Parents in Central Oregon have new tools to find out if their children are using drugs.

Throughout Central Oregon, parents can take advantage of voluntary drug-testing services to test children who are under 18.

The test is voluntary. The results are confidential. And a positive test result won’t lead to criminal charges or legal action.

In most cases, both the parent and the child have to agree to the drug test, and the youth can refuse to take it.

The Bend, Prineville, Redmond and Warm Springs police departments each offer Parent Aid, a free drug-testing service that started in 1999 as a statewide initiative.

It was originally funded by the Oregon State Police, the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police and the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association, said Kevin Campbell, executive director of the police chiefs’ association.

”It’s a way to give (families) help before a drug problem becomes an entrenched one,” Campbell said. ”Parents want an option that doesn’t involve their children getting arrested.”

Since July, the Jefferson County Health Department has offered a $5 voluntary drug test that was launched, in part, by the Jefferson County Meth Task Force, said Mandi Puckett, a prevention coordinator who is on the task force.

Both programs provide comprehensive testing that can detect most major drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine, within minutes. The tests are done through urinalysis. Results can be reconfirmed by a laboratory for an additional charge.

Parent Aid was a pilot program that started in 15 communities. Now 38 agencies throughout the state, mostly law enforcement agencies, offer the drug test, he said.

For each testing site, the police chiefs’ association pays for the first round of test kits, but the idea is for a local community group or the agency itself to pick up the cost after that, he said.

A police officer, usually the school resource officer, is trained to administer the test and oversee the program.

When a family comes in for a test, the parent, child and the police officer each sign a consent form that stipulates that the results will be kept confidential and won’t result in legal repercussions, Campbell said.

While Parent Aid tries to guarantee anonymity, Polly Nelson, the education director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon, questioned whether the test should be administered by a government agency.

Nelson wasn’t against the idea of voluntary drug testing. Instead, she said she would rather see it handled by a private party, such as a physician, to ensure the information is safeguarded from legal authorities.

”I realize they think it’s a service and it’s commendable, but there are some possible downsides,” Nelson said.

For instance, she wondered how a parent or child can be sure the information won’t come up in the future. And, she asked, if the school resource officer administers the test and it comes out positive, would it cause the officer to handle a youth differently at school?

And even though a youth can refuse the test, she said it might be difficult for them to do so against a parent and a police officer.

Campbell, with the police chiefs’ association, said he understood some of ACLU’s concerns.

”The viability of the program depends on the law enforcement department’s credibility,” Campbell said. ”It’s not maintained as a program to help trap kids.”

Campbell said only statistical information is kept, such as how many tests have been administered and how many were positive, he said.

”Our policy is that the results are destroyed,” Campbell said. ”We don’t allow a paper trail.”

Since voluntary drug testing has been offered in Prineville, demand hasn’t been high. Erik Marston, a police officer with the Prineville Police Department, said he tests an average of one person a month.

Most tests have been positive. In those cases, Marston usually refers the family to counseling or drug treatment services.

Even with a positive result, Marston said some parents seem to find some relief that their concerns are justified.

”I think it’s an important tool, because I think parents need to know what their kids are doing,” Marston said. ”They can’t be with their kids all the time.”

Negative tests offer reassurance to both parents and youth.

”It’s not the test itself that is going to diminish trust or increase resentment. It’s what led up to it,” Marston said. ”I tell them, ‘By doing whatever you doing, like staying out past curfew, or hanging out with kids who have been doing drugs, that is why your parents are doing this.’ ”

In Jefferson County, the health department has administered fewer than 10 drug tests since it started testing, said Beth Ann Beamer, a public health nurse for Jefferson County. None of them have been positive.

The sooner youth are tested, the better, because some drugs can dissipate in

the system within a few weeks, according to Beamer.

Rob Orton, who owns a drug-testing service called Aim Onsite Screening, said voluntary drug testing has become an increasingly-used tool for concerned parents. Orton works primarily with companies, but about a third of his business comes from families.

Orton offers urine or oral tests that can detect marijuana, opiates, methamphetamine and cocaine. The tests are $25 each, and Orton can do it at a family’s home. He also offers a separate test for ecstasy.

”It’s great bonding for the parents,” Orton said. ”They say, ‘OK, you told me you weren’t doing it. Now I know the truth.’ ”

Ernestine Bousquet can be reached at 541-504-2336 or at ebousquet@bendbulletin.com.