Drug Test Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Tomblin Signs Bill to Drug Test Certain Welfare Recipients

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has signed a bill that requires the state Department of Health and Human Resources to apply for permission to drug test TANF recipients.

TANF is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program that provides government benefits to working, low-income families.

If the state receives federal approval, the DHHR would then be charged to administer the three strike system.

After one failed drug test, a recipient does not lose any benefits, but is required to enter a workforce or rehabilitative program. After a second failed test, the recipients loses benefits until they complete that program, and after the third failed test, he or she loses benefits for life.

Drug tests will be administered to TANF applicants who have been convicted of a drug crime in the past three years or if a DHHR employee believes there is a “reasonable suspicion” that the applicant may be abusing drugs.

The bill takes effect in June.

Welfare Recipients Can Be Drug Tested Under Senate-Approved Bill

West Virginia Senators voted 32 to 2 to create a three-year pilot program to drug test welfare recipients. Two Democratic senators voted against the provision.

The bill requires the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources seek federal approval to create such a program and sets forth the requirements for it, including the “reasonable suspicion” a DHHR employee must find before testing a TANF recipient.

The TANF program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, is a short-term welfare program meant to help struggling families. According to the DHHR, about 3,536 West Virginians received TANF benefits in December 2015.

If the bill is approved by the House of Delegates, any of those recipients could be asked to take a drug test if they have been convicted of a drug crime in the past five years or “give the impression” they may be on drugs, according to Sen. Ryan Ferns of Ohio County, the bill’s lead sponsor.

The program will then run on a three strike system.

After one failed drug test, recipients must enroll in rehabilitation and workforce training programs, but get to keep their benefits. They lose those benefits after a second failed test, but after 12 months or completing a rehabilitation or job training program, whichever is shorter, they’ll get their benefits back. It’s after the third failed test, Ferns said, the recipient loses those benefits for life.

Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler was one of two Democrats to vote against the bill, he said, for two reasons. The first, the bill requires the welfare recipient to pay for the state required drug rehabilitation on their own and second, Kessler said there are a lack of those programs in the state.

“So, we’re forcing folks into programs that we’re not even sure they exist, number one, and if they do, we’re asking people to pay for it that desperately need treatment that don’t have the funds to pay for it,” he said.

Ferns assured Kessler on the floor the DHHR believes there are enough programs to handle the number of recipients expected to need treatment, and said many of those TANF recipients also receive Medicaid, which covers substance abuse treatment.

The program is expected to cost the DHHR about $50,000 to implement and $22,000 each year thereafter.

Senate Will Vote to Drug Test Welfare Recipients

Updated 2/9/2016: The West Virginia Senate approved a three-year pilot drug testing program, 32-2. For more, click here.

Original story:

Members of the West Virginia Senate are set to vote on a bill to drug test the recipients of public assistance.

Senate Bill 6 creates a three-year pilot program to drug test recipients of TANF benefits. TANF stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Sen. Ryan Ferns said the bill requires employees of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources prove reasonable suspicion before drug testing a TANF recipient, which comes in two forms.

The first, recipients convicted of a drug-related offense in the last five years will be required to take a drug test. The second Ferns described as anyone who gives the impression they may be using an illegal drug or abusing a controlled substance.

The bill sets out a three-strike system:

Strike One: no loss of benefits, requires recipient to enter rehabilitative and workforce training programs
Strike Two: loss of benefits for 12 months or until a rehabilitation or workforce training program has been completed, whichever is shorter
Strike Three: loss of benefits for life.

Benefits, however, will not be taken from dependent children in the home. Ferns says the bill requires the DHHR to find another qualified adult in their lives to take over distribution of child benefits, something he says the state already does in other cases.
“The drug epidemic has been increasingly harmful to our state,” Ferns said Monday. “It’s getting worse and worse all the time and we are looking at any possible way that we can assist individuals who need help and get them help.”

Those opposed to the bill maintain the screening process will allow for discrimination against minority and low-income West Virginians.

THe DHHR reports 3,536 individuals received TANF benefits in West Virginia in December 2015.

The agency estimates the program will cost the state about $50,000 for its initial implementation and about $22,000 each year after.

Senators will vote on Senate Bill 6 Tuesday.

Fewer West Virginia Coal Miners Fail Drug Tests in 2015

Officials say fewer West Virginia coal miners failed drug tests last year.

Eugene White, director of the West Virginia Mine Safety Office, tells the Times West Virginian that around 290 miners failed drug tests in 2015. That’s down from 310 workers in 2013 and 314 workers in 2014.

White said the number of test failures is likely down because fewer miners are working. The decline of the coal industry has forced mines to shut down and lay off workers. But White said coal companies are also taking steps to fight substance abuse among their employees.

West Virginia law requires coal mines to test at least 25 percent of their workers. Workers who fail a test are immediately suspended, pending a hearing with the board of appeals.

Drug Test Kits to be Made Available in Harrison County

Free drug testing kits will soon be distributed to Harrison County residents.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld and Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker announced the program on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

The drug tests produce results in less than 20 minutes. The test screens for a variety of commonly abused substances including marijuana, opioid painkillers, stimulants, tranquilizers, cocaine, methadone and PCP.

The kits also contain information on how parents can open a dialogue to discuss substance abuse with their children as well as helpful suggestions to locate educational and treatment resources. The kits contain a pre-stamped envelope to voluntarily report test results. However, no personal information is collected or tracked.