Mother Says She Was Separated From Newborn Baby After Testing Positive for Opiates Because of Poppy-Seed Bagel

A New York mother said that she was separated from her newborn child because she failed a drug test.

But the failure was due to eating a poppyseed bagel, she said.

More >> Mother Says She Was Separated From Newborn Baby After Testing Positive for Opiates Because of Poppy-Seed Bagel

New York mom fails drug test after eating poppy seed bagel — right before giving birth

Less than a week after baby Carter Dominguez was brought into the world, baby and mom are enjoying time at their Tonawanda, New York, home.

It’s the journey here, and it's what Elizabeth ate before she gave birth that’s made this new mom experience anything but easy.

More >> New York mom fails drug test after eating poppy seed bagel — right before giving birth

What 13 states discovered after spending hundreds of thousands drug testing the poor

Thirteen states spent more than $200,000 screening federal-aid applicants for drugs last year. Only 338 people tested positive, according to data gathered by ThinkProgress.

In total, the states required more than 260,000 people to submit to drug screening or testing as a condition of receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which provides cash assistance to low-income people. In some states, not one person tested positive.

More >> What 13 states discovered after spending hundreds of thousands drug testing the poor

9 young people overdosed last year while under DCF’s watch

Three youths under the watch of the state’s Department of Children and Families died of overdoses last year, and six others suffered nonfatal overdoses — the most since state officials declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency five years ago.

The nine cases, disclosed in a recent state report, have set off alarms among child welfare advocates. While it’s unclear if it’s a grim, new trend or a tragic anomaly, they said the overdoses underline how much the drug crisis is still buffeting DCF, the agency charged with helping protect children from abuse and neglect.

More >> 9 young people overdosed last year while under DCF’s watch

LEMON POPPY SEED BREAD SNACK TRIGGERED CHILD SERVICES INVESTIGATION, MOTHER SAYS

A New York mother said a quick stop at a Tim Horton’s for a slice of lemon poppy seed bread on the way to the hospital to deliver her baby started an 8-week child protective services investigation.

Jamie Silakowski gave birth to her daughter, Hunter, on Oct. 16.

More >> LEMON POPPY SEED BREAD SNACK TRIGGERED CHILD SERVICES INVESTIGATION, MOTHER SAYS 

Poppy seeds trigger child abuse case against WNY mom

“A doctor came into my room, that was the first time a doctor had come to my room and said, 'Just so you know, you failed your drug test, is there anything you took?'” Silakowski recounted.

More >> Poppy seeds trigger child abuse case against WNY mom

Court rules mothers’ drug use in pregnancy isn’t child abuse

Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled Friday that mothers who use illegal drugs while pregnant cannot be considered perpetrators of child abuse against their newly born children under the state’s child protection law.

The Supreme Court’s main opinion said the law’s definition of a child does not include fetuses or unborn children, and victims of perpetrators must be children under the Child Protective Services Law.

More >> Court rules mothers’ drug use in pregnancy isn’t child abuse

Battle continues over proposed Motherisk class-action suit

Were Motherisk’s hair tests reliable? Did the lab meet forensic standards?

These questions, answered nearly three years ago in a government-commissioned review that exposed a litany of failings at the Hospital for Sick Children’s former drug-testing tab, were revived Wednesday in Toronto Divisional Court, where the ongoing battle over a proposed national class-action lawsuit highlighted a hard truth for thousands of alleged Motherisk victims: When it comes to the fight for compensation in any given case, the damning conclusions reached by retired judge Susan Lang remain up for debate.

More >> Battle continues over proposed Motherisk class-action suit

Fear of judgment, CPS prevents some addicted pregnant women from being honest

Along with St. James Healthcare in Butte, Missoula’s Community Medical Center recently received grant money to improve access to quality care for pregnant mothers and their babies.

While the new Montana Healthcare Foundation-funded programs developing across the state rely on standardized, prenatal screening for substance abuse, societal stigma and the fear of Child and Family Services may deter some pregnant women from being honest about their struggles with drug use.

More >> Fear of judgment, CPS prevents some addicted pregnant women from being honest

Children mistakenly taken from their mother because of drug-test mix-up: Tories

Nova Scotia’s community services minister has been asked to apologize to a young woman who was apparently left traumatized after two of her children were allegedly taken away mistakenly by Child Protective Services for four weeks.

The woman’s case was raised in the provincial legislature Friday by Progressive Conservative critic Barbara Adams, who did not name the woman or her children.

More >> Children mistakenly taken from their mother because of drug-test mix-up: Tories

How Julie got her daughter back, and her life

On Jan. 11, 2013, Julie Johnson’s daughter, Anna, didn’t come home from day care. At first, Julie didn’t know where Anna was, but at least she knew who had taken her: the state of Arkansas.

Before long, she began to appreciate why. She and her estranged husband were meth addicts, and their homes were no longer safe.

More >> How Julie got her daughter back, and her life

How Does a Poppy Seed Bagel Trigger a Positive Drug Test?

A mother in Maryland said that eating a poppy seed bagel caused her to test positive for opiates while she was giving birth, according to news reports. But how does this happen?

The woman, Elizabeth Eden, ate a poppy seed bagel the morning she gave birth to her daughter in April, according to local news station WBAL. Eden was in labor when her doctor told her she had tested positive for opiates.

More >> How Does a Poppy Seed Bagel Trigger a Positive Drug Test?

Program to reunite families disrupted by substance abuse exceeding expectations

When children are removed from the home or face the risk of removal because of parental substance abuse, the experience can be traumatic and have long-lasting effects on both the children and parents. A federally funded project designed to reunify and strengthen families in these situations throughout Kansas has shown success in reducing the traumatic effects substance abuse can have, and it is beginning to show progress in boosting reunification of families over traditional services.

Kansas Serves Substance Affected Families is a federally funded program now in its fourth of five years. The $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families is part of a national effort through public-private partnerships to improve well-being, safety and reunification outcomes.

More >> Program to reunite families disrupted by substance abuse exceeding expectations

County aims to keep families together as parents recover

The Tioga County Department of Human Services is trying to keep families together while at the same time battling the opioid crisis.

"Our goal is to keep the kids in the home," said Nancy Clemens, the department's administrator.

More >> County aims to keep families together as parents recover

Mississippi man charged in incident with Mobile girls in foster care

Authorities say a Mississippi man picked up five girls ages 11-16 from foster care in Mobile last weekend and drove them to Ocean Springs, where police found them under the influence of drugs.

More >> Mississippi man charged in incident with Mobile girls in foster care

Worker in B.C.'s child welfare system allegedly offered cocaine to youth

A residential agency contracted to care for some of B.C.'s most vulnerable youth was shut down this year after a number of shocking allegations came to light, including that a staff member with gang ties offered cocaine to one of the kids.

The claims were made public Tuesday by Bernard Richard, the province's representative for children and youth, who said an investigation into the agency found only 10 of 33 staff and caregivers had received proper screening, including a criminal record check.

More >> Worker in B.C.'s child welfare system allegedly offered cocaine to youth

Judge quits after suspension for sexual acts at courthouse

A Massachusetts judge who engaged in sexual acts with a social worker in his courthouse chambers announced his resignation Friday, one day after being suspended indefinitely by the state's highest court.

Judge Thomas Estes said in a letter submitted to the chief justice of the state's district court system that he would leave the bench at the close of business on June 15.

More >> Judge quits after suspension for sexual acts at courthouse

CYF social worker charged with sexual offending and supplying drugs to boys in her care

A woman who was a Child Youth and Family social worker is accused of sexually violating a boy in her care as well as assault and supplying cannabis.

Hastings woman Amanda Tatam, 30, is facing five charges of sexual conduct with a boy aged under 16, and threatening to cause grievous bodily harm to the boy and another boy.

More >> CYF social worker charged with sexual offending and supplying drugs to boys in her care

Indigenous leader blasts Ontario’s Motherisk review as ‘secretive,’ says his people were ‘ignored’

The Motherisk Commission promised to include Indigenous communities in its review of thousands of child protection cases. This Deputy Grand Chief says his people were shut out of the process.


More >> Indigenous leader blasts Ontario’s Motherisk review as ‘secretive,’ says his people were ‘ignored’

The Motherisk saga is a symptom of a larger problem in child protection work

The Motherisk bombshell caught many of us who work in child protection off guard. For years, children were removed from their families based on flawed hair testing for drugs and alcohol at the Motherisk lab at the Hospital for Sick Children.

More >> The Motherisk saga is a symptom of a larger problem in child protection work