Motherisk Episode 2

Child welfare agencies across Canada spent millions of dollars on hair tests conducted by the Motherisk Lab based at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

In 2014, the Lab’s results were put under the spotlight during the criminal trial of April Broomfield, a single mother accused of feeding her son cocaine. Expert testimony at her trial cast doubt on Motherisk results, and the qualifications of the lab staff.

Toronto Star reporter Rachel Mendleson wrote dozens of follow-up stories following Broomfield’s acquittal as more families came forward with their stories of being victimized by erroneous results.

That put pressure on the government of Ontario to launch two investigations into the Motherisk Lab, and its processes and standards. What they found was shocking.

Motherisk Episode 1

The Motherisk Lab based out of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, claimed to be able to determine through a simple hair test if a parent was abusing drugs or alcohol.

Test results were used in thousands of child protection cases, often leading to families being ripped apart, and children put up for adoption. But the tests were flawed, and the people who ran the lab had no training in forensic evidence.

Toronto Star reporter Rachel Mendleson was at the forefront in the reporting on the failures of the Motherisk Lab, and details the history of how this lab came to wield so much power, and how it would all come crashing down with the help of determined lawyers, and parents.