Utah's welfare drug testing saved more than $350,000 in first year, officials say
SALT LAKE CITY — A new state program requiring drug screening for welfare applicants has saved more than $350,000 in its first year, officials said.
Preliminary data show Utah spent more than $30,000 from August 2012 to July 2013 to screen welfare applicants for drug use, but only found 12 people who tested positive.
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Utah Spent More Than $30,000 To Catch 12 Drug Users On Welfare
Utah has spent more than $30,000 to drug test welfare applicants after it passed a new law last year. But in that time, just 12 people have tested positivefor drug use, according to state figures.
Utah doesn’t randomly test applicants or require them to all undergo a drug test, but instead requires them to complete a written questionnaire that is meant to screen for drug abuse. Those who have a high probability are then given drug tests. The state spent nearly $6,000 on written tests for 4,730 applicants, 466 of which had to take a drug test, which cost more than $25,000. The law doesn’t disqualify those who test positive but instead requires them to go into a substance abuse treatment program.
I know that drugs are everywhere, but Utah doesn't strike me as a hotbed of drug activity. Good on them for being proactive.
ReplyDeleteEvery state should have this policy.
ReplyDeleteCome on-a written screening to determine who to test? Those 12 were just too dumb to lie properly.
ReplyDelete