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Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Forum

Michale D. Johnson

It's hard to believe, but work-eligible recipients of Missouri's welfare system aren't subject to the same drug-testing policies as many Missouri workers. Actually, they aren't subject to any drug testing.

It's an issue that needs correcting, and Missouri's Republican senators are hoping to prescribe a remedy.

On Jan. 26, the elephants of Missouri's Senate brought their tusks to the table to outline proposals that would require the Missouri Department of Social Services to drug test work-eligible welfare recipients. Eight states, including Missouri, sought similar legislation last year. Missouri's House passed last year's bill before it died in the Senate.

On its surface the measure seems like a no-brainer. After all, many employers require applicants pass a pre-employment drug screening before dispensing duties. Why shouldn't welfare recipients be held to the same standard? The answer may be found in the U.S. Constitution. The Fourth Amendment protects Americans from illegal search and seizure, and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union deem the amendment applies to urine. A ruling by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. In 1999, Michigan lawmakers passed a law that required some benefactors provide a urine sample before being eligible for benefits, but an immediate restraining order rendered the law moot. After more than three years, the appellate court upheld an earlier district court ruling that declared unprovoked urine testing violated the Fourth Amendment.

Missouri lawmakers hope to soil such an argument with verbiage: "reasonable cause" appeared in all of last week's proposals.
Opponents of drug-testing bills have called the idea "stupid" and "bullying." After the schoolyard insults dissipated, opponents expressed worry over the ramifications of turning away a desperate demographic. This kind of reasoning is not only unfounded, it also lacks faith in Americans' ability to rise above circumstance.
There are hard-working Americans that need welfare for some semblance of peace of mind, while others use mind-altering substances for the same affect. There's certainly an overlap among those segments, and taxpayers should not be put in an enabling position.

Missouri lawmakers are concentrating their efforts on families enrolled in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a program that saw more than 43,000 Missouri families participating as of September. That's a good starting point, but it falls short of addressing food stamp and unemployment recipients. The Show-Me State should require that all work-eligible welfare recipients "Show Me" our tax dollars aren't being compromised.

Public welfare is a needed system in our society. (If you don't believe that, try going out for an afternoon drive without using any roads.) Missouri lawmakers need to carefully weigh the drug-testing issue. It's not a matter of terminating drug users' benefits; it's a matter of providing the right benefits.

Drug users who receive welfare benefits are in a higher-needs bracket. In addition to fiscal help they also need counseling and treatment services. State governments should be working to reduce both welfare and drug dependencies. That requires identification. Since fear or shame will often deter drug abusers from broaching the issue with their caseworkers, drug screenings can act as a colander to determine who is in need of what services.

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