State continues work on law to drug test welfare recipients

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State officials are working to implement a law requiring the drug testing of welfare recipients.

The Welfare Drug Testing Act, signed into law last year, creates a three-year pilot program for the screening of recipients of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, also called TANF.

On Tuesday, a legislative interim committee heard from Jeremiah Samples, deputy secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Resources, during a meeting at the state Capitol.

Samples told the committee they have selected a vendor and that training on the program will begin shortly.

But Delegate Joe Ellington (R-Mercer, 27), chair of House Health Committee, asked why it’s taking so long to start the program.

“This is supposed to be effective 60 days after March 10 (2016). I know I’ve had vendors come to me when we had the bill out asking about being to do this,” Ellington said. “We’re about a year and a half out.”

Samples said the state plan had to be reworked. It was revised in September 2016.

According to the law, an applicant who fails a drug test on the first offense will maintain their benefits, but will be required to enroll in a drug treatment program or job training program. On the second offense, the applicant could lose their benefits for up to 12 months while completing the same programs. The third offense calls for a loss of benefits for life.

The legislation says applicants will only be tested if there is a “reasonable suspicion” of drug use.

The DHHR would handle drug treatment programs for those that would fail the test.

Data is being collected in connection with the program. Samples said they’re also talking with other states to see how they deal with these types of investigations.

“There’s a lot of innovation taking place in different jurisdictions around the county and a lot of things that we cannot adopt as we learn of them,” he said.

The total cost of drug testing in the first year is expected to cost the state more than $50,000, according to the DHHR. Every year after that will be around $22,000 annually.





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