‘test-and-report’ policies put families at risk

New York wisely rejects the notion that a positive drug test alone is synonymous with child maltreatment. That’s because substance use is not inherently incompatible with being able to care for one’s child. But health care providers are drug testing and screening pregnant people and their newborns without informed consent and reporting the results to child protective services. It’s a practice that puts families at risk – and it disproportionately affects families of color.

This practice, referred to as “test-and-report,” violates bodily autonomy and exposes families to the violence of forced family separation. There is a wealth of data showing that parental drug use is equal across most demographics, yet Black and brown women are being tested at much higher rates than their white counterparts. 

Read the full piece in Times Union here.