
Birth Companions has joined forces with leading barristers at family law chambers 4PB and solicitors at MSB to launch the Taking a Strand campaign.
They have written an open letter to the High Court’s Family Division and the Family Justice Board calling for an urgent review of the practice.
The letter has so far gained support from more than 90 co-signatories, from more than 20 different organisations.
The family courts use hair strand testing to establish drug and alcohol use among family members of children involved in cases.
Results from these tests are often a critical factor in decisions about whether children remain with their birth families or are taken into local authority care, according to experts, who warn that incorrect use of such testing could disproportionately impact families from Black and Asian backgrounds.
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