Mandatory Drug Testing for Welfare free essay sample

The rate was 6. 3 percent for those ages 26 and up (Whittenburg). Mandatory drug testing for welfare benefits should be implemented in order to eliminate excessive tax dollars from being spent carelessly on individuals who may be taking advantage of the welfare system. Random drug testing of welfare recipients would save the government and taxpayers money each year. In Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control, the authors state that â€Å"Americans spend $277 per year in state taxes to deal with the effects of substance abuse† (Lyman and Potter 8). While there is debate over the cost of random drug screening Aliyah Shahid states in her article â€Å"If welfare candidates pass the drug screening, they’ll be reimbursed for the test† (Shahid). The average price per test is $30. On average, a welfare recipient costs the state $134 in monthly benefits, which the rejected applicants wont get, saving the state $2,680-$3,350 per month. But since one failed test disqualifies an applicant for a full years worth of benefits, the state could save $32,200-$48,200 annually on the applicants rejected in a single month. Testing for substance use would also encourage people who are receiving benefits to use them to actually help their families. If a person is down on their luck because of losing their job or the ongoing economic crisis and they qualify for state aid, they should consider it a blessing and use the money for what it was given to them for. Random drug testing would be an incentive for welfare recipients to not use drugs. â€Å"†¦ experts have discovered that drug testing by the government during the Vietnam War played a significant role in deterring soldiers from using drugs, especially when testing was linked to punishment† (Lyman and Carter 341). When a person or family is in need of financial help, whether it be food, medical, or housing, they should be tested for illegal substances. If they disagree with being tested, then they shouldn’t receive benefits. No one is forcing them to apply for help but, as a condition, a drug test should be performed to eradicate people who are attempting to fraud the welfare system. Individuals who are using drugs and abusing the welfare system should be held accountable for their own actions. Applicants for the federal Assistance for Needy Families program who test positive for illicit substances won’t be eligible for the funds for a year, or until they undergo treatment. Those who fail a second time would be banned from receiving the funds for three years† (Shahid). When a person is hired at a new job, chances of receiving a pre-employment drug screen are very good. A potential employer can randomly screen an employee for drugs as well. Why not have the same policies in effect for receiving welfare and test those who are living off of the earnings of the productive? Included in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) is the 1988 experimental Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program â€Å"which required that for 20 hours every week, recipients would have to engage in work or related activities, which included training, unless their children were under 6† (Haugen and DeMott 31). How many people on welfare are actively seeking employment? â€Å"The 1996 federal Welfare Reform Act authorized but did not require random drug testing as a condition of receiving welfare benefits† (Smith). Testing as a requirement for receipt of welfare would ensure that those who are collecting benefits are indeed drug free and ready, able and willing to work. â€Å"After several decades of relatively liberal policies, PROWRA marked a definitive return to a more conservative orientation. Known as welfare reform, PRWORA reinforced the notion that public aid was a specific benefit for the deserving poor rather than a universal entitlement for all† (Dohan, Schmidt and Henderson 430). In Feature: Bills to Require Drug Testing for Welfare, Unemployment Pop Up Around the Country, Smith states: In West Virginia, Rep. Craig Blair (R-Berkeley County) has created a web site, Not With My Tax Dollars, to publicize his bill, which would apply to anyone seeking welfare, food stamps, or unemployment insurance. I think its time that we get serious about the problem of illegal drug users abusing our public assistance system in West Virginia, he wrote on the site. We should require random drug testing for every individual receiving welfare, food assistance or unemployment benefits. After all, more and more employers are requiring drug testing. Why not make sure that people who are supposed to be looking for work are already prequalified by being drug free? Senator Mike Bennett sponsored a bill that would require random drug testing of one out of ten people seeking unemployment benefits. â€Å"If they can’t pass a drug test for unemployment compensation †¦ then they can’t pass a drug test at my construction business† (Smith). In June 2011, Governor Rick Scott signed a law requiring welfare recipients in Florida to undergo drug screening. Scott claims â€Å"While there are certainly legitimate needs for public assistance, it is unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction †¦ This new law will encourage personal accountability and will help to prevent the misuse of tax dollars† (Shahid). DCF spokesman Joe Follick said that families and accountability are the main focuses of the program. The taxpayers deserve to know that the money they are spending is being used for its intended purpose, he said. In this case, with [temporary cash assistance], the purpose is to help families become independent and self-sufficient. If a family receiving [cash assistance] includes someone who has a substance abuse problem, the odds of that money being used for purposes other than helping that family increases (Whittenburg). This new law was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who argued that it is an invasion of privacy. Florida democrat Congresswoman Corrine Brown argues that the law is unconstitutional. In 2003, the U. S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Michigans drug testing of welfare applicants as a Fourth Amendment violation. The Fourth Amendment states: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing he place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. While some may say that it is an invasion of privacy, it goes back to the fact that it is a person’s choice to apply for and receive welfare benefits. Those who are abusing the system are making harder for needy families to receive benefits. Others may argue that if welfare recipients are being tested, why not test those who receive educational grants and loans? Who says who gets tested and who does not? The difference is that with an educational grant, a person has to maintain a certain grade point average in order to keep getting the funds. Without sustaining good grades, the financial assistance would cease. Now think about a person receiving welfare benefits. They should have certain rules to follow if they choose to accept financial support. If the person is doing what they’re supposed to be doing then they will keep receiving benefits. There is obviously great debate over this issue; one that will have no immediate solution. To some it is a violation of privacy, and fourth and fifth amendment rights. To others it is a waste of hard earned money going to support ones drug habits, and trying to make those abusing the system liable for their actions.