Drug tests for welfare? Snyder's office says it's too early to tell

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Requiring a clean drug test as a condition for receiving cash assistance would have support within the Republican-led state Legislature. But supporters said they want to make sure the plan would survive a legal challenge, unlike a Michigan plan from more than a decade ago that federal courts derailed.

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The Michigan Department of Human Services, under orders from the Legislature, recently prepared a memo related to possible drug testing of welfare applicants and recipients. The department said the testing would be "feasible" and could include a possible pilot program for suspicion-based drug testing of welfare cash assistance applicants and recipients.

Suspicion would be based on the results of drug screening, which could range from questions on welfare applications to "professional screening tools."

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Missouri enacted a law that requires the state's social services agency to develop a program for screening welfare applicants and recipients, and then test those for whom there is reasonable cause to suspect illegal drug use. People who refuse to be checked and those who test positive and do not complete a program, will be ineligible for benefits for three years. While participating in a substance abuse program, people could keep their benefits.

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http://www.freep.com/article/20120105/NEWS06/201050424/Drug-tests-for-welfare-Snyder-s-office-says-it-s-too-early-to-tell?odyssey=mod