A Flawed Major Drug-Testing Lab Dodged Questions for Years

Michigan child welfare workers were raising red flags about drug tests years before they learned the lab behind them had been quietly put on probation by its accreditor. In a deep dive by ProPublica, internal emails show supervisors at Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services repeatedly questioned results from Averhealth, a major provider of court-ordered drug testing in child welfare, custody, and probation cases. One supervisor wrote in 2021 that staff members were "struggling to do casework with Averhealth and don't trust them," even as judges around the state reported similar problems. That same year, the College of American Pathologists cited Averhealth for quality-control failures, data manipulation, and proficiency-test problems, placing its St. Louis lab on six months' probation.

Michigan officials pressed both CAP and Averhealth for details but were told the accreditor's findings were confidential. Averhealth, whose contract didn't require it to disclose probation, declined to volunteer that information. CAP allowed the lab to continue operating, saying its role was educational and emphasizing that it didn't order any results reissued. Michigan didn't get a full view of the accreditor's concerns until 2022, after the Justice Department informed the agency that Averhealth was under federal investigation. The state then halted use of the company and told staff not to rely on its results in court cases based solely on Averhealth tests. Former Averhealth employees, including chemists and lab managers, told ProPublica the lab was understaffed, squeezed to report results rapidly, and at times operated with malfunctioning equipment.

A former lab director became a whistleblower, alleging systemic accuracy problems and test confirmation shortcuts. Averhealth later paid $1.3 million to settle a DOJ case accusing it of billing Michigan for confirmations it didn't perform, though it denied wrongdoing. CAP's internal correspondence shows accreditor toxicologists debating whether the lab's shortcomings could cause false positives or negatives, with one warning that "qualitative reporting errors could exist." Averhealth rejects accusations that speed trumped accuracy or that its tests are unreliable, calling critics disgruntled or mistaken and citing independent reviews and the fact that it never lost accreditation. Still, Michigan and Georgia have cut ties with the company, while other large government clients—including Arizona's Maricopa County courts—continue to use it, calling Averhealth a "valued partner." More here.