Substance use and child welfare

For over 20 years, child welfare systems in Ontario and in other jurisdictions relied on hair tests from the Motherisk Drug Testing Laboratory as evidence of parental substance use. However, the Motherisk testing methodology was flawed and test results were unreliable.

According to the report of the Motherisk Hair Analysis Independent Review, more than 24,000 hair samples from over 16,000 individuals were tested within a 10-year period for child welfare purposes. In some cases, hair tests were a factor contributing to children being permanently removed from their families.

This practice caused significant harm to families, many of whom were racialized or Indigenous and struggling with poverty or mental health issues. Some parents were coerced into being tested – an intrusive and demeaning experience. When parents questioned their test results, they risked being perceived as "uncooperative." In only a few cases parents paid for additional testing out of pocket in order to challenge their results, likely because of the high costs. Parents subjected to hair strand testing also may have struggled to access legal representation. The vulnerability of these individuals meant that they had little recourse or voice in the process.

The reliance on hair strand testing also damaged the ability of child welfare professionals to engage families. Hair strand testing was over used by professionals at the expense of building trusting relationships and providing supports to families.

It’s important to be mindful of the sector's recent history and recognize that – while substance use is considered a risk factor of child maltreatment and is associated with child welfare involvement – parental substance use does not necessarily interfere with caregiver functioning and parenting or negatively impact child development and well-being. Biases, such as racial bias, can also impact perceptions of certain groups of people and how their substance use is viewed.