Drug test for welfare recipients.

[HammerTime]

http://www2.tbo.com/news/politics/2011/aug/24/welfare-drug-testing-yields-2-percent-positive-res-ar-252458/

 

So far, they say, about 2 percent of applicants are failing the test; another 2 percent are not completing the application process, for reasons unspecified.

 

Cost of the tests averages about $30. Assuming that 1,000 to 1,500 applicants take the test every month, the state will owe about $28,800-$43,200 monthly in reimbursements to those who test drug-free.

 

That compares with roughly $32,200-$48,200 the state may save on one month's worth of rejected applicants.

 

The savings assume that 20 to 30 people — 2 percent of 1,000 to 1,500 tested — fail the drug test every month. On average, a welfare recipient costs the state $134 in monthly benefits, which the rejected applicants won’t get, saving the state $2,680 to $4,020 a month.

 

Since one failed test disqualifies an applicant for a full year’s worth of benefits, the state could save $32,200 to $48,200 annually on the applicants rejected in a single month.

 

Net savings to the state: $3,400 to $5,000 annually on one month’s worth of rejected applicants. Over 12 months, the money saved on all rejected applicants would add up to $40,800 to $60,000 for a program that state analysts have predicted will cost $178 million this fiscal year.

[Randy Parker]

I can provide 30 specific facts today, walking around in my building. I have had kids here who were "introduced" to marijuana at age 8, smoking it out of a spent shell. I can tell you about the students who start smoking because their lives are such crap that they have to find a way to escape. I can talk about the kids who parents can't afford insurance but make too much money for K-Chip, or the insurance doesn't cover mental - health so the students try to overcome the mental health struggles they have through 'self-medication.' There are the two in the last two years who struggled with pain medication after car accidents. The drug problem here is not near what it was last year - and one of our goals is to get these guys clean, so it is not excused and viewed as okay and we work hard at making them take responsibilities for their actions, but to say it is a 8-17 year olds "fault". I would have to disagree, wholeheartedly.

 

I don't doubt that some of these folks need escape, or some assistance with mental health struggles. But drugs or any other type of potent substance do not comprise the only form of escape, not the only form of assistance. Adversity is common for human beings, but obviously some experience incredibly more than others. Drugs, or the excessive use of prescribed drugs, are not the only option for those who face incredible difficulties or pain.

 

So while I see your perspective, and more importantly, applaud the work and time you put into individuals who immensely suffer, the responsibility for an un-inherited addiction (like a crack baby, for example) lies solely with the addict.

[bballfamily]

How many unwanted kids have you adopted?

 

Be responsible for your actions. Of course I am talking adults and I believe that is what most of us were thinking at the beginning of this thread.

Yes some kids have lousy parents. If needed the kids should be removed from that home

If needed and it is a worse case situation, some of these kids may have to be put into state institutions.

It stinks, but life is tough at times.