If you’re involved in a DCF investigation, they may ask you to take a drug test. Can they do that? What should you do?
Gulf Coast Adoptions explains DCF drug testing and what you need to know.
Can DCF require you to take a drug test in Florida?
DCF cannot require you to take a drug test in Florida. However, any investigation involving you and your children will continue. DCF will make decisions about how to proceed without the results of the drug test.
Will DCF take your children away if you refuse a drug test in Florida?
It depends. Refusing a drug test by Florida DCF doesn’t automatically mean that your children will be taken away. DCF’s goal is to keep families together, avoiding removal whenever possible. Investigators will look at the entire situation and the information available to them, such as behavior and witness statements. Removal of the children is a possibility, but it doesn’t happen in every case.
Removal shouldn’t be the first resort of DCF investigators. They’re supposed to identify a specific danger to the child that exists because of the parent’s substance abuse problem. They should evaluate what other evidence of the parent’s drug use exists. However, in reality, if you refuse a drug test, DCF will likely have biases about what the result would have been. To put it simply, refusing a drug test doesn’t look good.
There’s no way to know for sure if refusing the test will result in the removal of the children. It’s usually best to comply with a request for a drug test.
Does DCF conduct drug tests?
Yes, DCF may ask for a drug test as part of a child welfare investigation. However, they’re not requested in every case. Investigators need suspicion that substance abuse is creating a safety risk for a child. Drug tests are one investigative tool that law enforcement has during a child welfare investigation.
When Used
Drug testing may be used during an initial DCF investigation. It may also be part of a services plan. Willingness to test and results may be considered as part of child removal or termination hearings.
Repeated positive tests can be evidence of a substance use pattern. Negative tests can be strong evidence of not using drugs.
Substances
In a DCF case, drug testing may look for alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription medication.
Infants
DCF drug testing may be used in cases involving an infant. Florida law requires attending healthcare providers to refer infants with prenatal exposure to substances. A referral may be based on the mother’s admissions, positive screening, or a medical assessment. DCF may intervene when an infant may have been exposed to alcohol or drugs.
The mother may be asked to comply with ongoing substance abuse screening. They may be asked to participate in a public program for newborns and young children that involves home visits.
Criticisms
Drug testing alone doesn’t conclusively reveal whether someone has a substance abuse problem. By itself, a drug test is an inaccurate assessment of safety risks for a child.
Sometimes, DCF officials rely on drug test results too much. They may assume that a negative test means that there is no substance abuse problem. They may assume a positive test means a chronic problem. Sometimes, test results are inaccurate.
Drug tests are only one piece of a DCF investigation. If you’re involved in a DCF case, your attorney may challenge the accuracy of a drug test result or argue to the court about the weight that should be given to the results.
Response
If you’re asked to take a drug test as part of a DCF investigation, DCF likely suspects substance use. You may ask them the purpose of the investigation. You may refuse a test, but you risk removal of the children or a petition for court jurisdiction if you refuse. DCF may petition the court and ultimately seek termination of parental rights.
Know that if you are facing DCF intervention, you have options. You have the option to place your child for adoption. If you choose adoption, you, not DCF, choose the adoptive parents. You may make decisions for your child, minimizing involvement with investigators.
Contacting an attorney, such as Gulf Coast Adoptions, at no cost to you, while you are still pregnant or while you are still at the hospital will ensure that your choice of what adoptive parents raise your child is honored. Attorneys such as Gulf Coast Adoptions can still assist you with an adoption plan after the hospital when DCF is involved but must convince the Court and DCF that such an adoption plan is now in the child’s best interest.
Get Help
At Gulf Coast Adoptions, we spend hours talking on the phone with birth mothers for free. We understand the stress that you are under and how troubling it can be when DCF gets involved.
We invite you to reach out to us. We’re a listening ear. There’s no judgment. Learn about your rights and options.