Florida welfare drug testing

[Beekissed]

If your drug test comes back as questionable about origin it is then done naked and observed by a physician....at least it was where we gave drug testing. Sure hope no one makes any mistakes at the testing site or you folks needing car loans will be feelin' kinda breezy!

 

[BrattishTaz]

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Have you ever been tested? No door allowed, and no washing hands after you pee all over the place...(former military, and aerospace...)

Girls have bad aim, typically.

Really? No doors allowed? I did not know that....

The tests for public assistance applicants will be administered just like pre-employment tests. You can close the door and there is a sink just outside of the bathroom.

You hand the cup to the assistant and wash your hands. There is no reason for anyone to feel as if they are being treated as a criminal.

 

[PineappleMama]

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It's only mandatory if you sign up for it. If you don't want to take the test you don't have to... just apply for a job elsewhere. Same with if you don't want cameras watching you... don't apply for a cashier position. Your choice.

As to legalizing... not ALL drugs. #1 question for me on the 'should X be legalized" is Does this substance make people more prone to violence? If the answer is yes, then it shouldn't be legalized. #2 question for me would be Can you OD (die) using only a teensy tiny, easily to miscalculate, portion? If the answer is yes it shouldn't be legalized. #3 question would be Can a person become an addict after only using once? If a one time shot, an experiment, can create an addict for life then it shouldn't be legalized.

That's the three off the top of my head anyways. Pot for instance doesn't typically result in violence, instant addiction or death. Fluke cases, yes I suppose, but mostly if you try it (and choke because the stuff is just nasty) it's not going to kill you or put you in a rage where you'll kill someone else. So while it's not my cuppa, I don't feel it's any worse (actually quite a bit better) than booze and since booze is legal so should that be. But to other drugs... that's a lot trickier question...

Ohhh if they put this through do you think that welfare workers would be required by law to notify CPS/police any time they come across an addict with kids? Teachers are required to report any kind of threat to kids... are welfare workers under the same rule? And if handed hard evidence of drug abuse (for CPS that is reason enough to remove children until the folks are clean) are they required to hand that evidence over to CPS for the kids' sake? Or in the case of no kid households hand the evidence to the police for investigation?

Wouldn't bother me in the least if they did since I'm not a crackhead... I happen to think my kids deserve better than a mother who cares more for her next hit than whether they eat today... but I could see how folks with the opposite attitude might resent the interference... even if they did voluntarily walk into the office, pick up an application, fill it out, return it, wait for the appointment, gather all the required documents, go to the appointment and take a test...

 

[domino7]

If people want/need welfare, put them to work. Have them put in 40 hours per week. If they need child care, provide it. I've never understood giving out money, and getting nothing in return.

 

[Beekissed]

That would no longer be assistance at that point....it would be called a job.

Welfare assistance would then be a moot point as no one would ever need it...they would just get jobs. What a novel idea!

 

[Laurajean]

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[domino7]

I'm not pro drug use lol, I'm just anti government interference. If someone wants to kill themselves. let them. I realize it's a little more complicated than that, but in my lifetime I have seen this country go down hill, and our rights and freedoms eroded one by one. They usually do it in the name of "public safety". I mean, who doesn't want to be safe?

 

[chics in the sun]

Although I see the appeal, I beleive a lot of support for this bill is based on stereotypes about people who rely on public assistance. As a Social Worker, of course I've seen the system abused - by SOME people. All systems are abused in one way or another by a few - sometimes it's millionair bank owners, sometimes is drug-addicted welfare recipients. I have not seen anyone so far reference any data that indicates this would save us enough money for it to be worth our while. They did a pilot program in Jacksonville and tested 8,797 aid recipients. How many tested positive? 335. The pidly amount of aid people recieve is not worth the millions of dollars it will cost to drug test. Trust me, I know first hand that if someone is addicted to drugs they will get them one way or another, and the amount of aid given out is usually only a drop in the bucket compared to what one addict ends up spending in a month.

This law will accomplish two things - make a marginalized, beaten down group of people feel worse than they already do about having to ask for help, and make a weak governor appear all big and tough. Which he is neither.

 

[GaNewChick]

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The reason behind the testing is to determine if you are committing a criminal offense...I don't know of any other way to take it as being treated.

 

[Laurajean]

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The reason behind the testing is to determine if you are committing a criminal offense...I don't know of any other way to take it as being treated.

Good point.