Drug, Genetic Need for SSRI for Fostre Children seized by DHR

[Guest guest]

I've got to get off this computer.

Go look at the " New Feedom in Mental Health " that I posted over the weekend.

They're not going to wait until the kids get into public schools. There are

going to be federally funded nurses to go into the homes of pregnant women

to make sure they are exhibiting " health habits " .

The go look at the MKUltra websites describing the intent to influence

neonates for future behavior and mind control and then read this e-mail

again, comrade.

Then let me give you the phone number of a woman who almost had her 3

children put in foster care for adoption one week ago today because she is

too poor to repair her washing machine.

---- Original Message -----

From: " Jim " <mofunnow@...>

<SSRI medications >

Sent: Monday, November 01, 2004 12:00 PM

Subject: Re: Texas " gene pool " comment

>

> Here ya go

>

>

> Dr. Joe Burkett at the Texas Interim Committee on Child Welfare and the

> System said:

>

> 10-4-04

>

> " Our original problems is that we have abuse and neglect, we have danger

to

> the children, we have mental illness. I should stretch and give you more

of

> a medical perspective on the mental illness. A lot of these kids come from

> bad gene pools. They don't have stable parents making good decisions. Or

> many of them would not be in foster care. And so besides the gene pool

they

> have been traumatized by abuse, neglect and problems and then tramatized

by

> separation. All those things predisposed to mental illness. "

>

>

>

> http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/102704ccktKVUEMHMR.2f50827d.html

>

> Mental health official rebuked

>

> Right groups, welfare agency critics call for Tarrant doctor to resign

>

>

> 07:56 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 27, 2004

>

> By ROBERT T. GARRETT

> The Dallas Morning News

>

>

> AUSTIN - Civil rights groups and critics of the state's child welfare

agency

> demanded the resignation Tuesday of a prominent Tarrant County mental

health

> official for telling a legislative hearing that many foster children " come

> from bad gene pools. "

>

> Bledsoe, president of the Conference of Texas NAACP Branches, said at

a

> Capitol news conference that the comment by Dr. ph Burkett, medical

> director of Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County, " invites

> racism. "

>

> Herschel of the County Leadership Council said blacks are

> " still being stereotyped " by state Child Protective Services. " For a

> psychiatrist to put forth a genetic theory like this is horribly

> irresponsible. "

>

> Dr. Burkett, a psychiatrist who has been the Tarrant County agency's top

> medical officer since 2000, said he did nothing wrong and has no plans to

> quit.

>

> Dr. Burkett said he was " not alluding to race " or belittling foster

children

> in remarks he made Oct. 4 to a House panel studying whether mental health

> drugs are prescribed too often for the state's 17,000 foster children.

>

> " I should stretch and give you a little more medical perspective on mental

> illness, " he said as he testified on behalf of the Texas Society of

> Psychiatric Physicians. " A lot of these kids come from bad gene pools.

They

> don't have stable parents making good decisions or else many of them, most

> of them, would not be in foster care. "

>

> On Tuesday, Dr. Burkett said: " There are pretty strong genetic factors in

> mental illness. The comment ... was really a comment about the fact that

> these children are in the foster care system because they don't have

normal

> parents making good decisions. ... "

>

> " That's really the connection I'm making with genetics. "

>

> He said, " They may not have been the best choice of words. ... I regret

that

> I offended anyone. "

>

> Dr. Burkett served on Child Protective Services' Advisory Committee on

> Psychotropic Medications, which in August urged the state to allow doctors

> to prescribe for mentally disturbed foster children all of the medications

> generally available to the Medicaid population.

>

>

>

>

> http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2868542

>

>

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA102704.1B.child_drugs.29963f2\

4.html

>

> kid comment blasted

>

> Web Posted: 10/27/2004 12:00 AM CDT

>

> Peggy Fikac

> Chief, Express-News Austin bureau

>

> AUSTIN - A psychiatrist's testimony to a House committee that many foster

> children come from " bad gene pools " has prompted an outcry from groups

> including the NAACP.

>

> " This kind of comment under those circumstances - without there being

> adequate data to support those comments - invites racism, invites ethnic

> bias, invites classism, " Bledsoe, state president of the National

> Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Tuesday.

>

> His group and others at Tuesday's news conference, including the Citizens

> Commission on Human Rights of Texas, have expressed concern about the

> relatively large percentage of African American children in foster care

and

> the administration of certain drugs to foster children.

>

> Dr. ph Burkett, who testified Oct. 4 before the House Select Interim

> Committee on Child Welfare and Care, apologized Tuesday for a " bad

> choice of words " but said genetic factors can predispose one to mental

> illness.

>

> Bledsoe called for an investigation of policies at Mental Health and

Mental

> Retardation of Tarrant County, where Burkett is medical director, and of

> policies resulting from his work on a state advisory group on psychotropic

> medications.

>

> Burkett said that when he testified before the committee he wasn't

> representing the Tarrant County organization. He identified himself as

> representing the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians. The state

advisory

> group is no longer active, officials said.

>

> In his testimony, Burkett spoke of matters including medications being

given

> more freely to children because of some benefits and because of problems

> facing foster children.

>

> " Our original problems are that we have abuse and neglect. We have danger

to

> the children. We have mental illness, " he told lawmakers. " And I should

> stretch and give you a little bit more medical perspective on the mental

> illness. A lot of these kids come from bad gene pools. They don't have

> stable parents making good decisions or ... most of them would not be in

> foster care.

>

> " So besides the gene pools, they've then been traumatized by abuse,

neglect

> and problems, and then they've been traumatized by separation. And all

those

> things predispose to mental illness, " he said.

>

> Jerry Boswell of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Texas said,

" We

> all know what geneticism and eugenics have led to in the past. I don't

need

> to go into Nazi Germany. "

>

> Burkett said, " To the extent that I owe some people an apology about a bad

> choice of words, I apologize.

>

> " But the other thing about it is that people don't realize how significant

> the family lines in genetics are dealing with major mental illness like

they

> are with so many other medical disorders. "

>

> of the Health and Human Services Commission said officials

> already are taking a broad look at the administration of psychotropic

> medications to children.

>

> Jim McDermott, chief executive officer of MHMR of Tarrant County, said he

> hadn't heard Burkett's testimony and noted he wasn't representing the

group

> before the committee. He said the agency " is behind (Burkett) 100 percent "

> as medical director.

>

> pfikac@...

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've got to get off this computer.

Go look at the " New Feedom in Mental Health " that I posted over the weekend.

They're not going to wait until the kids get into public schools. There are

going to be federally funded nurses to go into the homes of pregnant women

to make sure they are exhibiting " health habits " .

The go look at the MKUltra websites describing the intent to influence

neonates for future behavior and mind control and then read this e-mail

again, comrade.

Then let me give you the phone number of a woman who almost had her 3

children put in foster care for adoption one week ago today because she is

too poor to repair her washing machine.

---- Original Message -----

From: " Jim " <mofunnow@...>

<SSRI medications >

Sent: Monday, November 01, 2004 12:00 PM

Subject: Re: Texas " gene pool " comment

>

> Here ya go

>

>

> Dr. Joe Burkett at the Texas Interim Committee on Child Welfare and the

> System said:

>

> 10-4-04

>

> " Our original problems is that we have abuse and neglect, we have danger

to

> the children, we have mental illness. I should stretch and give you more

of

> a medical perspective on the mental illness. A lot of these kids come from

> bad gene pools. They don't have stable parents making good decisions. Or

> many of them would not be in foster care. And so besides the gene pool

they

> have been traumatized by abuse, neglect and problems and then tramatized

by

> separation. All those things predisposed to mental illness. "

>

>

>

> http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/102704ccktKVUEMHMR.2f50827d.html

>

> Mental health official rebuked

>

> Right groups, welfare agency critics call for Tarrant doctor to resign

>

>

> 07:56 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 27, 2004

>

> By ROBERT T. GARRETT

> The Dallas Morning News

>

>

> AUSTIN - Civil rights groups and critics of the state's child welfare

agency

> demanded the resignation Tuesday of a prominent Tarrant County mental

health

> official for telling a legislative hearing that many foster children " come

> from bad gene pools. "

>

> Bledsoe, president of the Conference of Texas NAACP Branches, said at

a

> Capitol news conference that the comment by Dr. ph Burkett, medical

> director of Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County, " invites

> racism. "

>

> Herschel of the County Leadership Council said blacks are

> " still being stereotyped " by state Child Protective Services. " For a

> psychiatrist to put forth a genetic theory like this is horribly

> irresponsible. "

>

> Dr. Burkett, a psychiatrist who has been the Tarrant County agency's top

> medical officer since 2000, said he did nothing wrong and has no plans to

> quit.

>

> Dr. Burkett said he was " not alluding to race " or belittling foster

children

> in remarks he made Oct. 4 to a House panel studying whether mental health

> drugs are prescribed too often for the state's 17,000 foster children.

>

> " I should stretch and give you a little more medical perspective on mental

> illness, " he said as he testified on behalf of the Texas Society of

> Psychiatric Physicians. " A lot of these kids come from bad gene pools.

They

> don't have stable parents making good decisions or else many of them, most

> of them, would not be in foster care. "

>

> On Tuesday, Dr. Burkett said: " There are pretty strong genetic factors in

> mental illness. The comment ... was really a comment about the fact that

> these children are in the foster care system because they don't have

normal

> parents making good decisions. ... "

>

> " That's really the connection I'm making with genetics. "

>

> He said, " They may not have been the best choice of words. ... I regret

that

> I offended anyone. "

>

> Dr. Burkett served on Child Protective Services' Advisory Committee on

> Psychotropic Medications, which in August urged the state to allow doctors

> to prescribe for mentally disturbed foster children all of the medications

> generally available to the Medicaid population.

>

>

>

>

> http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2868542

>

>

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA102704.1B.child_drugs.29963f2\

4.html

>

> kid comment blasted

>

> Web Posted: 10/27/2004 12:00 AM CDT

>

> Peggy Fikac

> Chief, Express-News Austin bureau

>

> AUSTIN - A psychiatrist's testimony to a House committee that many foster

> children come from " bad gene pools " has prompted an outcry from groups

> including the NAACP.

>

> " This kind of comment under those circumstances - without there being

> adequate data to support those comments - invites racism, invites ethnic

> bias, invites classism, " Bledsoe, state president of the National

> Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Tuesday.

>

> His group and others at Tuesday's news conference, including the Citizens

> Commission on Human Rights of Texas, have expressed concern about the

> relatively large percentage of African American children in foster care

and

> the administration of certain drugs to foster children.

>

> Dr. ph Burkett, who testified Oct. 4 before the House Select Interim

> Committee on Child Welfare and Care, apologized Tuesday for a " bad

> choice of words " but said genetic factors can predispose one to mental

> illness.

>

> Bledsoe called for an investigation of policies at Mental Health and

Mental

> Retardation of Tarrant County, where Burkett is medical director, and of

> policies resulting from his work on a state advisory group on psychotropic

> medications.

>

> Burkett said that when he testified before the committee he wasn't

> representing the Tarrant County organization. He identified himself as

> representing the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians. The state

advisory

> group is no longer active, officials said.

>

> In his testimony, Burkett spoke of matters including medications being

given

> more freely to children because of some benefits and because of problems

> facing foster children.

>

> " Our original problems are that we have abuse and neglect. We have danger

to

> the children. We have mental illness, " he told lawmakers. " And I should

> stretch and give you a little bit more medical perspective on the mental

> illness. A lot of these kids come from bad gene pools. They don't have

> stable parents making good decisions or ... most of them would not be in

> foster care.

>

> " So besides the gene pools, they've then been traumatized by abuse,

neglect

> and problems, and then they've been traumatized by separation. And all

those

> things predispose to mental illness, " he said.

>

> Jerry Boswell of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Texas said,

" We

> all know what geneticism and eugenics have led to in the past. I don't

need

> to go into Nazi Germany. "

>

> Burkett said, " To the extent that I owe some people an apology about a bad

> choice of words, I apologize.

>

> " But the other thing about it is that people don't realize how significant

> the family lines in genetics are dealing with major mental illness like

they

> are with so many other medical disorders. "

>

> of the Health and Human Services Commission said officials

> already are taking a broad look at the administration of psychotropic

> medications to children.

>

> Jim McDermott, chief executive officer of MHMR of Tarrant County, said he

> hadn't heard Burkett's testimony and noted he wasn't representing the

group

> before the committee. He said the agency " is behind (Burkett) 100 percent "

> as medical director.

>

> pfikac@...

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've got to get off this computer.

Go look at the " New Feedom in Mental Health " that I posted over the weekend.

They're not going to wait until the kids get into public schools. There are

going to be federally funded nurses to go into the homes of pregnant women

to make sure they are exhibiting " health habits " .

The go look at the MKUltra websites describing the intent to influence

neonates for future behavior and mind control and then read this e-mail

again, comrade.

Then let me give you the phone number of a woman who almost had her 3

children put in foster care for adoption one week ago today because she is

too poor to repair her washing machine.

---- Original Message -----

From: " Jim " <mofunnow@...>

<SSRI medications >

Sent: Monday, November 01, 2004 12:00 PM

Subject: Re: Texas " gene pool " comment

>

> Here ya go

>

>

> Dr. Joe Burkett at the Texas Interim Committee on Child Welfare and the

> System said:

>

> 10-4-04

>

> " Our original problems is that we have abuse and neglect, we have danger

to

> the children, we have mental illness. I should stretch and give you more

of

> a medical perspective on the mental illness. A lot of these kids come from

> bad gene pools. They don't have stable parents making good decisions. Or

> many of them would not be in foster care. And so besides the gene pool

they

> have been traumatized by abuse, neglect and problems and then tramatized

by

> separation. All those things predisposed to mental illness. "

>

>

>

> http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/102704ccktKVUEMHMR.2f50827d.html

>

> Mental health official rebuked

>

> Right groups, welfare agency critics call for Tarrant doctor to resign

>

>

> 07:56 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 27, 2004

>

> By ROBERT T. GARRETT

> The Dallas Morning News

>

>

> AUSTIN - Civil rights groups and critics of the state's child welfare

agency

> demanded the resignation Tuesday of a prominent Tarrant County mental

health

> official for telling a legislative hearing that many foster children " come

> from bad gene pools. "

>

> Bledsoe, president of the Conference of Texas NAACP Branches, said at

a

> Capitol news conference that the comment by Dr. ph Burkett, medical

> director of Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County, " invites

> racism. "

>

> Herschel of the County Leadership Council said blacks are

> " still being stereotyped " by state Child Protective Services. " For a

> psychiatrist to put forth a genetic theory like this is horribly

> irresponsible. "

>

> Dr. Burkett, a psychiatrist who has been the Tarrant County agency's top

> medical officer since 2000, said he did nothing wrong and has no plans to

> quit.

>

> Dr. Burkett said he was " not alluding to race " or belittling foster

children

> in remarks he made Oct. 4 to a House panel studying whether mental health

> drugs are prescribed too often for the state's 17,000 foster children.

>

> " I should stretch and give you a little more medical perspective on mental

> illness, " he said as he testified on behalf of the Texas Society of

> Psychiatric Physicians. " A lot of these kids come from bad gene pools.

They

> don't have stable parents making good decisions or else many of them, most

> of them, would not be in foster care. "

>

> On Tuesday, Dr. Burkett said: " There are pretty strong genetic factors in

> mental illness. The comment ... was really a comment about the fact that

> these children are in the foster care system because they don't have

normal

> parents making good decisions. ... "

>

> " That's really the connection I'm making with genetics. "

>

> He said, " They may not have been the best choice of words. ... I regret

that

> I offended anyone. "

>

> Dr. Burkett served on Child Protective Services' Advisory Committee on

> Psychotropic Medications, which in August urged the state to allow doctors

> to prescribe for mentally disturbed foster children all of the medications

> generally available to the Medicaid population.

>

>

>

>

> http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2868542

>

>

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA102704.1B.child_drugs.29963f2\

4.html

>

> kid comment blasted

>

> Web Posted: 10/27/2004 12:00 AM CDT

>

> Peggy Fikac

> Chief, Express-News Austin bureau

>

> AUSTIN - A psychiatrist's testimony to a House committee that many foster

> children come from " bad gene pools " has prompted an outcry from groups

> including the NAACP.

>

> " This kind of comment under those circumstances - without there being

> adequate data to support those comments - invites racism, invites ethnic

> bias, invites classism, " Bledsoe, state president of the National

> Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Tuesday.

>

> His group and others at Tuesday's news conference, including the Citizens

> Commission on Human Rights of Texas, have expressed concern about the

> relatively large percentage of African American children in foster care

and

> the administration of certain drugs to foster children.

>

> Dr. ph Burkett, who testified Oct. 4 before the House Select Interim

> Committee on Child Welfare and Care, apologized Tuesday for a " bad

> choice of words " but said genetic factors can predispose one to mental

> illness.

>

> Bledsoe called for an investigation of policies at Mental Health and

Mental

> Retardation of Tarrant County, where Burkett is medical director, and of

> policies resulting from his work on a state advisory group on psychotropic

> medications.

>

> Burkett said that when he testified before the committee he wasn't

> representing the Tarrant County organization. He identified himself as

> representing the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians. The state

advisory

> group is no longer active, officials said.

>

> In his testimony, Burkett spoke of matters including medications being

given

> more freely to children because of some benefits and because of problems

> facing foster children.

>

> " Our original problems are that we have abuse and neglect. We have danger

to

> the children. We have mental illness, " he told lawmakers. " And I should

> stretch and give you a little bit more medical perspective on the mental

> illness. A lot of these kids come from bad gene pools. They don't have

> stable parents making good decisions or ... most of them would not be in

> foster care.

>

> " So besides the gene pools, they've then been traumatized by abuse,

neglect

> and problems, and then they've been traumatized by separation. And all

those

> things predispose to mental illness, " he said.

>

> Jerry Boswell of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Texas said,

" We

> all know what geneticism and eugenics have led to in the past. I don't

need

> to go into Nazi Germany. "

>

> Burkett said, " To the extent that I owe some people an apology about a bad

> choice of words, I apologize.

>

> " But the other thing about it is that people don't realize how significant

> the family lines in genetics are dealing with major mental illness like

they

> are with so many other medical disorders. "

>

> of the Health and Human Services Commission said officials

> already are taking a broad look at the administration of psychotropic

> medications to children.

>

> Jim McDermott, chief executive officer of MHMR of Tarrant County, said he

> hadn't heard Burkett's testimony and noted he wasn't representing the

group

> before the committee. He said the agency " is behind (Burkett) 100 percent "

> as medical director.

>

> pfikac@...

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've got to get off this computer.

Go look at the " New Feedom in Mental Health " that I posted over the weekend.

They're not going to wait until the kids get into public schools. There are

going to be federally funded nurses to go into the homes of pregnant women

to make sure they are exhibiting " health habits " .

The go look at the MKUltra websites describing the intent to influence

neonates for future behavior and mind control and then read this e-mail

again, comrade.

Then let me give you the phone number of a woman who almost had her 3

children put in foster care for adoption one week ago today because she is

too poor to repair her washing machine.

---- Original Message -----

From: " Jim " <mofunnow@...>

<SSRI medications >

Sent: Monday, November 01, 2004 12:00 PM

Subject: Re: Texas " gene pool " comment

>

> Here ya go

>

>

> Dr. Joe Burkett at the Texas Interim Committee on Child Welfare and the

> System said:

>

> 10-4-04

>

> " Our original problems is that we have abuse and neglect, we have danger

to

> the children, we have mental illness. I should stretch and give you more

of

> a medical perspective on the mental illness. A lot of these kids come from

> bad gene pools. They don't have stable parents making good decisions. Or

> many of them would not be in foster care. And so besides the gene pool

they

> have been traumatized by abuse, neglect and problems and then tramatized

by

> separation. All those things predisposed to mental illness. "

>

>

>

> http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/102704ccktKVUEMHMR.2f50827d.html

>

> Mental health official rebuked

>

> Right groups, welfare agency critics call for Tarrant doctor to resign

>

>

> 07:56 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 27, 2004

>

> By ROBERT T. GARRETT

> The Dallas Morning News

>

>

> AUSTIN - Civil rights groups and critics of the state's child welfare

agency

> demanded the resignation Tuesday of a prominent Tarrant County mental

health

> official for telling a legislative hearing that many foster children " come

> from bad gene pools. "

>

> Bledsoe, president of the Conference of Texas NAACP Branches, said at

a

> Capitol news conference that the comment by Dr. ph Burkett, medical

> director of Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County, " invites

> racism. "

>

> Herschel of the County Leadership Council said blacks are

> " still being stereotyped " by state Child Protective Services. " For a

> psychiatrist to put forth a genetic theory like this is horribly

> irresponsible. "

>

> Dr. Burkett, a psychiatrist who has been the Tarrant County agency's top

> medical officer since 2000, said he did nothing wrong and has no plans to

> quit.

>

> Dr. Burkett said he was " not alluding to race " or belittling foster

children

> in remarks he made Oct. 4 to a House panel studying whether mental health

> drugs are prescribed too often for the state's 17,000 foster children.

>

> " I should stretch and give you a little more medical perspective on mental

> illness, " he said as he testified on behalf of the Texas Society of

> Psychiatric Physicians. " A lot of these kids come from bad gene pools.

They

> don't have stable parents making good decisions or else many of them, most

> of them, would not be in foster care. "

>

> On Tuesday, Dr. Burkett said: " There are pretty strong genetic factors in

> mental illness. The comment ... was really a comment about the fact that

> these children are in the foster care system because they don't have

normal

> parents making good decisions. ... "

>

> " That's really the connection I'm making with genetics. "

>

> He said, " They may not have been the best choice of words. ... I regret

that

> I offended anyone. "

>

> Dr. Burkett served on Child Protective Services' Advisory Committee on

> Psychotropic Medications, which in August urged the state to allow doctors

> to prescribe for mentally disturbed foster children all of the medications

> generally available to the Medicaid population.

>

>

>

>

> http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2868542

>

>

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA102704.1B.child_drugs.29963f2\

4.html

>

> kid comment blasted

>

> Web Posted: 10/27/2004 12:00 AM CDT

>

> Peggy Fikac

> Chief, Express-News Austin bureau

>

> AUSTIN - A psychiatrist's testimony to a House committee that many foster

> children come from " bad gene pools " has prompted an outcry from groups

> including the NAACP.

>

> " This kind of comment under those circumstances - without there being

> adequate data to support those comments - invites racism, invites ethnic

> bias, invites classism, " Bledsoe, state president of the National

> Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Tuesday.

>

> His group and others at Tuesday's news conference, including the Citizens

> Commission on Human Rights of Texas, have expressed concern about the

> relatively large percentage of African American children in foster care

and

> the administration of certain drugs to foster children.

>

> Dr. ph Burkett, who testified Oct. 4 before the House Select Interim

> Committee on Child Welfare and Care, apologized Tuesday for a " bad

> choice of words " but said genetic factors can predispose one to mental

> illness.

>

> Bledsoe called for an investigation of policies at Mental Health and

Mental

> Retardation of Tarrant County, where Burkett is medical director, and of

> policies resulting from his work on a state advisory group on psychotropic

> medications.

>

> Burkett said that when he testified before the committee he wasn't

> representing the Tarrant County organization. He identified himself as

> representing the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians. The state

advisory

> group is no longer active, officials said.

>

> In his testimony, Burkett spoke of matters including medications being

given

> more freely to children because of some benefits and because of problems

> facing foster children.

>

> " Our original problems are that we have abuse and neglect. We have danger

to

> the children. We have mental illness, " he told lawmakers. " And I should

> stretch and give you a little bit more medical perspective on the mental

> illness. A lot of these kids come from bad gene pools. They don't have

> stable parents making good decisions or ... most of them would not be in

> foster care.

>

> " So besides the gene pools, they've then been traumatized by abuse,

neglect

> and problems, and then they've been traumatized by separation. And all

those

> things predispose to mental illness, " he said.

>

> Jerry Boswell of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Texas said,

" We

> all know what geneticism and eugenics have led to in the past. I don't

need

> to go into Nazi Germany. "

>

> Burkett said, " To the extent that I owe some people an apology about a bad

> choice of words, I apologize.

>

> " But the other thing about it is that people don't realize how significant

> the family lines in genetics are dealing with major mental illness like

they

> are with so many other medical disorders. "

>

> of the Health and Human Services Commission said officials

> already are taking a broad look at the administration of psychotropic

> medications to children.

>

> Jim McDermott, chief executive officer of MHMR of Tarrant County, said he

> hadn't heard Burkett's testimony and noted he wasn't representing the

group

> before the committee. He said the agency " is behind (Burkett) 100 percent "

> as medical director.

>

> pfikac@...

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>