BEDFORD COUNTY GIVES PARENTS FREE HOME DRUG-TEST KITS

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. - Using government-provided kits, some Tennesseans are
testing their children at home for illegal drugs, but a counselor said
confronting a child with a cup is not always the best approach. In Bedford
County, juvenile court officials and the sheriff are providing the urine
test kits at no cost.

They are designed to instantly let a parent know if their child is using or
has used marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, depressants or opiates.

Sheriff Clay Parker said the home-testing kits, which are limited to one
per family, have been available for about a month, and a few have been
given out so far. The kits are also sold by some pharmacies, typically
costing more than $10 each.

In Knox County, authorities don't provide home-testing kits to parents
under any circumstances, said Assistant Juvenile Court Director Darrell Smith.

"We do drug-test any child who is on probation with the court," Smith said.
"But we do it through a private company ... It's just a standard part of
their probation."

If a parent suspects their child is using drugs - and the child is under
any kind of probation or court-ordered supervision - officials are
generally willing to perform a drug test upon request, he continued.

"We would work with the parent, but we won't send it (a drug-testing kit)
home," Smith said.

Judy Freudenthal, clinical director of the Oasis, a social service program
in Nashville for teenagers and their families, said parents should use
caution before demanding a urine sample to test for illegal drugs.

Freudenthal, who is also a counselor, said "every situation is different.
What works between one circumstance and set of parents may not work so well
with the next, or with another family."

According to Hamblen County Juvenile Court Referee Janice Snider, parents
in Morristown who wish to drug test their children can purchase a take-home
kit from the court.

"Our drug tests cost $15.75, and we're willing to supply those to parents
if they cover the costs," Snider explained. "We haven't had a lot of
requests." Snider said the court's budget is simply too small to provide
free kits to parents on demand.