The psychiatric hospitals where foster kids are a "gold mine"

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     October 19, 2023 Trina was only 12 years old when she first got locked into a psychiatric children's hospital. She was sure a foster parent would soon come for her. [But she couldn’t have been more wrong](. I’ve spent the past year investigating how kids like Trina stay locked up, where they can be forcibly medicated and physically restrained with no end in sight. And when they're ready to be discharged, many kids stay locked in because our overburdened children's welfare system can't find foster homes. That led me to Universal Health Services, the country's largest psychiatric hospital chain, which claims on its website to provide compassionate care with a "relentless focus on quality" to thousands of patients each year. And it does well by investors, too: The publicly traded, Fortune 500 company brought in $13.4 billion last year. But my investigation, out today, [tells a starkly different story](, shedding light on a large, profitable, and often-overlooked patient base: foster kids. I hope you take the time to read today. —Julia Lurie Advertisement [House Subscriptions Ad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [“Attacking Health Workers Is a War Crime”]( Health care and the bombs in Gaza. BY MARIANNE SZEGEDY-MASZAK SPONSORED CONTENT FROM CREDO MOBILE   CREDO Mobile: A phone company that’s better for all people and the planet. When you [join CREDO Mobile](, you get all you want from a phone company: great network, competitive plans, the best phones. But with CREDO you get much more. You get an easy, effective way to make a difference in the world. Just by using your phone, you’ll generate vital donations for progressive nonprofits. [Trending] [Steve Bannon and Alex Jones have a bizarre conspiracy theory about the Israel-Hamas war]( BY DAVID CORN   [Release the Kraken! Sidney Powell just pleaded guilty in Georgia election trial and agreed to testify]( BY DAN FRIEDMAN   [Coal communities fear exclusion from environmental justice initiative]( BY KRISTOFFER TIGUE   [Jim Jordan unpauses his speaker campaign]( BY ARIANNA COGHILL Advertisement [House Bookshop Ad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Inside the psychiatric hospitals where foster kids are a "gold mine"]( How a scandal-plagued health care giant profits off a failing child welfare system. BY JULIA LURIE [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755