These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The court referral program is under the supervision of Alabamas Administrative Office of Courts. Thank you for your interest in republishing this story. Although an employer has the legal right to test, it must follow the state's requirements. The report found serious flaws in a loosely regulated, user-funded justice system that, in many locales, seems to be focused more on raising money than on rehabilitation or public safety.. If not, mention your queries in the comment section. So you stop going. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. This is not a county with a lot of money., When non-compliance seems like the only option. Frank Cobb is still under a court order to attend color code drug tests. So, in 2019, he said, he anonymously submitted his urine for a color code drug test. You cant republish our material wholesale, or automatically; you need to select stories to be republished individually. It feels like a Catch-22. A mother who gave birth at Huntsville Hospital this summer reported that she was appalled when she found out she had been drug tested. program and the certification process. Per court testimony, Severs became angry over what had happened and tracked down the Florida doctor whose name Murrah signed and he confirmed the forgery. All rights reserved. Severs lost custody of her three children after Murrah submitted forged drug test results showing Severs had used methamphetamine and marijuana. Application for the first year's certification *(pdf), Drug-Free Alabama Relay: 800-548-2546 (TTY) and 711 (Voice). At least 23 states say any drug use during pregnancy is . Graphic designed by Travis Daub/PBS NewsHour, In 2019, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights organization based in Montgomery, investigated drug testing and other facets of community corrections programs in Alabama. In a few counties, notably Madison, where Huntsville is located, defense lawyers recently have been more aggressive in challenging the legality of drug tests and law enforcement investigations based on them, according to court records. (Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com), The Community Justice Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham connects color code participants with drug treatment, assists in finding employment and provides resources to help them successfully complete the program. Brown did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Read the discussion. This chart is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for legal guidance. Were trying to help people, not bankrupt them, Neeley said. We dont, Smiley said. But none of those states has a law allowing women to be prosecuted for drug use in pregnancy. Studies have shown that urine tests are more than 92 percent accurate at detecting cocaine and marijuana, but about 74 percent accurate at detecting methamphetamines and about 71 percent accurate for opiates, according to the Mayo Clinic report. after the employee returns to work following rehabilitation for a positing drug test. Studies have shown that the urine tests commonly used by color code programs sometimes produce false positive or false negative results. TROY, Ala. (WTVY) -The Alabama Department of Human Resources has won an early round of a what could be a long legal battle between a Pike County woman and the state agency that took her children based on documents forged by one of its contract workers. Workplace Drug Testing Issues Alabama State Laws. Court-ordered drug testing programs existed in the United States as early as the 1960s, primarily to track individuals who had already spent time behind bars. The system is made to fail you., Mark Jarvis, director of Walker County Community Corrections and Court Referral, said the program was not designed to make people fail. job. In some cases, the fees fund employee salaries and local offices, such as in Walker County. In many cases, they test mothers and babies without explicit consent and without warning about the potential consequences, ProPublica and AL.com have found. Probation and Pretrial Services Functions. Im afraid Im going to lose everything.. Employers who establish such a program, as certified by the state's labor department, can qualify for a discount on their workers' compensation insurance premiums. There shouldnt be any profit in it, he said. But $40 [for a drug test] is a lot of money. hZ] +J@H0}pE_:0=xG ^FCb(1 The severe consequences for women and families make it even more important that doctors and hospitals are transparent in their testing policies, experts say. Criminal laws tend to make women less forthcoming, said Dr. Stephen Patrick, professor of pediatrics and health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Hospital testing policies are so opaque that even state health officials say they are in the dark about specifics. The potential penalties under Alabama law are especially stiff: one to 10 years in prison if a baby is exposed but suffers no ill effects; 10 to 20 years if a baby shows signs of exposure or harm; and 10 to 99 years if a baby dies. The problems for participants stem in part from a lack of state oversight, said Stacey Neeley, executive director of the Court Referral and Community Corrections programs in DeKalb and Cherokee counties in northeast Alabama. or other illegal activity (e.g., drug use, production/distribution of illegal drugs, production of child pornography, etc.) Any website our stories appear on must include a prominent and effective way to contact you. ProPublica and AL.com began examining hospital drug-testing policies as part of an investigation into Alabamas chemical endangerment law, the countrys toughest law targeting drug use in pregnancy. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. When asked about participants complaints that missed drug tests were sometimes a result of trying to keep a job, Plato-Bryant, who coordinates court referral for the state, said that they were not able to accommodate all participants work schedules.. CPS hasn't taken custody of my child. But some over-the-counter cold medicines, poppy seeds and legally-prescribed medications can cause false positives, according to the Mayo Clinic. In many parts of the country, the war on drugs has a new front: the maternity ward. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. A separate, criminal investigation resulted in Ozark police charging Murrah with numerous crimes involving falsified drug test results. Guffey, meanwhile, continued to work on his own ideas on how to improve color code in Jackson County. He said he paid $40 per test nearly every week. Equal Opportunity Employer/Program This is a global consent to anything in medicine that they want to do. For basic information on establishing Deaf, hard-of-hearing, speech-impaired, or deaf-blind customers may contact Their newborns can be taken from them. Severs then presented her findings to DHR but the agency failed to act, the civil lawsuit claims. I couldnt pay my rent or bills because of color code and jail, he said. State Law Alabama ARTICLE 13. In some parts of the state, hospitals test on a case-by-case basis, employing criteria that virtually ensure greater scrutiny for poor women. Workplace Administrative Code *(pdf). In Alabama, employers must test in certain circumstances, and must observe certain procedures intended to protect employee and applicant rights. Employee must sign a consent form prior to the release of results. Etowah has arrested more pregnant women and new mothers for chemical endangerment than any other Alabama county in the last two years. The Alabama Department of Labor Workers' Compensation Division has adopted But that decision focused on publicly funded hospitals. Testing is not required if the employee entered rehab voluntarily, rather than after a positive drug test. Home; About . Hospitals charged $1.5 billion to treat babies in withdrawal in 2012, according to the same study. In DeKalb County, which borders Jackson County in the hills of northeast Alabama, Neeley said his team works with some local employers to ensure that those enrolled in color code are allowed to take time off to take their tests. Have you been illegally asked or required to take a drug test? [These programs] are allowed to do whatever they want because no one is holding them accountable, she said in an interview. In its report, the Southern Poverty Law Center highlighted several suggestions for improvement: that the drug testing program would benefit from statewide standards, better oversight and a common fee structure. Because the court requires you to comply with the Plan, failure to do so will delay or prevent your child's return. (The cost per test in Jackson County has fluctuated over the years and depends on which program a participant is in.) An individual can be put on color code through the court referral program, or through a separate program called community corrections, which allows some non-violent Alabama offenders to serve their sentences in the community. For the Alabama voluntary drug-free workplace instant drug testing or POCT testing is prohibited. Theres no consistency there.. The goal was to keep people with addiction out of jails and prisons and prevent new offenses. Workers' Compensation intoxication defense to a claim exists, including rebuttable presumption. And he said he still has several years left in the program. Samantha Rose, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Corrections, which oversees community corrections, said the agency disagrees with the SPLCs characterization of the community corrections financial model. Positive urine tests should be considered only presumptive before they are confirmed with a laboratory test, said Dr. Jimmie L. Valentine, a Mississippi-based toxicologist who testifies in court cases in Alabama and across the country. In 1990, Alabama passed the Mandatory Treatment Act, legislation that mandated testing and monitoring people who were convicted of crimes involving drugs and alcohol. But, Harden said, complying with color code puts his job in jeopardy. State and local law vary greatly; therefore, you are advised to consult experienced legal counsel during the design of your actual substance abuse testing program and with any questions that follow. Four states Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota and North Dakota also require testing under some circumstances according to the Guttmacher Institute. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). h}k8>Y#^J-84Mc$Ql'6C MG?F@ie1:* ZNAp|>(^+Ge)b:|DEoF9)ENoXZy7QA Local judges decide how to punish people who violate the terms of color code, meaning the consequences also vary from county to county, courtroom to courtroom. More than half of the births in the state are paid for by Medicaid, which is only available to women who earn less than $1,433 a month ($17,196 per year). Reporters Nina Martin and Amy Yurkanin hosted a conversation with Sara Ainsworth of National Advocates for Pregnant Women. And color code was costly: Cobb paid $20 each time he tested, sometimes multiple times in a week, plus a $40 monthly monitoring fee. Women who use drugs are more likely to go without prenatal care, according to a 2004 study in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. Since 2016, Cobb has been in and out of jail and prison five times for failed drug tests, court records show. At least 15 other states also treat prenatal drug use as child abuse, but only three Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee explicitly allow mothers to be criminally prosecuted. Ive known so many people that do right, but then it gets too expensive. Were dealing with human beings who have lives, he said. 2020 Update A law passed to make it a criminal offense to use or distribute synthetic urine or urine additives for the purpose of defrauding a drug test. [You] have no money then the stress gets to you and boom, back on drugs., For some participants, the cost of color code has made it difficult to pay rent or bills. c[+P"Was z$qh#3[OASc.G & Guffey also sent his urine to the hospital, which he said showed a clean test. Drugtesting is performed randomly according to a color code. Doctors there use a separate form to seek consent for drug testing; women can opt out simply by not signing. Had Chairman Guffey been enrolled in the [court referral] program he would have been offered the opportunity to confirm his false positive with additional in-house testing, Plato-Bryant said. There is a 5 percent (5%) workers' compensation insurance premium discount for those employers who establish a drug-free workplace on the job - 25-5-330. He lived in a friends camper trailer rent-free, but he could not save up enough to buy a car. Other discrimination claims. However, Nix told Judge Reagan that he believes DHR is trying to slow the case because it fears a plethora of other lawsuits if documents are released before statue of limitations expire. Subscribe to our News 4 newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email every morning. Alabama has a voluntary law that allows for a 5% workers compensation discount. You cant state or imply that donations to your organization support ProPublicas work. DHR took the children into custody on November 28, 2001, when social Read more DHR Protocol to Allegations Involving Substance Affected - Exposed that occur in a baby when a mother consumes alcohol during pregnancy. You can help our reporting on the issue by taking this short survey: Nina Martin was a reporter covering sex and gender issues.