the Let Parents Raise Their Kids Act, also attempted to forbid federal funds from being used for any universal or mandatory mental-health screening of students without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of their parents or legal guardians.</p>
<p>Since that time, the fight has only intensified.  In 2005 in Texas, for example, we fought tooth and nail to the bitter end to defeat a bill that would have initiated mental health screening in schools throughout Texas.  Since we have defeated them consistently, this session they tried to get a pilot program approved for San Antonio and we defeated that as well, but the psychiatric and pharmaceutical lobbies are relentless.  PsychSearch.net provides one of the best websites on mental health screening and the ongoing resistance.</p>
<p>We have been aided by our awareness.  Made possible largely by the work of Pennsylvania whistleblower Allen Jones, we know that many of the New Freedom commissioners are linked directly or indirectly to the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP), which provides formulas recommending specific psychotropic drugs to treat various “mental illnesses.”  It has been revealed that TMAP pushed an off-label drug marketing scheme that appears to skirt federal law.  We know, therefore, that this commission’s recommendations are intended to encourage an expansion of the fact that “appropriate services” in today’s psychiatric world means psychotropic drugs; there are already millions upon millions of school-age children on psychiatric drugs.</p>
<p>Senator Charles Grassley’s work outing the severe ethical financial conflicts of so many psychiatric industry spokespersons makes it a little easier to challenge these things.  For example, it tends to impress legislators when they hear that three psychiatry department chairs—Charles Nemeroff of Emory University ($1 million from GlaxoSmithKline alone), Martin Keller of Brown University (associated with a severely compromised drug trial) and Alan Shatzberg of Stanford (who was principal investigator on a drug developed by a company in which he owned $6 million of stock) have all recently resigned their positions as a result of Grassley’s investigation.</p>
<p>The very high number of false positives in mental health screening is good data.  In one study at Columbia University, the authors concluded that use of the Columbia Suicide Screen would result in 84 non-suicidal teens being referred for further evaluation for every 16 youths correctly identified.  It also helps to know that these type programs tend not to work anyway.  For example, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found that screening for suicide risk does not reduce suicide attempts or mortality.</p>
<p>Finally, the facts about the severe dangers and lack of efficacy of the various types of psychiatric drugs gets attention once the truth is made known.</p>
<p>I consider this to represent a tragic situation, and a clear and present danger to our children.  Here is a pledge that thousands specifically signed and that so many more are acting on in the concerted challenges around the country to this scourge:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>We promise to actively resist further intrusion of psychiatry into the public schools, and will not cooperate in any way with those who act as agents of this wrong-headed government initiative.  We do not now and will not later consent to the psychiatric or psychological testing of our children by those who act as agents to implement New Freedom recommendations for universal mental health screening of our children.</em></p></blockquote>
<p>The Parental Consent Act of 2009 is a great idea.  Passing this bill in Washington would make a significant difference in protecting children and families against further intrusion of psychiatry into the schools.  I know it would also make this Texas activist’s life a little easier!</p>
<p><em>John Breeding, Ph.D. has been a counseling psychologist in Austin, Texas for 25 years. He is the director of Texans For Safe Education, a citizens group dedicated to challenging the ever-increasing role of psychiatric drugs in schools.   He is the author of numerous articles and four books including: </em>The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses <em>and</em> True Nature and Great Misunderstandings: On How We Care For Our Children According To Our Understanding.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2218" target="_blank">Click here to read The Parental Consent Act</a></p>
<p>Contact your member of Congress to support The Parental Consent Act.  To find your Representative and get their contact information, go to <a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt" target="_blank">http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt</a> to look them up (you need to enter your zip code).</p>
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<h3  class="related_post_title">Related Posts</h3><ul class="related_post"><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/10/24/ron-paul-is-right%e2%80%94mental-screening-of-school-kids-aims-to-leave-no-child-unmedicated/" title="Ron Paul is right—Mental &#8220;screening&#8221; of school kids aims to Leave No Child Unmedicated">Ron Paul is right—Mental &#8220;screening&#8221; of school kids aims to Leave No Child Unmedicated</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/12/14/no-mandatory-mental-health-screening-for-children-by-ron-paul/" title="&#8220;No Mandatory Mental Health Screening For Children!&#8221; by Ron Paul">&#8220;No Mandatory Mental Health Screening For Children!&#8221; by Ron Paul</a> (0)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/11/29/medical-mafia-in-australia-to-force-parents-to-medicate-adhd-children/" title="Medical mafia in Australia to force parents to drug children diagnosed &#8216;ADHD&#8217;">Medical mafia in Australia to force parents to drug children diagnosed &#8216;ADHD&#8217;</a> (0)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/08/22/ron-paul-reintroduces-the-parental-consent-act-2011-prohibits-federal-funding-for-psychiatric-%e2%80%98screening%e2%80%99-of-kids/" title="Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011- Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric ‘Screening’ of Kids">Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011- Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric ‘Screening’ of Kids</a> (1)</li><li><a href="http://www.cchrint.org/2011/08/09/ron-paul-reintroduces-the-parental-consent-act-2011-prohibits-federal-funding-for-psychiatric-screening-of-kids/" title="Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011! Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric &#8216;Screening&#8217; of Kids">Ron Paul Reintroduces The Parental Consent Act 2011! Prohibits Federal Funding For Psychiatric &#8216;Screening&#8217; of Kids</a> (7)</li></ul>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Teen Screen, Cynical Deception, Dangerous Illusion</title>
		<link>http://www.cchrint.org/2009/08/26/teen-screen-cynical-deception-dangerous-illusion/</link>
		<comments>http://www.cchrint.org/2009/08/26/teen-screen-cynical-deception-dangerous-illusion/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:29:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[Teen suicides]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TeenScreen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[whistleblower]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[As human beings we have a strong natural impulse to protect our kids from harm.  As a society we create norms, laws and institutions to protect, educate and nurture our young.  Consciously <em>and</em> instinctively we safeguard our children.

Teen Screen is a bitter and cynical betrayal of this noble human impulse. Promoted as an aid to preventing suicide and identifying so-called mental disorders, Teen Screen is in fact a nefarious effort to recruit our children into the quagmire of biological psychiatry.]]></description>
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<p><strong>By Allen Jones, Former Investigator, Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General<br />
August 26, 2009</strong></p>
<p>As human beings we have a strong natural impulse to protect our kids from harm.  As a society we create norms, laws and institutions to protect, educate and nurture our young.  Consciously <em>and</em> instinctively we safeguard our children.</p>
<p>Teen Screen is a bitter and cynical betrayal of this noble human impulse. Promoted as an aid to preventing suicide and identifying so-called mental disorders, Teen Screen is in fact a nefarious effort to recruit our children into the quagmire of biological psychiatry.</p>
<p>I believe the majority of parents who support Teen Screen are well meaning and genuinely have the best interests of children at heart.  I believe they have been duped and beguiled by slick marketing that appealed to their better instincts while simultaneously defeating those instincts.</p>
<p>Teen Screen was developed and promoted by persons with deep financial ties to makers of psychiatric drugs.  These drug companies have a profit-driven incentive to maximize the use of their drugs.  Teen Screen furthers this corporate goal by following a psychiatric model intended to translate normal human experience into symptoms of mental illness.</p>
<p>Teen Screen’s centerpiece is a survey which claims to identify signs of mental illness and suicidality in children and adolescents.  How does it do this?  Teen Screen identifies <em>feelings and emotions </em>experienced by children and adolescents. It then translates these feelings and emotions into “symptoms” of mental illness. In this way, Teen Screen is in lock-step with modern psychiatry.</p>
<p>The field of psychiatry has attached clinical pathology to the presence or absence of literally <em>every mood or feeling</em> in the normal range of human emotions. The diagnostic criteria outlined in psychiatry’s <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</em> (DSM) essentially identify the presence or absence of feelings and subjectively determine if these feelings are “normal” or “abnormal.”  If the feeling or emotion is considered inappropriate in intensity or context, that feeling becomes a “symptom” of “mental illness,” treatable by medication.  After all, psychiatric drugs are designed to treat “symptoms” not cure illness.</p>
<p>Any child who lives life fully and freely will experience a full range of human emotions.  They will experience sadness, gladness, apathy, energy, optimism, pessimism, fear, fearlessness, love, hate, suspicion, trust and myriad other feelings.  Experiencing these feelings and learning to be guided appropriately by them is a vital part of growth and maturation.  Teen Screen identifies these feelings, subtlety manipulates or ignores context and labels the feelings as possible “symptoms” of mental illness.</p>
<p>Imagine the emotional states experienced by a child before, during and after a major life event such as playing in the “Big Game” with an archrival school.  The child might be distracted by excited anticipation for days before the event.  He might have difficulty sleeping the night before the game.  He might be unable to think of anything else on game day, even during classes.  He will likely be very highly energized during the event.  Depending on the game outcome, the child might be elated or saddened for days afterwards.</p>
<p>Now imagine the child later being asked questions such as these:</p>
<p>Have you ever felt so full of energy that it was difficult to sit still?</p>
<p>Have you ever felt anxious when you had to say or do something in front of people?</p>
<p>Have you ever been so concerned about something that you could not sleep?</p>
<p>Have you ever felt so happy that you could not concentrate?</p>
<p>Have you ever felt so sad that you could not focus on your school work?</p>
<p>The participant in the big game and the <em>spectators</em> of the big game might answer “yes” to most or all of the above questions.  Following the creed of modern psychiatry, Teen Screen would determine the child to be at risk of mania, social anxiety disorder, depression and possibly bipolar disorder.  The child would be flagged for further psychiatric evaluation.</p>
<p>The above scenario is not far-fetched. Things like this are happening every day. Teen Screen has been proven to have “false positive” rates as high as 84%.</p>
<p>Teen Screen is a device to distill “symptoms” from normal life experience and generate unlimited referrals to mental health professionals whose primary method of treatment involves drugging.  Please do not be duped by this ferocious, Pharma-friendly wolf in sheep’s clothing.</p>
<p><em>Allen Jones, worked as an investigator in the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and gained widespread national and international attention as a whistleblower after uncovering pharmaceutical industry payments to government officials for the purpose of implementing a national mental health screening/psychotropic drug treatment plan based on the controversial Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP). In May, 2004 the </em>British Medical Journal <em>reported Jones had uncovered evidence major drug companies sought to influence government officials and that Jones was escorted out of his workplace on April 28, 2004, after OIG officials accused him of talking to the press. Jones chose to disclose his findings to the press precisely because of corrupt behavior by OIG officials themselves, alleging the OIG&#8217;s policy was &#8220;unconstitutional.&#8221;</em></p>
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