Caseworkers must discuss with medical consenters and other caregivers the fact that psychosocial therapies, behavior strategies and other non-pharmacological (non-medicine) interventions should be considered before or along with psychotropic medications for children in DFPS conservatorship.

The medical consenter or caregiver should seek assistance from the child's healthcare provider, child placing agency, caseworker, and therapist to develop strategies to help the child to manage behaviors.

If the parties agree on non-pharmacological interventions, the medical consenter arranges for the child to receive them. The caseworker must coordinate with the medical consenter, the healthcare provider, and the child placing agency case management staff, if applicable, to help the medical consenter make these arrangements for the child.

If psychotropic medication is necessary, medical consenters should ask the prescribing provider to recommend specific non-pharmacological interventions, tailored to the child's needs, which can be employed at the same time as the treatment with psychotropic medication. See 11320 Psychotropic Medications.

Discussions with medical consenters and caregivers about non-pharmacological interventions may address various issues. In the Medical Consent Resource GuidePDF Document, see Non-Pharmacological Interventions.