Florida Law: Drug Testing for Welfare Applicants Introduction The state of Florida recently passed a law, effective July 1, 2011, requiring the Florida Department of Children and Family Services to administer drug tests to all new applicants to the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. According to the law, applicants are responsible for the cost of the drug screening. This cost will be reimbursed if the applicant passes the drug test. According to the law, applicants who fail the drug test can designate another individual to receive the benefits on behalf of the applicant’s children. All applicants who fail the drug test will not be able to reapply for TANF for one year. Applicants who successfully complete an abuse treatment program may reapply in six months (Staff). Lane Wright, a spokesman for Florida Governor Rick Scott’s office, said the purpose of the law is to “make sure that taxpayer money isn’t subsidizing somebody’s drug habit and to make sure the money is going to [the] children to whom it was intended” (Kennedy). The new law has been in effect for three months and has so far been met with opposition and conflict. This paper discusses (1) the historical context of TANF in federal and state programs, (2) the main stakeholders concerned with the new drug-testing policy, (3) the events surrounding the new policy in Florida, and (4) key points to consider in an evaluation of the policy. Historical Context To understand the historical context of drug testing welfare recipients, it is important to consider first, how the law fits in a federal framework, and second, how states have adopted and interpreted federal policy. Federal History Knowing the historical context of federal welfa... ... middle of paper ... ...ment with federal constitutional rights will be difficult, but it is necessary. Conclusion The main purpose of TANF is to provide assistance to families by moving providers from welfare to work. While the supporters of Florida’s welfare drug-testing law understand the need to provide this assistance, they are also concerned about utilizing taxpayer funds properly. There is concern that requiring such drug testing for needy families is unconstitutional. This belief is supported by the outcomes in other states regarding similar policies. This policy is a main subject of debate in Florida, and it has created interest among legislatures, special interest groups, and citizens across the country. Because this policy is still new, further evaluation is needed to determine the repercussions of the law in terms of its practice, cost-benefit, and constitutionality.
"States Consider Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients." FoxNews.com - Breaking News | Latest News | Current News. 26 March 2009. Web. 31 January 2011
There is an ongoing debate over whether or not Welfare recipients should be drug tested to receive the benefits. The lines of reasoning from both sides of this argument have unambiguous points. Those who oppose the idea of drug testing say that it is unconstitutional, and violates the Fourth Amendment. Furthermore, they claim that this law stereotypes and discriminates against the poor
Should Welfare Recipients Be Tested for Drugs? U.S News & World Report. 2014: Pgs 1-2.
There is an ongoing debate over whether or not welfare recipients should be drug tested to receive the benefits. Both sides of the argument have merit. Those who oppose the idea of drug testing say that it is unconstitutional and violates the Fourth Amendment. Furthermore, they claim that this law stereotypes and discriminates against those from low socioeconomic demographics, implying that because they are poor, they must be drug addicts. However, those who support the law note that its intended purpose is to ensure that taxpayer money is not being squandered on people who only plan to abuse this assistance. Only nine states so far have instituted drug testing of candidates for welfare assistance. This drug testing has proven to be prohibitively expensive in many cases. Consequently, some states only test subjects with whom they find suspicion, or who have admitted to past drug use. Though proposed drug testing of welfare applicants initially appears to be a good idea to eliminate potential abusers of the system from receiving assistance, it appears that even more money may be wasted on the testing process, which negates the savings that are the primary objective of the law.
In this paper I will evaluate America's War on Drugs. More specifically, I will outline our nation's general drug history and look critically at how Congress has influenced our current ineffective drug policy. Through this analysis I hope to show that drug prohibition policies in the United States, for the most part, have failed. Additionally, I will highlight and evaluate the influences acting on individual legislators' decisions to continue support for these ineffective policies as a more general demonstration of Congress' role in the formation of our nation's drug policy strategy. Finally, I will conclude this analysis by outlining the changes I feel necessary for future progress to be made. Primary among these changes are a general promotion of drug education and the elimination of our current system's many de-legitimating hypocrisies.
Readers: Mainly Californian tax payers, but in a broader sense it could be anyone who is concerned about the welfare system, including recipients. This topic addresses the needs of the taxpayers to be informed about what is happening to their tax dollars going into the TANF program. At this time I am focusing on California, but I may include Oregon, or some other states when relevant. This issue explores core values of honesty and integrity.
Each state is responsible for how the benefits are allocated. The application process for benefits is very similar among the states. However, 12 states (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah) have laws regarding receiving benefits and drug testing. In 2011, 36 states proposed some form of drug testing for TANF benefits; in 2012, 28 states; in 2013, 29 states; and in 2014, 18 states. As of February 2015, at least 14 states have proposed legislation requiring some form of drug testing or screening for public assistance recipients (Finzel,
Williamson, Jason. "Florida Cannot Drug Test People Simply Because They’re Poor." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., 02 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
In my opinion I feel that this time of authority drug test are not effective. ” It would seem that if this policy were to make way that there would not be such a large rate of recidivism” (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1999). It takes more that sending a person to prison to break them of their habits. The means which are necessary to aid the cause of ending a drug habit are not available with this policy. Under the Bill of rights, the four rights that this policy violates are, The right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty, the right against unreasonable searches and seizures, the right against self-incrimination, and the right to be treated the same as others.
The US has a complex patch that has been demonstrated in its framework and enforcement practices that are associated with drug laws. A number of federal and state policies have been formulated that sometimes seem to overlap hence giving rise to a number of conflicts among the different level of governments. This essay will explore and demonstrate the federal drug policy that the US Federal Government is designing and the issues of federalism that the policy raises.
... to introduce a bill to modify a state law that mandates random drug testing of welfare recipients who have recently been convicted of a drug felony.” The law burdens and already stressed county welfare system, costs more money and time than it will save. The role of the county welfare is to follow the law, not to redefine it.
Drug use now in days has grown more over these past years, with the abuse of drugs many people still have the privilege to apply freely to the welfare programs such as WIC, Food Stamps, and TANF. My interest to this topic is why it would be unconstitutional to be able to do a drug testing on welfare applicants.
In order to establish an effective and long-lasting drug policy, governments have to: tailor policy-making to the majority’s beliefs, clearly define the set of established laws, and strictly enforce it amongst the masses. A task that the federal government has failed to accomplish long-term, but states have strived
As the common phrase goes, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Change in the welfare system is a must now more than ever because the government is in such a bad economic state, and it must and should be ensured that the tax payers know exactly where their money is going once those welfare checks are administered. Drug testing is a top priority in welfare reform and it should be; tax payers’ money should not be used for the purchase of illegal substances. The state of Texas and the United States face problems with misuse of welfare funds and there must be a change in the system in order to combat this. The purpose of welfare is to aid those that are in financial need to purchase the essentials required for survival. Individuals receiving welfare should subject to a drug test at any moment to ensure that the assistance they are getting is not misused. There are a number of reasons why the recipients should take a drug test and these are the top three: ensuring that tax payers money is not misused, reduce drug use, and to be fair to the working citizens of America.
The drug control policy of the United States has always been a subject of debate. From Prohibition in the early 1930’s to the current debate over the legalization of marijuana, drugs have always been near the top of the government’s agenda. Drug use affects every part of our society. It strains our economy, our healthcare, our criminal justice systems, and it endangers the futures of young people. In order to support a public health approach to drug control, the Obama administration has committed over $10 billion to drug education programs and support for expanding access to drug treatment for addicts (Office). The United States should commit more government resources to protect against illegal use of drugs by youths and provide help for recovering addicts.