“If the issue were addressing substance abuse and providing treatment, this is not the approach,” said Liz Schott, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Would children have to be placed in protective custody?
Crawford County officials have volunteered to participate in the pilot project if the legislation passes, in hope that it will reduce drug use in their area.
In 10 states, someone who applies for welfare cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program doesn’t just have to deal with complicated paperwork at a time when there’s a good chance she’s already in a state of financial crisis.
A public information officer for the state’s Department of Economic Security told Think Progress that the monthly average of adult recipients in 2015 was 5,683.
In 2015, just six recipients were required to submit to a drug test and none resulted in a positive test.
Would children have to be placed in protective custody?Crawford County officials have volunteered to participate in the pilot project if the legislation passes, in hope that it will reduce drug use in their area.In 10 states, someone who applies for welfare cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program doesn’t just have to deal with complicated paperwork at a time when there’s a good chance she’s already in a state of financial crisis.A public information officer for the state’s Department of Economic Security told Think Progress that the monthly average of adult recipients in 2015 was 5,683.In 2015, just six recipients were required to submit to a drug test and none resulted in a positive test.At that time, those states had spent about $1 million to create and implement a complicated system of screening and urine testing — and found just 407 drug users.At least 13 state legislatures have enacted laws to drug test TANF applicants or beneficiaries.But several other states have passed laws to screen all applicants or beneficiaries and to test those for whom they determine a “reasonable suspicion,” most recently Arkansas last April.Neither that state’s nor Alabama’s 2014 testing requirements have yet been implemented, but, with earlier laws going into effect for the first time in 2015, 10 states now require at least some drug testing for TANF beneficiaries.But how to address the problem, and what you do in response to a positive test, varies greatly, said Joel Potts, director of the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors Association. A similar Michigan law was tossed out by the courts in 2003.The first question that needs to be answered is: What is the goal of the testing program? Schaffer said that to address legal concerns, he recently added the requirement that only applicants who acknowledge illegal drug use be tested.
million to create and implement a complicated system of screening and urine testing — and found just 407 drug users.At least 13 state legislatures have enacted laws to drug test TANF applicants or beneficiaries.But several other states have passed laws to screen all applicants or beneficiaries and to test those for whom they determine a “reasonable suspicion,” most recently Arkansas last April.Neither that state’s nor Alabama’s 2014 testing requirements have yet been implemented, but, with earlier laws going into effect for the first time in 2015, 10 states now require at least some drug testing for TANF beneficiaries.But how to address the problem, and what you do in response to a positive test, varies greatly, said Joel Potts, director of the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors Association. A similar Michigan law was tossed out by the courts in 2003.The first question that needs to be answered is: What is the goal of the testing program? Schaffer said that to address legal concerns, he recently added the requirement that only applicants who acknowledge illegal drug use be tested.