Badges - New state law requires drug test for welfare recipients
- From: Charles Rahn <c.t.rahn@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Badges 1Badge <badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 21:48:09 -0400
New state law requires drug test for welfare recipients
TALLAHASSEE --
Thousands of the state's poorest Floridians will have to take a drug test if
they want to qualify for welfare assistance, under a new law signed by Gov.
Rick Scott Monday.The idea, plugged by Scott and the GOP-dominated Legislature,
is that drug tests will root out welfare recipients who are using public
dollars to buy drugs. But Democrats and advocates for the poor say the
requirement could violate individuals' constitutional rights to privacy, and
theAmerican Civil Liberties Union is likely to challenge the law in
court."While there are certainly legitimate needs for public assistance, it is
unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction," Scott said in a news
release. "This new law will encourage personal accountability and will help to
prevent the misuse of tax dollars."According to legislative analysts,113,346
people are receiving temporary cash assistance. However, only people 18 and
older will be tested, and officials from the Department of Children and
Families estimate that will total about 4,400 adults who apply for aid each
month.Officials estimate the initial screenings would cost about $10 per person
– refundable if the individual passes – and first-time failures will be
disqualified for one year from receiving benefits under the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families program. A second failure disqualifies the
individual for three years.
TANF recipients are eligible for cash assistance for a lifetime cumulative
total of 48 months, and their eligibility is checked every six months.Advocates
for the poor worry about the cost of the tests – which one DCF official said
could go as high as $40 -- and also about the message the new rule sends to
people already facing financial problems.Karen Broussard, director of program
development for Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando, called the testing
"disrespectful … To do this simply by virtue of the applicants being vulnerable
economically is so disappointing," she said.Pastor Scott George, co-founder of
the Community Food & Outreach Center in Orlando that helps needy families apply
for aid and look for work, cautioned that the cost of the test could be a "real
hurdle" for some of the state's poorest citizens."At times I feel like there
are so many hurdles that they keep genuine people with real needs from getting
help… Kids could end up paying the price for parents' irresponsibility," he
said. "I wouldn't want that to happen. I wouldn't want them to pay the price
for mistakes the parents are making."However, the new law does allow DCF to
designate a person to receive funds on behalf of children whose parent fails a
drug test. This could include an immediate family member.Florida's welfare
caseload spiked as the economy tanked and the housing market folded. But it is
slowly starting to decline as the state begins to recover. The 52,911 families
receiving assistance in May was 6.1- percent below the total 12 months earlier,
DCF said.No other state currently requires drug testing for welfare recipients,
but a number of states are considering similar action.The effectiveness of
testing is unknown. A pilot program that tested some welfare recipients between
1999 to 2001 found that there was little difference in employment and earnings
between those who tested positive for drug use and those who were clean,
according to an evaluation by a Florida State University researcher.The issue
is ripe for a lawsuit though.The American Civil Liberties Union has indicated
that it may challenge the new law in addition to a number of other bills that
the governor has already approved or is likely to sign in the coming weeks. The
group is slated to announce action today related to a separate order by Scott
that mandates drug-testing of all state employees.In 1999, Michigan began
drug-testing all welfare recipients, prompting the ACLU to sue. In 2003, a
federal appeals court ruled that universal testing was unconstitutional, and
the ACLU and the state reached an agreement that allowed drug tests of welfare
recipients only if there was reasonable suspicion that the person was using
drugs.Howard Simon, the executive director of ACLU of Florida, released a
statement saying that the governor was ignoring privacy law and treating people
who have lost their jobs "like suspected criminals.""Searching the bodily
fluids of those in need of assistance is a scientifically, fiscally, and
constitutionally unsound policy," he said. "Today, that unsound policy is
Florida law."Neither House sponsor Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Inverness, or Senate
sponsor Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Cross Creek, responded to requests for comment.In
a separate action Tuesday, Scott also signed a measure that would make
so-called "bath salts" a Schedule 1 controlled substance, lumping it in with
drugs such as heroin. The bill, HB 1039, was a major priority for Attorney
General Pam Bondi, who issued a temporary statewide ban on the sale of the
hallucinogenic substances earlier this year."Bath salts," which could be
legally purchased at some convenience stores and smoke shops, are usually
snorted, although the crystals can be smoked or swallowed. They can cause
increased heart rate, hallucinations, paranoia, seizures and kidney failure.
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