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Bibliographic Essay: Welfare drug Testing

Jessica Carter

South University Online

Bibliographic Essay: Welfare Drug Testing

There are many differing viewpoints when it comes to whether or not drug tests should be required before a person receives any kind of government assistance, like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), food stamps, and Medicaid. Some say there should be drug tests because tax dollars shouldn’t be spent on drugs and drug users, while other says it is a waste of even more taxpayer money. While I have articles that talk about each side, I also have some that are neutral and talk about both sides.

The article No Savings are found from Welfare Drug Tests (Alvarez, 2012) is against drug testing welfare applicants. In Florida they have already implemented drug testing, thinking it would save money and stop people from doing drugs, unfortunately it didn’t. It had even resulted in lawsuits claiming the drug tests are unconstitutional and violate the fourth amendment. During the four months the drug testing occurred, only 2.6% of applicants failed, costing the state more money than would have been paid out for welfare.

The article New Drug Tests Target the Poor (Khalek, 2009) is also against drug testing. The article claims that the drug tests are an indignity. Pretty soon, all 50 states will have to drug test before an applicant can receive TANF, which would require the applicants to pay for the drug test themselves. This doesn’t make sense because they obviously need help with money; they don’t have the money to spare even if they pass and get it back. Basically, the article is saying that the drug tests are nothing but people being stereotypical.

The article Drug Tests for Welfare Applicants Produce Less than Meets the Eye (USA Today, 2012) is against drug testing as well. It talks about the failure of the mandatory drug testing in states that have started requiring it. Money hasn’t been saved like it was supposed to be and there haven’t been many people who failed the test. Although one-third didn’t even take the test, “there's no telling how many feared failing the test and how many couldn't afford the fee. The cost is repaid if the test is passed, but welfare applicants might struggle to muster $30.” (Khalek, 2012, para. 7)

The article No Drug Test, No Welfare (Yee, 2012) is for drug testing. According to Yee, “receiving a public benefit is a privilege, not a right” (2012, para. 1) The article basically says that giving drug users welfare is condoning illegal behavior, and that if people have to be drug tested for a job, then so should people receiving government assistance. Yee has very strong feelings about this topic and it shows in her article.

The article Welfare/ Drug Test Bill Needs Further Study (Evansville Courier and Press, 2013) seems to be neutral. It talks about how Indiana tried implementing the drug testing, but the bill failed because no one could agree on the specifics for a final version. The major point of the article is that their needs to be more study done on this issue before doing something about it.

The article Welfare Drug Test Results Trickle in; Township Numbers High (Higgins, 2013) is also a neutral article. According to this article, 13% of 50 drug tests came back positive for various drugs, and apparently some people have claimed they wouldn’t take the test because they knew they would fail. On the other hand, the article also says that it’s hard to get data about how effective the program will be, so there’s no way to know if it’s effective or not.

The article Welfare Drug Testing to High Court? (Kam, 2013) is a neutral article as well. It talks about a lawsuit Governor Rick Scott is trying to win, but the court he went to first says there’s no evidence for a need for the law to drug test welfare recipients. Kayanyan, the ACLU’s head lawyer, claims that Rick Scott is being stereotypical and there is no evidence welfare recipients are more likely to do drugs. (Kam, 2013, para. 12) The main purpose of the article is to give both sides of the debate and inform readers of the reasoning behind each.

The article $26,000 Spent to Check Welfare Seekers for Drugs (McKitrick, 2013) is another neutral article. The article is about the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) test. The test ranks its takers and those who test as high have to submit to a drug test. The main point of the article is to give information on the SASSI test like its success rate and cost, while also talking about the number of people who failed the test (only nine), and the fact that that cost the state $26,000.

As you can see, I have many differing viewpoints on the topic of drug testing welfare applicants. Three articles are against drug testing, one is for it, and the remaining four are neutral. I think this wide variety of information will help my final essay because I will be looking at all sides. I will provide all of the information I have found and give my opinion instead of shying away from articles that challenge my opinion.

References

Alvarez, L. (April 18, 2012). No savings are found from welfare drug tests. New York Times. Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com.xy4gz9ms3x.useaccesscontrol.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SSERSOL-0-8492&artno=0000340649&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=No%20Savings%20Are%20Found%20from%20Welfare%20Drug%20Tests&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=Y

Evansville Courier and Press. (May 6, 2013). Welfare/ Drug test bill needs further study. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=search&dictionaryClick=&secondaryNav=&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=8&edition=&ts=84A91B230E26C7F90B14FDE16B14E8A7_1375811720302&start=1&publicationId=&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B216093758

Higgins, J. (February 3, 2013). Welfare drug test results trickle in; Township numbers high. Evansville Courier and Press. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=search&dictionaryClick=&secondaryNav=&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=2&edition=&ts=DC164271670463E3925BBBD3B5A9B3EA_1375554605351&start=1&publicationId=&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B212914750

Kam, D. (February 27, 2013). Welfare drug testing to high court?. Palm Beach Post. Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com.xy4gz9ms3x.useaccesscontrol.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SSERSOL-0-8492&artno=0000350214&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=Welfare%20Drug%20Testing%20to%20High%20Court%3F&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=Y

Khalek, R. (September, 2009). New drug tests target the poor. In These Times. Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com.xy4gz9ms3x.useaccesscontrol.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SSERSOL-0-8492&artno=0000317157&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=New%20Drug%20Tests%20Target%20the%20Poor&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=Y

McKitrick, C. (July 11, 2013). $26,000 spent to check welfare seekers for drugs. The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=search&dictionaryClick=&secondaryNav=&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=21&edition=&ts=DC164271670463E3925BBBD3B5A9B3EA_1375554605351&start=1&publicationId=&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B217867883

USA Today. (March 19, 2012). Drug tests for welfare applicants produce less than meets the eye. Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com.xy4gz9ms3x.useaccesscontrol.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SSERSOL-0-8492&artno=0000340322&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=Drug%20Tests%20for%20Welfare%20Applicants%20Produce%20Less%20Than%20Meets%20the%20Eye&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=Y

Yee, K. (March 19, 2012). No drug test, no welfare. USA Today. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/928954333/fulltext?accountid=13931