Hundreds of adoptions have been put on hold in Ontario as a provincially appointed commission reviews child protection cases involving flawed drug tests.
The Motherisk drug testing was run out of the Hospital for Sick Children. It took samples from infants to test for drug and alcohol use by their mothers in child protection cases.
The Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies said Monday between 200 and 300 cases have been flagged for review. Mary Ballantyne, the organization's CEO, said that includes cases where a child has been placed in an adoptive home but the adoption has not yet been finalized, as well as those where a child was eventually to be placed in an adoptive home.
As many as fifteen adoptions have been affected in Waterloo Region, but the number of families impacted is expected to rise.
One local adoptive mother spoke with CTV News, under the agreement to not disclose her identity as part of a contract she signed with the agency to protect the two children she is adopting.
The couple was almost at the finish line of their adoption process, after a frustrating two year ordeal.
“Two weeks ago, I had a wonderful day off. It was all ruined because my social worker called and informed us that our adoption we’ve been waiting for was on hold again after we’ve been promised that we were in the final stages. Our court date was imminent to happen. We were told that it was delayed indefinitely for up to three years while the commission completed its reviews,” she says.
Tina Metcalfe, Senior Manager of Communications and Development for Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region says these cases have been identified as high priority by the commission.
“We know that the commission is starting its work in mid-February. We will do everything that we can to follow any processes or recommendations the commission has in the hopes that the children involved in the Motherisk hair testing have stability as soon as possible,” says Metcalfe.
