EXPERTS COOL ON DRUG TESTS FOR PARENTS

Drug testing parents would be costly, hard to supervise, easy to subvert,
and a black market in "clean urine" would be exploited, experts said
yesterday after the idea was floated by the Minister for Community
Services, Mrs Lo Po'.

Mrs Lo Po' said neglectful and abusive parents with a history of drug or
alcohol dependency should be compelled to undergo drug tests before their
children were returned to their care. She said she was no longer prepared
to take parents' word that they were drug-free.

However, compulsory drug testing was not among the many recommendations of
the Child Death Review Team of independent experts. The team's report,
including a major section on substance abuse, was launched by the minister
yesterday.

The director of alcohol and drug services at St Vincent's Hospital, Dr Alex
Wodak, said urine tests produced false negatives and false positives and
could not be relied on in such an important matter as a child's life or
death.

A black market in "clean" urine existed, he said, and unless the person was
observed giving a urine sample, there was the possibility of substitution.

"And how much will they make of the presence of cannabis in the urine,
given 40 per cent of Australians over 14 have tried it?" he said.

"Evidence of cannabis can be found in the urine for four to five weeks but
heroin, cocaine and amphetamines last only 48 hours, which might lead
parents to swap to more dangerous drugs."

Drug testing can already be ordered by courts if doubts exist about a
parent's drug-free status. But the use of drug testing was erratic and
needed to be clarified, according to a family support worker. However, GPs
were reluctant to supervise the process, making secure urine samples hard
to get.

And the high cost of drug testing had led methadone clinics to reduce the
number of urine tests conducted on their clientele.

The chief executive officer of the Association of Children's Welfare
Agencies, Mr Nigel Spence, said that "just because people are taking
illegal drugs does not automatically disqualify them from parenting. The
decision has to be based on whether they can provide adequate supervision
and care."