Then we allowed ourselves to think on a grander scale and we recalled that a number of parents have no choice but to leave their children in the care of other adults for quite a lot of time because of work/school schedules.

Once that fact sank in we fully understood how any childcare provider performing in that capacity really ought to have no objection to a background check OR drug test.

Interested parties will find two version of the Nanny / BabySitter Pre-Hire Drug Test & Background Screening available on the Test Country Web Site.

A random drug and alcohol testing policy for student athletes proposed to the Spartanburg District 5 school board Monday night would be a first for Spartanburg County and one of only a few of its kind in the state.

Superintendent Scott Turner said the proposal, presented to the board by Bobby Bentley, district spokesman and athletics director, has been under development for about five months. Turner said the policy was initiated by coaches and is supported by district administration.

…

The policy would apply to all District 5 students participating in high school athletic programs not required for graduation. Bentley said about 500 students would currently qualify.

If approved, all students must submit a consent form, signed by both the student and his or her legal guardian, to allow for random drug and alcohol testing in order to participate in any high school sport. Testing would be completely random, based on a roster of identification numbers correlating to students eligible for testing.

…

The presented policy calls for the district to test substances including, but not limited to, alcohol, marijuana, opiates, cocaine, methamphetamines, phencyclidine (PCP) and MDMA (Ecstasy). Prescription drugs (taken without a proper prescription and verified by a doctor) would fall under the umbrella of the substance list, but the policy does not include testing for steroids.

Bentley said steroid testing could easily be tacked onto the policy, should officials deem it necessary in the future.

Bentley said test results will not impact students’ academic records, nor will they be turned over to law enforcement, unless the district was legally compelled to do so. Consequences for a positive drug or alcohol test range from 12-week substance abuse services with a certified clinical counselor to a 1-year suspension from the athletics, pending the successful completion of counseling, which includes further drug testing.

An appeals process is also part of the policy.

Bentley said all costs — $25 per test — would be paid by the athletic department with athletic gate receipts. He said district administrators will not publicly disclose how many tests they expect to administer in order to keep the process completely random.

…

Bentley said the policy puts District 5 in relatively uncharted waters, as few other school districts have adopted such policies or even considered them. Smith said through his research, only Lexington districts 2 and 3 and Marion District 1 have similar policies in place. ( source )

While we do not know if the proposed policy will ever make it onto the books in Spartanburg County, we do applaud District 5 and all other school districts that have at least TRIED to do something about underage drinking and adolescent use/abuse of illicit and/or illegally obtained substances.

Testing for alcohol & drug use at home

School districts and their administrators can only do so much to curb the use of drugs and alcohol by minors. If the parents at home do not work hand in hand with the administrators by enforcing a Zero Tolerance policy for their kids at home, then what possible power will a Zero Tolerance policy at school have?

The links below lead to informational pages about various drug testing methods that parents can make use of at home:

Drug Testing Urine

Drug Testing Saliva

Drug Testing Hair Follicle

Drug Testing Drug Confirmation Kits

Drug Testing Nail Drug Test

Drug Testing Sweat Testing

]]> http://test-for.com/blog/2010/04/random-drug-alcohol-testing-for-student-athletes/feed/ 0 http://test-for.com/blog/2010/04/testing-for-steroid-use-or-abuse/ http://test-for.com/blog/2010/04/testing-for-steroid-use-or-abuse/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:03:10 +0000 Test For Admin http://test-for.com/blog/?p=516

With high school, college and professional sports getting more and more competitive all the time, some players will do whatever it takes to get an edge — even if it means breaking the rules and running the risk of getting kicked off the team or banned from competition.

Steroids provide a fast, efficient means of gaining muscle mass, gaining muscle strength and gaining a competitive edge… and they harm the human body in the process. For that reason most governing sports bodies have rules on the books outlawing the use of steroids by players and competitors.

In some sporting events, such as the Olympics, mandatory testing for performance enhancing compounds, including steroids) takes place randomly throughout the events and after each medal-winning victory.

But what about on high school football fields, basketball courts, and other athletic venues where steroids ought not exist, but concerned parents may wonder about their children because of sudden increases in muscle mass, drastic reductions in body fat, and wild changes in attitude (not attributed to puberty… lol.)?

When that happens the parent, or other concerned party such as a coach or guidance counselor, may want to consider trying to get the athlete to consent to a home test kit for steroid use such as SteroidConfirm.

As a general rule, an innocent athlete will gladly submit to the test… and carry a chip on their shoulder about it afterwards, while a guilty athlete will throw up every objection in the book not to take the test and become hostile at the very notion that someone would think he/she has taken steroids.

Not a fun road to travel, this ugly steroid testing path, but if you love someone and want them to live a long life after they leave the playing field, sometimes it is the road you must travel.

With the arrival warmer weather comes Prom Season and with Prom Season comes the desire of some students to drink before, during, and after the dance. Now unless the students failed a few grades, they probably have not reached the age of 21 and that makes their consumption of alcohol… illegal.

Parents, chaperones and even students getting a ride w/ other students need a tool they can use to quickly and accurately test whether or not a person has consumed alcohol.

While alcohol detection meters like the AlcoHAWK SLIM Digital Alchol Detector has a modest cost of around $70 and ten of the AlcoHAWK SLIM single-use mouthpieces cost just $7, the initial cost of ownership rings in at around eighty bucks and for some school and parents, that’s $80 more than they want to spend.

Thankfully science has come up with more affordable alternatives that get the job done and don’t break the bank:

• Single-Use Breathalyzer w/ 0.02 BAC Detection Limit — Great for catching underage drinkers and employees who tried to sneak a cocktail in on their lunchbreak.

• Single-Use Breathalyzer w/ 0.04 BAC Detection Limit — Many states set the lower level for prosecutable blood alcohol level at 0.05, so this test will give a heads-up when someone has, at the very least, come close to exceeding that limit.

• Single-Use Breathalyzer w/ 0.05 BAC Detection Limit — Since many states set 0.05 blood alcohol content as the lowest prosecutable level, anyone triggering this breathalyzer will know they should think twice about getting behind the wheel.

• Single-Use Breathalyzer w/ 0.08 BAC Detection Limit — In some states a 0.08 BAC serves as grounds for the most serious drinking and driving charges so triggering this breathalyzer means someone really ought to take the keys away.

Underage drinking on Prom Night will not go away on its own. It will take the diligent efforts of, and cooperation between, school organizers and parents. Spot testing drivers and/or students acting suspiciously might just save a life that night… or keep someone from spending the rest of their in jail cell, or worse yet, in a coma.

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* Note: At the time we posted these items the merchant(s) offered promotional pricing. All offers subject to, well, the merchant realizing he had priced things too low and cancelling the sale.