LANSING- Parents who suspect their child is abusing drugs or alcohol may soon have a way to find out.

A bill by Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, would allow the parents or guardians of children under 18 to request random or regular drug or alcohol screening. The minor must be on probation to be covered by the proposal.

The Legislature is expected to pass it after the Nov. 7 election, Cropsey said. Gov. Jennifer Granholm supports the bill as well, said Heidi Watson, Granholm's deputy press secretary.

"Parents that know their kids have drug problems and problems with law and want to help their kids won't be turned down flat," Cropsey said. As a father of four, he added, it offends him to think such a request would be turned down.

Such a scenario prompted Cropsey to work on the legislation.

A father came to him frustrated that he couldn't request drug testing for his under 18-year-old daughter. Despite police intervention, his daughter still showed signs of drug abuse. But when he approached her probation officer about testing, the officer denied his request, Cropsey said.

Jon Weeldreyer, a psychologist and clinical director of addiction residential services at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in Grand Rapids, works daily with minors with addiction problems.

"There have been a lot of parents who go to the hospital and say, 'I want to give my kid a drug test,' and they say, 'Do you have a doctor's order?'" Weeldreyer said. "This can certainly be a big benefit. All we're doing is getting a little information."

Some behavioral problems are related to alcohol and other drug abuse but fail to be linked together, he said.

"Parents are always a step behind what's going on with their kids," Weeldreyer said. "I have never met a kid who was caught the first time."

The bill serves as a larger reminder for Michigan than just empowering parents to get substance abuse screening for their child, Cropsey said.

"Thirteen percent of the state budget is spent shoveling up the after-effects of abuse of alcohol or drugs," he said. "Drug abuse is a very, very serious problem."

Cropsey said he hoped the legislation would bring more attention to the problem, especially in September, which is Drug Awareness Month.

More than 11 percent of 12-to 17-year-olds in Michigan have been binge-drinking in the past month, according the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And about 12 percent of the same age group has used illicit drugs in the past month, it said.

The legislation is a positive step, Weeldreyer said, but parents may not know drug tests are already available in over-the-counter forms. The results are extremely accurate, he added.

Weeldreyer said he didn't want to downplay the drug problem, but alcohol abuse is more common among teens.

In Greenville, more than 40 underage people have been arrested for being in possession of alcohol since the beginning of the year, according to Greenville Police Department records.

Cropsey said, "You have parents who love their children the most, more that the probation officer and more than the social worker. It's just one of those things that you say, 'Man this makes common sense.'"