Bluefield Daily Telegraph – Citing compassion for other human beings, constitutional concerns and no proven financial benefits from drug-testing welfare recipients, all speakers at a public hearing Thursday afternoon in the House of Delegates were against the bill that would make such testing law. Read
HB2021 would require testing Temporary Assistance to Needy Families recipients if “reasonable suspicion” exists. Examples of reasonable suspicion include a previous drug conviction and evidence of drug paraphernalia in the home.
Sam Hickman, executive director of the West Virginia Association of Social Workers, said the bottom line is “how you look at the world.”
Hickman said the resources that go into drug-testing TANF recipients could just as well be used for substance-abuse treatment programs.
“Drug-testing increases administrative costs with little or no return on investment,” Hickman said. “Most recipients use resources as intended.”
