Arkansans who apply for welfare started being screened and tested for drug use at the beginning of the month, according to KATV.
In order to screen applicants, two questions have been added to the application forms for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA). The first question regards whether or not the applicant is involved in illegal drug use. The second question asks if the applicant has lost a job due to drug use.
According to J.R. Davis, spokesman for Governor Asa Hutchinson, if an applicant responds “yes” to either question, they will be asked to deliver a urine sample to the Department of Workforce Services for drug testing. Applicants can refuse, butdoing so would result in a six-month suspension of benefits. If applicants take the test and the results indicate drug use, they can still receive benefits as long as they enroll in a treatment program.
Davis said that one of the positive but overlooked aspects of this new legislation is the pay protective clause.
“If (someone) has dependence, like a child, and fails the drug test, and says ‘I’m not going to get rehab,’ the pay protective clause in that legislation would allow Department of Human Services to identify another relative or friend who would get those benefits for those children,” Davis said. “The kids would still get those benefits, it would just get through another way.”
Despite Hutchinson saying this new policy targets drug dependence, senior Caleb James said he is opposed to it. James, who desires to go to graduate school for social work policy-focused advocacy studies, said he believes this new policy will not be effective based on previous studies.
“Similar policies in other states have not proven to be effective for a variety of reasons, especially from a cost-benefits standpoint,” James said. “The amount of money you would save by denying welfare based on drug use is insignificant when compared to the amount of money you would be spending on these tests.”
The Department of Workforce Services projected this new drug screening and testing program to cost between $1.45 million to $1.7 million a year. According the Washington Times, the data on this program will be analyzed over the coming months to see how effective it is.
Junior social work major Whitney McDonald does not agree with the program.
“Only about 5 percent of welfare recipients test positive for drugs,” McDonald said. “So the amount of money that goes to specifically testing welfare recipients is money that can be used on so many other programs. That money could actually make a difference.”
