Motherisk; Ontario; Hospital for Sick Children...Commissioner Beaman updates lawyers at workshop: Says the discredited drug hair-testing is "a dark chapter in the world of child protection" - and that the first phase of her review has found 10 cases where children were taken from parents and placed into foster or group homes as a result of the discredited drug and alcohol tests. (Members of her staff are reported as saying that the ten cases uncovered so far might be the tip of the iceberg); Beaman says the evidence so far also indicates that “indigenous and racialized communities” were most affected by the discredited hair tests, conducted by a now disbanded Hospital for Sick Children’s Motherisk laboratory. “It’s our belief that these communities were disproportionately impacted by the tests(.)”..."Beaman’s comments are the first glimpse into a likely fraught process with no easy fixes or clear path to justice for families who lost their children because of faulty tests. “We understand that very few people are going to walk away from this in a better position from where they are today,” she said. “We know that the remedies are extremely few.” Before it was shut down last year, Motherisk was a primary provider of hair drug and alcohol tests in Canada, serving mainly child welfare agencies. The results were accepted by courts across the country — in thousands of cases where children were considered at risk of abuse — virtually without question."..." Beaman blamed systemic failure throughout the child protection system. She noted that the Motherisk lab never met the standard applied to forensic evidence used in court. The tests were a lucrative business — each cost $700 to conduct — and the lab was heavily marketed, Beaman noted. “You could imagine how much money was made,” she said, adding that more than 16,000 people were tested between 2005 and 2015."..."Beaman blamed systemic failure throughout the child protection system. She noted that the Motherisk lab never met the standard applied to forensic evidence used in court. The tests were a lucrative business — each cost $700 to conduct — and the lab was heavily marketed, Beaman noted. “You could imagine how much money was made,” she said, adding that more than 16,000 people were tested between 2005 and 2015."..."Beaman described child protection workers with societies as sometimes lacking adequate training. The turnover rate among them is high and many burnout, she added. She suggested child protection workers used the tests as “levers” with parents. The parent would not get back a child unless a hair test was done, and a refusal to do a hair test “becomes in and of itself” a strike against the parent, she said. She described a child protection system where society workers and judges relied on the faulty hair tests as proof the parents were doing drugs, while paying less attention on the ability of a parent to be a good caregiver."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The problem that has occurred here, I would say, represents a dark chapter in the world of child protection,” Beaman told the lawyers at the workshop."

ONE REALLY DISTURBING EXCERPT: (HL); "Beaman described child protection workers with societies as sometimes lacking adequate training. The turnover rate among them is high and many burnout, she added. She suggested child protection workers used the tests as “levers” with parents. The parent would not get back a child unless a hair test was done, and a refusal to do a hair test “becomes in and of itself” a strike against the parent, she said. She described a child protection system where society workers and judges relied on the faulty hair tests as proof the parents were doing drugs, while paying less attention on the ability of a parent to be a good caregiver."

STORY: "Motherisk tests played role in 10 families where children taken, first phase of review finds," by Sandro Contenta, Jim Rankin and Rachel Mendleson, published by The Toronto Star on October 27, 2016.

SUB-HEADING: "Indigenous and racialized communities affected disproportionately, head of inquiry into lab says."

PHOTO CAPTION: "Hospital for Sick Children’s Motherisk laboratory's tests were deemed by an independent review last year to be “inadequate and unreliable.” That review was sparked by a Star investigation that found that prior to 2010, Motherisk was using a test that was not considered to be the “gold standard.""

PHOTO CAPTION:  "Judith Beaman, head of the Motherisk Commission of Inquiry, released figures for the first time Thursday during a speech at a legal workshop on child protection. Beaman’s team made clear the 10 cases uncovered so far might be the tip of the iceberg."

GIST: "A review of the first 350 “high priority” child protection cases has found that discredited Motherisk alcohol and drug tests played a substantial role in 10 families where children were taken from parents and placed into foster or group homes. Judith Beaman, head of the Motherisk Commission of Inquiry, released the figures for the first time Thursday during a speech at a legal workshop on child protection. Members of Beaman’s team made clear the 10 cases uncovered so far might be the tip of the iceberg. Motherisk commission lawyer Lorne Glass said he expects another 2,000 cases will be reviewed where the faulty hair tests might have significantly influenced decisions to remove children from their families. Beaman said the evidence so far also indicates that “indigenous and racialized communities” were most affected by the discredited hair tests, conducted by a now disbanded Hospital for Sick Children’s Motherisk laboratory. “It’s our belief that these communities were disproportionately impacted by the tests,” Beaman told the Law Society of Upper Canada workshop. She noted that the Children’s Aid societies in Algoma and Hamilton often used the Motherisk tests on aboriginal parents, while societies in Peel region and Toronto used them on black people and other visible minority groups. Scientific studies have suggested there could be a racial bias to drug hair tests because drugs seem to be more readily incorporated into darker coloured hair. “The problem that has occurred here, I would say, represents a dark chapter in the world of child protection,” Beaman told the lawyers at the workshop. “And as is so often the case, the wrong has affected people who are already vulnerable and marginalized, who struggle with issues of mental health and poverty and addictions.” Beaman’s comments are the first glimpse into a likely fraught process with no easy fixes or clear path to justice for families who lost their children because of faulty tests. “We understand that very few people are going to walk away from this in a better position from where they are today,” she said. “We know that the remedies are extremely few.” Before it was shut down last year, Motherisk was a primary provider of hair drug and alcohol tests in Canada, serving mainly child welfare agencies. The results were accepted by courts across the country — in thousands of cases where children were considered at risk of abuse — virtually without question. Motherisk’s tests were deemed by an independent review last year to be “inadequate and unreliable.” That review was sparked by a Star investigation that found that prior to 2010, Motherisk was using a test that was not considered to be the “gold standard.”......... Beaman blamed systemic failure throughout the child protection system. She noted that the Motherisk lab never met the standard applied to forensic evidence used in court. The tests were a lucrative business — each cost $700 to conduct — and the lab was heavily marketed, Beaman noted. “You could imagine how much money was made,” she said, adding that more than 16,000 people were tested between 2005 and 2015. Beaman described child protection workers with societies as sometimes lacking adequate training. The turnover rate among them is high and many burnout, she added. She suggested child protection workers used the tests as “levers” with parents. The parent would not get back a child unless a hair test was done, and a refusal to do a hair test “becomes in and of itself” a strike against the parent, she said. She described a child protection system where society workers and judges relied on the faulty hair tests as proof the parents were doing drugs, while paying less attention on the ability of a parent to be a good caregiver."

The entire story can be found at:

 https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/10/27/motherisk-tests-played-role-in-10-families-where-children-taken-first-phase-of-review-finds.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:  http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html  Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  
Harold Levy. Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.