Austria mother Kathi and baby James face ongoing youth welfare and police pressure despite negative hair test

Kathi, a 23‑year‑old mother from Lower Austria, was placed with her infant son James in a mother‑child home in Ansfelden after a hospital test reported cocaine presence in both. Subsequent hair analyses for Kathi and James showed no trace of drugs, prompting Kathi and the baby to leave the facility on their own.

Despite the negative results, the Austrian youth‑welfare authority (Jugendamt) and police have continued to monitor the family, conducting visits to the parents' home in Gänserndorf and demanding further testing. Lawyer Manfred Arbacher‑Stöger criticises the authorities for ignoring the test findings and alleges the family is being harassed, while the child's father, Matthias, has also volunteered for a hair test.