Inside the Psychiatric Hospital Where Foster Kids Are a “Gold Mine”

October 27, 2023

(Mother Jones) – In the days to follow, Edwards learned the facility’s peculiar vernacular. “Booty juice” was the intramuscular sedative that staffers gave to kids they thought were acting out. According to court documents, they would restrain children and pull their pants down to administer the injection, then seclude them in the small, unfurnished space known as the “quiet room.” If someone in your unit got into a fight, or if you refused to take your medications, you could be put on “unit restriction,” unable to leave the dormitory area to go to the cafeteria, classes, or the fenced-in basketball court outside.

How was it possible, Edwards wondered, that passing thoughts of suicide had landed her in a “mini prison for children”? (Read More)