DRUG TESTS REQUIRED OF CHILD CARE DRIVERS

Fatal Crash Stirs Change; Many Already Test Positive

A fatal day care van crash blamed on a driver nicknamed 'Smokey' has
brought on tough new drug testing mandates.

Starting Aug. 1, day care centers must test drivers within 10 days of
hiring them.

Drivers already on the job must be tested by Jan. 1, according to a
new rule issued Tuesday by the state agency that regulates day care.

State officials said the new rule has nothing to do with last week's
day care van tragedy, when Amber Cox-Cody was found dead, forgotten in
her car seat.

The drug-testing rule stems from an earlier incident.

Four children and the driver died in April 2002 when a Tippy Toes
Learning Academy van veered off a bustling freeway and hit a concrete
bridge abutment.

Investigators said the driver, Wesley Hudson, regularly smoked
marijuana and that the kids nicknamed him 'Smokey.'

Hudson, who had past convictions for marijuana possession as well as a
sleep disorder, had 1.9 grams of pot in his pocket at the crash scene.

At the end of the most recent legislative session, Rep. Carol Chumney
(D-Memphis) pushed through an amendment requiring the drug-screening
regulation to be in place by July 1.

Officials with the Department of Human Services (DHS) originally said
they needed time to make the regulations enforceable and aimed for a
Jan. 1, 2004, start date.

That delay drew harsh criticism from Chumney.

In an April letter to Gov. Phil Bredesen, Chumney asked: "How will you
rest in the future if another child is killed this summer due to the
van driver's drug use?"

Since March, roughly 20 percent of some 500 Memphis day care workers
and drivers who've taken voluntary tests were positive for illegal
drugs, said Steve Conn, president of Medical Testing Resources Inc.

His company, which also tests airline workers and federal employees,
has conducted tests in 65 Memphis centers that voluntarily screen employees.

"This rate is as much as 20 times higher than what we see in
commercial trucking," Conn said.

The drug of choice is marijuana, followed by cocaine, he said. About
80 of those 500 employees were van drivers.

The new drug-testing rule is for drivers only. Workers inside the
centers, along with drivers, must undergo criminal background checks.

Centers must pay for the tests themselves, with prices ranging from
$25 to $45 per test.

The Tennessee Child Care Association says the drug tests are
needed.

"The accident in Memphis was a wakeup call to everyone," said the
association's president, Patti Gibson. "I don't think anybody likes
the idea of having to pay for it, but it's going to be worth it."