Drug testing of TANF applicants not leading to treatment
No Mississippian applying for assistance through the Temporary Aid For Needy Families program has undergone treatment since the state enacted a drug testing protocol in August 2014.
During that time period, according to information compiled by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, 56 people have been sanctioned or have not been eligible for TANF benefits. The bulk of those lost their benefits not because they did not pass a drug test, but because they refused to undergo the drug test.
House Public Health Chair Sam Mims, R-McComb, the main author of the legislation establishing the drug testing procedure, said the intent of the bill “was to help people get treatment so they could be better citizens, more productive citizens of Mississippi. If people choose not to go to treatment, we cannot force them. That is their choice.”
Daily Journal
10/23/16
