Two Republican state lawmakers are reviving a plan to drug test welfare recipients to ensure taxpayer money is going to families who need help and not drug dealers.
Reps. Ron Maag of Salem Township and Tim Schaffer of Lancaster said Tuesday they will introduce a bill establishing a pilot program in three counties and appropriating $100,000 for drug abuse treatment.
Under their proposal, an applicant for cash assistance in the Ohio Works First program would first undergo a substance abuse screening test or questionnaire.
If the screening shows suspected drug use, the applicant would take a urine test. Applicants who test positive would not be allowed to receive public benefits for six months. In those cases, benefits could be awarded to children or spouses through a guardian, church or other third party.
“This legislation will lift families out of drug-induced poverty that they’re suffering from right now and hopefully we can break that cycle of drug-induced poverty,” Schaffer said during a Tuesday press conference. “This legislation is not a means to deny benefits but rather a means to identify and help these families in need.”
As of April 2015, there were 110,343 Ohioans receiving Ohio Works First benefits — 94,699 were children. Enrollment in the program has dropped after the state began enforcing requirements that able-bodied adult recipients work or train for a job at least 30 hours a week.
Schaffer has introduced similar legislation before, but lawmakers said the issue needed further study. Schaffer said the new bill addresses two concerns with past proposals — benefits can be funneled to children and spouses through third parties and applicants denied benefits could receive treatment.
Critics of the proposal say it unfairly targets poor Ohioans and ignores statistics showing drug abuse is not more prevalent among welfare recipients than the general population.
At least 13 states have passed laws requiring drug testing for public assistance applicants or recipients.
Schaffer said Crawford County has agreed to participate and he anticipates others will be standing in line to participate. Schaffer said the pilot program would provide data about drug abuse among cash assistance recipients.
The state would pay for drug tests showing a negative result, while the applicant would pay for a failed drug test, about $35. Treatment would be paid by Medicaid, if the applicant is eligible, or with money from a new $100,000 appropriation.
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