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I've often had to come on here to combat the ignorance of people who claim that those who receive welfare are lazy or drug-addled or otherwise criminal, or that these people somehow sit back and get big fat $5000 monthly checks from the government and other such nonsense.
I have worked in social services for the better part of a quarter-century. A lot of that time has been in service to the devlopmentally disabled and infirm as well as in Adult Protective Services. I currently work in child welfare but I have done several stints in Family Support determining eligibility for such programs as food stamps (SNAP), Temporary Aid to Needy Families, etc.
I live in Oklahoma at this time--a state that is way out in fron with regards to meth use and prescription drug abuse.
I thought this article was interesting:
Quote:
A state law requiring a drug test as a condition for receiving welfare benefits has resulted in only 29 people being denied the assistance, although Oklahoma tested more than 1,000 applicants during the four-month period after the law took effect.
Signed by Gov. Mary Fallin in May 2012, the new law makes anyone caught with drugs in his or her system ineligible for payments from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for six to 12 months. It also expanded a statefunded drug screening process.
From November 2012 through February 2013, about 1,300 people went through initial screenings, according to the state Department of Human Services (DHS). Of those, 340 received additional testing.
Of the 29 denied benefits, 13 refused to take the mandatory additional tests, and 16 had children who were still eligible to receive benefits.
“I think those numbers are in keeping with what I expected,” said state Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, an author of the measure, House Bill 2388.
He said the goal was never to kick a lot of people off of TANF, and the new results aren’t too different from previous levels. Holt added that the new law basically codifies a system that was already in place.
DHS has always tested TANF applicants for drugs, but HB 2388 added another layer of tests and raised the stakes for positive results, according to department spokesman Mark Beutler. Previously, if someone tested positive in the application process, he or she still would have received benefits and been referred to a treatment program.
“If they’re tested now and test positive for drugs, they can’t receive any benefits,” Beutler said.
The screening process starts with SASSI, a simple chemical test that DHS has used for years. Under the new law, if an applicant is flagged, he or she also must go through an Addiction Severity Index interview with a licensed counselor and take a urinalysis.
All tests are completed by a contractor from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Each SASSI screening costs the state $20. Additional tests typically add $141 more, Beutler said. In the first four months of the new process, that comes to roughly $74,000 in testing fees.
So essentially only 29 people out of 1300 tested positive for drugs. In Oklahoma, the standard test covers cocaine, methamphetamines, opiates, marijuana and benzodiazapines.
I don't recall anyone saying all people on welfare are drug addicts. If anyone did, they'd be just as wrong as those who say everyone on welfare deserve the benefits they're receiving and are not using illegal drugs.
I don't recall anyone saying all people on welfare are drug addicts. If anyone did, they'd be just as wrong as those who say everyone on welfare deserve the benefits they're receiving and are not using illegal drugs.
You must not have read many threads on the subject. Here, as well as on other forums I've frequented, there are consistently a handful or two of neocon boobs espousing the notion that people on welfare are typically lazy, unwilling to work crack addicts looking for a handout.
$74,000 it cost the State in the first four months to test 1,300 people find those 29 people. That doesn't sound like a very good use of state fund considering they will have to keep on spending that kind of money on an on-going basis. And once found, did they offer any kind of treatment to help those 29 get off drugs?
soooo.... are you suggesting that we do away with testing welfare recipients?
How about other urban areas?
If I have to be drug tested to get a job, they should be tested as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffis
I've often had to come on here to combat the ignorance of people who claim that those who receive welfare are lazy or drug-addled or otherwise criminal, or that these people somehow sit back and get big fat $5000 monthly checks from the government and other such nonsense.
I have worked in social services for the better part of a quarter-century. A lot of that time has been in service to the devlopmentally disabled and infirm as well as in Adult Protective Services. I currently work in child welfare but I have done several stints in Family Support determining eligibility for such programs as food stamps (SNAP), Temporary Aid to Needy Families, etc.
I live in Oklahoma at this time--a state that is way out in fron with regards to meth use and prescription drug abuse.
So essentially only 29 people out of 1300 tested positive for drugs. In Oklahoma, the standard test covers cocaine, methamphetamines, opiates, marijuana and benzodiazapines.
$74,000 it cost the State in the first four months to test 1,300 people find those 29 people. That doesn't sound like a very good use of state fund considering they will have to keep on spending that kind of money on an on-going basis. And once found, did they offer any kind of treatment to help those 29 get off drugs?
So you want the state to waste more money to provide treatment for a self-inflicted addiction?
How many thousands are spent by police setting up DUI checkpoints that may only catch 1 or 2 offenders?
soooo.... are you suggesting that we do away with testing welfare recipients?
How about other urban areas? If I have to be drug tested to get a job, they should be tested as well.
If an employer wants a drug free workforce, then that is on him...his dime.
The question is...Is the testing cost effective? Is the cost of running and implementing, of a tax-payer funded testing program, creating the savings projected?
Unless, the goal was to keep druggies off benefits at all costs, then a cost analysis is warranted.
From July through October in Florida — the four months when testing took place before Judge Scriven’s order — 2.6 percent of the state’s cash assistance applicants failed the drug test, or 108 of 4,086, according to the figures from the state obtained by the group. The most common reason was marijuana use. An additional 40 people canceled the tests without taking them.
Because the Florida law requires that applicants who pass the test be reimbursed for the cost, an average of $30, the cost to the state was $118,140. This is more than would have been paid out in benefits to the people who failed the test, Mr. Newton said.
As a result, the testing cost the government an extra $45,780, he said.
$74,000 it cost the State in the first four months to test 1,300 people find those 29 people. That doesn't sound like a very good use of state fund considering they will have to keep on spending that kind of money on an on-going basis. And once found, did they offer any kind of treatment to help those 29 get off drugs?
Not taking sides one way or the other but two facts stand out:
A, $56.92 per drug test is obscene! $24.00 (most likely less) will get you a great drug test most anywhere.
B, History has proved that once a company requires a pre-employment drug test, people who have drug problems just don't apply. Do you think people who apply for assistance are any different? If you were a druggie would you apply knowing you are going to be tested? Knowing this, the 29 out of 1300 means nothing.
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