BEST PRACTICES BY ALLISON DUFFY, ST LUCIE COUNTY IN FLORIDA
The Significance of Court-Based Drug Screening Labs
rather has been ordered by a court to submit as a condition of his or her probation, pretrial release, court treatment agreement or child abuse case. Additionally, the customers or agencies that refer donors to the lab are oſten other court-based agencies, like the probation department or child services department. Collections are usually observed to prevent the donor from cheating. Finally, the lab may be funded by state or county dollars or operate like an enterprise fund and become self-sustaining. For a court-based drug screening lab to be successful, certain common sense business practices should be in place to ensure the integrity of collections, fiscal responsibility and good customer service along with a strong control of each collection (U.S. Department of Justice, 2000).
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Lab techs should be trained to think like a defendant and learn about different methods of cheating.
Te lab testing procedure should be a neutral scientific process
that can either work in a donor’s favor or against him or her. Referring agencies want collections to be observed because donors have a lot to lose if a drug screen result is positive and that fact motivates donors to try to cheat on the test. Donors want to trust the collection process as well. Most donors are repeat customers and learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the testing procedure. Additionally, donors talk to each other in jail, in the court’s hallway and at their treatment provider; they compare notes and learn what tricks will allow them to continue using drugs and alcohol. A lab tech should never let his or her guard down when doing a
collection. Many cheaters wait until the end of the day to arrive at the lab thinking the staff will be careless near closing time. Some will want to chat while atempting to provide a sample, in an effort to distract the lab tech. Others will not follow the lab tech’s directions and become belligerent, hoping the lab tech will back off. Tese manipulations will not work if the lab tech follows the protocol every time and maintains composure. Lab techs should be trained to think like a defendant and learn
about different methods of cheating. Paul Cary, in his webinar titled Te Effective Use of Urine Creatinine Measurements in Abstinence
22 datia focus
overnment based or court based drug screening labs are unique for a number of reasons. Te typical donor is usually not submiting to a drug screen voluntarily but
Monitoring, emphasizes dilution to be the most common method of cheating (2011). Cary also suggests procedures should be in place to test for Creatinine, Specific Gravity and PH in an effort to detect adulterated, substituted or invalid samples. For the collection process, all donors should have his or her pants down below the knees and shirt up so that the collector has a clear unobstructed view of the donor’s body. Every testing bathroom should be equipped with strategically placed mirrors to enable the collector to see from every angle. Female lab techs should know that most devices are hidden
inside the female donor’s body and the best way to complete a smooth collection is to prevent the female donor from geting her hands or fingers close enough to her body to allow her to pull, tug, pop or otherwise open whatever device is hidden. Te donor should be told to urinate first and then put the cup under the stream and to keep the cup and hands down and away from the body. Females who fidget while holding the cup between the legs or bounce up and down on the seat or bend over in a way that prevents the observer a clear line of sight should immediately be told to stop the collection process and be reinstructed. Male cheaters use a different strategy; there are devices that look
like a male sex organ and if the pants are up and only the zipper is pulled down, the collector may not be able to see the device. Tis kind of device is expensive and more oſten than not, the male cheaters fashion a small botle and sometimes a clear tube in a way that they hope would not be detected by a collector. Te problem with this scenario is that the donor must hold onto something like the botle or a pump or tube, and since the entire apparatus is outside of the body, it should be able to be spoted. Observing drug tests is something that the lab tech will get beter
at as time goes on. If it is apparent that the donor is cheating, the donor should be allowed to complete the collection until the point where the observer has the sample in his or her possession. At that point, depending on the circumstances, the lab tech should ask the donor for the device (it is a good idea to get the device if possible) and store it in a plastic sample bag in a secure location. Ten, the tech should ask the donor to provide a real sample. Te goal is to test both samples and determine whether the suspect sample is negative for drugs and the real sample is positive for drugs. Punishment for cheaters should be according to state or local law,
with the cooperation of law enforcement and be certain and quick. In the court seting, there are many repeat customers. If one of them is caught cheating, the deputies must be immediately called or whatever
summer 2015
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