Drug Testing For Welfare E/t/c

[Mesoam]

HARLESTON, W.Va. – Want government assistance? Just say no to drugs.

Lawmakers in at least eight states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing.

The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse.

Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing.

"Nobody's being forced into these assistance programs," said Craig Blair, a Republican in the West Viginia Legislature who has created a Web site — notwithmytaxdollars.com — that bears a bobble-headed likeness of himself advocating this position. "If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?"

Blair is proposing the most comprehensive measure in the country, as it would apply to anyone applying for food stamps, unemployment compensation or the federal programs usually known as "welfare": Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Women, Infants and Children.

Lawmakers in other states are offering similar, but more modest proposals.

On Wednesday, the Kansas House of Representatives approved a measure mandating drug testing for the 14,000 or so people getting cash assistance from the state, which now goes before the state senate. In February, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously passed a measure that would require drug testing as a condition of receiving TANF benefits, and similar bills have been introduced in Missouri and Hawaii. A Florida senator has proposed a bill linking unemployment compensation to drug testing, and a member of Minnesota's House of Representatives has a bill requiring drug tests of people who get public assistance under a state program there.

A January attempt in the Arizona Senate to establish such a law failed.

In the past, such efforts have been stymied by legal and cost concerns, said Christine Nelson, a program manager with the National Conference of State Legislatures. But states' bigger fiscal crises, and the surging demand for public assistance, could change that.

"It's an example of where you could cut costs at the expense of a segment of society that's least able to defend themselves," said Frank Crabtree, executive director of the West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Drug testing is not the only restriction envisioned for people receiving public assistance: a bill in the Tennessee Legislature would cap lottery winnings for recipients at $600.

There seems to be no coordinated move around the country to push these bills, and similar proposals have arisen periodically since federal welfare reform in the 1990s. But the appearance of a cluster of such proposals in the midst of the recession shows lawmakers are newly engaged about who is getting public assistance.

Particularly troubling to some policy analysts is the drive to drug test people collecting unemployment insurance, whose numbers nationwide now exceed 5.4 million, the highest total on records dating back to 1967.

"It doesn't seem like the kind of thing to bring up during a recession," said Ron Haskins, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "People who are unemployed, who have lost their job, that's a sympathetic group. Americans are tuned into that, because they're worried they'll be next."

Indeed, these proposals are coming at a time when more Americans find themselves in need of public assistance.

Although the number of TANF recipients has stayed relatively stable at 3.8 million in the last year, claims for unemployment benefits and food stamps have soared.

In December, more than 31.7 million Americans were receiving food stamp benefits, compared with 27.5 million the year before.

The link between public assistance and drug testing stems from the Congressional overhaul of welfare in the 1990s, which allowed states to implement drug testing as a condition of receiving help.

But a federal court struck down a Michigan law that would have allowed for "random, suspicionless" testing, saying it violated the 4th Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure, said Liz Schott, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

At least six states — Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Virginia — tie eligibility for some public assistance to drug testing for convicted felons or parolees, according to the NCSL.

Nelson said programs that screen welfare applicants by assigning them to case workers for interviews have shown some success without the need for drug tests. These alternative measures offer treatment, but can also threaten future benefits if drug problems persist, she said.

They also cost less than the $400 or so needed for tests that can catch a sufficient range of illegal drugs, and rule out false positive results with a follow-up test, she said.

[Chilled man]

I say why not , but no treatment just let them starve or give them enough to OD and be done with it.

[magicaljake]

i agree with this 100%

[Belle]

I say why not , but no treatment just let them starve or give them enough to OD and be done with it.

LOL Justin, sometimes that is how I feel when I have darn baker act patients that try to kill themselves for petty reasons...lol.

And yes for this! Darn, we don't want them to waste our tax dollars! We WORK hard to EARN them.

[flyfishing3]

i didn't read this all but if you receive ANY government funding you should be tested.

made to clean litter, sweep up streets etc.

we also need to crack down on people having kids and not naming the father on the birth certificate. If your willing to get down, you need to be held accountable.

don't get me going this early in the day, my head will explode.

[Mesoam]

its 12:30.........

[ErikS]

I'm getting Social Security deducted from my paychecks, why are they not drug testing me?

[Chilled man]

I'm getting Social Security deducted from my paychecks, why are they not drug testing me?

thats money there taking .......

and that you will earn back when your what 65 at that point who cares do all the crack and meth you want you earned it by then :lol:

[ErikS]

thats money there taking .......

Then I should get free drugs.

Free money from goverment = drug testing.

Government taking my money = free drugs.

[9883]

This won't work. You can test for drugs but there are other things the money can be used for: stip clubs/hookers, alcohol, gambling, designer clothing, electronics, and many other things that are not essential to survival.

[Chilled man]

Then I should get free drugs.

Free money from goverment = drug testing.

Government taking my money = free drugs.

yeah its call medicare

This won't work. You can test for drugs but there are other things the money can be used for: stip clubs/hookers, alcohol, gambling, designer clothing, electronics, and many other things that are not essential to survival.

Hey wait wait wait lets not get ahead of ourselves here

Nah but I agree 100% you cant test for those but at least we can for the other one.

[s70turbo1998]

This won't work. You can test for drugs but there are other things the money can be used for: stip clubs/hookers, alcohol, gambling, designer clothing, electronics, and many other things that are not essential to survival.

Those all go back into the economy. Wages for strippers, tax on alcohol, profit on clothing/electronics.

Test for drugs, the money that the government gives out should stay in the legal market, where it came from. Once that money passes into the black market it is essentially gone.

[9883]

Those all go back into the economy. Wages for strippers, tax on alcohol, profit on clothing/electronics.

Test for drugs, the money that the government gives out should stay in the legal market, where it came from. Once that money passes into the black market it is essentially gone.

Drug dealers pay taxes and buy things too. So you don't mind if welfare money gets spend on those things as long as it's not on drugs?

[s70turbo1998]

Drug dealers pay taxes and buy things too. So you don't mind if welfare money gets spend on those things as long as it's not on drugs?

People on welfare are not buying large quantities of drugs. The money they give dealers is enough so that the dealer can buy more drugs to sell, and make a couple bucks. If money is being spent on legal goods and services, it is fine. I don't like welfare because it is a way to enable those who are too lazy/ignorant to figure out life on their own. Welfare is good for some people, but can be taken advantage of too easily. And since welfare is not going anywhere anytime soon, it might as well be added on to as opposed to ended. So develop a way to ensure that welfare money goes only to legal goods and services, and we can call it a good start.

[9883]

So, the drug business is a small enterprise with very little money involved?