Drug testing for families who want the truth and a plan

When families call us

Families usually reach out at one of a few moments. A son is home from treatment and everyone is trying not to hover. A daughter’s behavior has changed and nobody knows what is real. A spouse has promised to stop drinking, again. A sibling is asking for help and the family wants to say yes, with some structure attached.

In every one of those moments, the hardest part is not knowing. Testing replaces suspicion with information, so the family can stop arguing about what might be happening and start talking about what to do.

Testing an adult works with consent, not around it

If your loved one is 18 or older, testing is their choice. We test adults who agree to be tested, and results go only to people the person being tested authorizes in writing. We cannot share an adult’s results with family members who are not on that authorization, even if the family is helping with the cost.

That can sound like a limitation. In practice it is what makes testing work. When a loved one chooses to be tested and chooses to share results with you, the results become something they are giving you, not something being taken from them. That is how trust gets rebuilt.

Many families make testing part of a clear agreement: living at home, help with rent or a car, or time with younger siblings, in exchange for regular random testing with results shared with parents. Your coordinator can help you think through a plan that is fair and that everyone understands before it starts. Our guide on talking to your adult child about testing can help with the conversation, and our family testing agreement builder helps you put the plan on one printable page.

If your child is a teenager, see our page on teen and young adult drug testing, which covers how we approach consent, privacy and parent involvement for younger people.

Why not just buy a test kit?

Home test cups are cheap and easy to find. They also have real limits: nobody observes the collection, nothing confirms a positive, and a parent reading a faint line at the kitchen counter is in a hard spot. A wrong answer in either direction can do real damage to a family.

With Blackburn, the collection happens by appointment with trained staff. Positive screens can be sent to a partner laboratory for confirmation (how confirmation works). And a person explains what the result means, so you are not left to interpret it alone.

It also helps to remember what testing cannot do. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that a test does not diagnose a substance use disorder and should not be the only basis for treatment decisions (NIDA). A negative result does not prove someone is fine, and a positive does not tell you how serious things are. That is why we pair testing with people who can help you read the bigger picture.

How a family testing plan works

1. A first call. You or your loved one call us. We listen to what is going on and what the family hopes testing will do.
2. Your loved one agrees and signs. The person being tested chooses to take part and authorizes, in writing, who receives results.
3. A plan set case by case. Frequency and tests (urine, breath, EtG for alcohol, saliva on request) are chosen to fit the situation.
4. Random notices. Your loved one gets an electronic notice when to report for a test, by appointment at our Venice Blvd office or another Blackburn location on the Westside. Mobile testing at home is available for an additional fee.
5. Results shared quickly. Authorized family members receive results promptly, and the coordinator is available to talk them through.

More detail is on how monitoring works and our random drug testing program.

If a result comes back positive

Take a breath before you react. A screen can be confirmed by a partner laboratory, and your coordinator will help you understand what the result shows. Then the question becomes what your family needs next.

The research-based NIDA Family Checkup is a good place to start on how to talk with a loved one calmly and set limits that hold. From there, the answer might be therapy or a psychiatric evaluation, a structured place to live, one-on-one mentoring, or help paying for treatment. That is where Blackburn is different: monitoring is the first step, not the last, and we can connect your family to each of those options.

If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For free, confidential treatment referrals any time, the SAMHSA National Helpline is 1-800-662-4357.

Take care of yourself, too

Families carry a lot of this weight quietly. If the stress is wearing on you, you deserve support of your own. Blackburn Clinical Services offers therapy and psychiatric care in Los Angeles, and your coordinator can help you figure out where to start.

Cost

Our monitoring is low cost so that families can keep it going long enough to matter. Cost depends on how often testing happens, which tests are used, whether positives go to a lab for confirmation and whether you use mobile testing. See what affects the cost, or call and we will talk through it.

Need more than testing?

Testing tells you where things stand. These programs help with what comes next.

• Therapy and psychiatry

  Licensed therapy and psychiatric care in Los Angeles, for when testing shows that more help is needed or when you simply want someone to talk to.

  Blackburn Clinical Services

• Sober living

  Sober living and sober apartments in West Los Angeles, for when a structured place to live would make the next stretch easier.

  Blackburn Recovery Services

• Mentoring

  One-on-one mentoring for accountability and structure, with a consistent person who checks in and helps you follow through.

  Blackburn Mentoring

• Scholarship help

  If treatment is the right next step and cost is in the way, The Blackburn Foundation offers treatment scholarships.

  The Blackburn Foundation

Your monitoring coordinator can make the introduction.