That's right.  The single most best predictor of mental illness-- better than family history, better than genetics, better than symptomatology-- is being a foster child.

Texas data: 2004, 40% of the 32,000 foster kids were on psychotropics. 2005 it was, by age:

• 0-5: 12.4%
• 6-12: 55%
• 13-17: 66.5%

Do you understand the significance of this?  If you tell me every single person in your family, including your identical twin, has schizophrenia, I will not be able to tell you if you have it-- but if you tell me simply that you are a foster child...

I'm sure someone has an explanation that deals with 5HT-2a receptors, or the amygdala, or genes on chromosome 12, but:

"When two-thirds of foster care adolescents receive treatment for emotional and behavioral problems, far in excess of the proportion in the non- foster care population, we should have assurances that the youth are benefiting from such treatment," said Dr. Zito.

Damn right. But as I said in my Esmin Green article that failed to convince anyone, this will never really be explored because society doesn't have any other options.    If you don't call 16,000 Texas kids "early onset bipolar," does the system have a Plan B?  Jail, I guess.