Bill requires drug tests for some benefit recipients

A bill passed in the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday that would require drug testing for some recipients of and applicants for state benefits.

House Bill 1351 would obligate the Office of the Secretary of Family and Social Services
Administration “to administer a drug-testing program for individuals who have been convicted of a controlled substance offense” if the person is receiving or is applying to receive benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund.

People would also be required to submit to drug tests if they are receiving or applying for benefits on the behalf of a child.

The version of the bill that passed in the Senate panel yesterday was revised from what the authors originally had hoped for. The bill was last amended Feb. 20.

A 2011 report from the Office of Human Services Policy, a part of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, said most estimates put the rate of substance abuse
problems among welfare recipients at around 5 to 10 percent, a few percentage points
higher than numbers found for the general population. These rates include only illicit drugs.

Alcohol abuse tends to be more of a problem among welfare recipients, the report said.

M.K. Wildeman