9 CAR § 40-413. Client drug and alcohol screening

(a) Overview. (1)(A) Drug and alcohol use are often contributing factors to child maltreatment. (B) As such, there are times when drug or alcohol screening for clients is necessary to ensure appropriate interventions are provided to the family. (C) However, drug and alcohol screening alone are neither treatment interventions nor child safety interventions. (D) The use of drug and alcohol screens and the corresponding results are only one (1) component in the assessment of child safety and risk as well as the strengths and protective capacities of families. (E) It is also important to recognize that drug screens administered by the Division of Children and Family Services staff are only presumptive screening tools. (F) As such, only the results of a lab-confirmed drug test (not a drug screen) can definitively confirm the presence of a specific drug. (2)(A) Division staff will conduct drug and alcohol screening of clients (that is, parents, caretakers, youth) when appropriate during a child maltreatment investigation or during the course of any type of open division case. (B) It is considered appropriate to conduct a client drug or alcohol screen if the division staff has reasonable cause to suspect that a youth involved in a division investigation or case is using drugs or alcohol or has reasonable cause to suspect a child’s parents or caretakers are under the influence of drugs or alcohol to the point that their parenting abilities are negatively impacted. (C) Reasonable cause to suspect may include past history of drug or alcohol abuse or observable client behavior indicating he or she may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. (b) Frequency and location of drug and alcohol screens. (1)(A) The division may request random drug or alcohol screenings of a youth, parent, or caretaker for reasonable cause. (B) The division will also conduct drug screens for clients as outlined in court orders, when applicable. (2)(A) If a client is participating in a substance abuse treatment program that requires frequent random drug screening or has a probation or parole officer who conducts frequent random drug screens, then drug screens conducted by the division are not necessary (unless a court order specifies the division must administer drug screens rather than accepting drug screens from another qualified provider). (B) The results from the drug screens conducted by the substance abuse treatment program, probation officer, or parole officer will suffice (see preceding court order exception) as long as the substance abuse treatment program, probation officer, parole officer, provides the written results of the drug screens to the division in a timely manner. (C) If results are not received from the substance abuse treatment program, probation officer, parole officer, within court timeframes or as otherwise needed by the division, then at that point it will become necessary for the division to conduct an additional drug screen. (D) The division will remain responsible for providing written drug screen results to the court regardless of the entity that conducts the screen. (3)(A) Appropriate locations for drug or alcohol screenings for clients who are thirteen (13) years of age or older may include, but are not limited to, the county office, client home, and courthouse, as appropriate. (B) While the division staff may conduct drug or alcohol screens on teenagers when necessary, all children younger than thirteen (13) years of age for whom a drug screen or test is needed will be referred to a physician or medical facility to have an appropriate screen or test completed (such as a hair shaft test) at no cost to the client. (C) If parental consent for a necessary drug screen or test on a minor is not granted, the division will obtain an order of investigation to conduct a drug screen or test for children and youth. (D) For drug screens or tests for children who are younger than thirteen (13) years of age, the division staff will accompany them to a qualified agency for the screen or test. (c) Types of drug screens utilized by the division. (1)(A) The division staff will conduct only oral fluids and urine specimen drug screenings. (B) Only drug and alcohol screens from the division-approved vendor will be used by the division staff. (C) The division staff will only administer drug and alcohol screens according to training and procedures provided by the vendor. (2)(A) Division staff will keep record of their completion of training and complete training updates as needed. (B) An employee who has not completed the division-approved vendor drug screening training will neither administer a drug or alcohol screen to a client nor serve as a witness to drug or alcohol screen results (witnesses to drug screen results are only required when results of the drug screen are unclear or challenged by the client). (C) While interns (stipend and nonstipend) may observe the division staff working with drug and alcohol screens, interns will never independently conduct drug or alcohol screens on clients nor will they serve as an official witness to drug or alcohol screen results. (3)(A) Written screening instructions provided by the division-approved vendor will be kept in a binder clearly identified as such in all county offices. (B) County office personnel are responsible for maintaining all updates to the screening instructions that the Central Office Prevention and Support Unit provides to the field. (4)(A) Court ordered (or otherwise deemed necessary) hair shaft tests, blood tests, or other drug screens that are not the standard division oral fluids or urine specimen screens administered by division staff will be handled on an individual basis. (B) All requests for payment of hair shaft tests, blood tests, or other nonstandard drug screens will be made via the Area Financial Coordinator or designee to the Central Office Financial Unit. (C) Such tests and screens will be paid with a state procurement card or purchase order with prior approval from the Central Office Financial Unit or other designated unit within Central Office. (d) Client refusal of screens. (1) If not previously court ordered, parents or caretakers may decline participating in their own drug or alcohol screens. (2) Any refusal must be documented in the division information management system. (3) The drug or alcohol screen may not be pursued further without a court order. (4) If the adult client refuses to submit to any court ordered drug or alcohol screen: (A) The screen will be documented in the division information management system as a refusal; and (B) The refusal will be disclosed to the court. (e) Actions following screen results. (1)(A) Regardless of the results of the drug screen, division staff will verbally share the results of the screen with the client. (B) The division staff will also record the results of the screen with the client. (2)(A) If drug or alcohol screen results are positive, the division must assess how the drug or alcohol usage is impacting the parent or caretaker’s ability to effectively parent and ensure child safety prior to making decisions about the placement of the child, parent-child family time, or other family case plan requirements. (B) A positive drug or alcohol screen in and of itself will not result in the postponement or withholding of family time between a parent and child in division custody unless: (i) The parent is under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the scheduled family time and has observable behavior indicating impairment of parenting capacity; or (ii) A court order specifies that a parent’s positive screen will result in the withholding of parent-child family time. (f) Client challenges to drug or alcohol screen results. (1)(A) For each division-administered drug screen that is positive, the division will pay for one (1) lab test of that positive drug screen if it is challenged by the client. (B) If the lab test confirms the presence of the drug or drugs, then the division will not pay for further testing of that positive screen or lab confirmation. (C) However, if a consistent pattern of positive screens followed by client requests for lab confirmations of each screen that also return positive emerges, the division will have the discretion, in consultation with other parties to the case, to cease paying for continued lab confirmation tests requested by the client. (2)(A) If a client challenges the results of a division administered drug or alcohol screen, the client may elect at their own expense to have another entity (for example, hospital for drug and alcohol screens or local police station for alcohol screens only) conduct another drug or alcohol screen or test rather than the division sending the screen to the lab for testing. (B) The division will accept the results of urine or blood sample screens or tests from other qualified agencies as long as a division employee is able to immediately accompany the client to the qualified agency and provided the qualified agency conducting the screen gives results in writing to the division. (g) Confidentiality of drug and alcohol screen results. (1) All data, information, and results related to client drug or alcohol screens are confidential. (2) Disclosure of information will only be to those individuals whose official business duties necessitate disclosure or as required by law. (3) Breaches of confidentiality will constitute grounds for disciplinary action to include the possibility of job termination.