POLITICS

Lawmaker rethinking welfare drug-testing proposal

Tony Cook and Marisa Kwiatkowski
  • Rep. Terry Goodin said he wanted to help stop an HIV outbreak fueled by illegal drug use.
  • Florida judge ruled that state%27s drug-testing requirement violated the Fourth Amendment.

Just hours after the Indiana House voted to approve a drug-testing requirement for welfare recipients, the lawmaker who proposed the idea says he is rethinking it.

Rep. Terry Goodin, a Democrat from a conservative-leaning Southern Indiana district, surprised many people when he proposed the testing requirement in a last-minute amendment on the House floor Tuesday.

His reason: He wanted to help stop a fast-moving HIV outbreak in Scott County that has been fueled by illegal drug use. More than 100 people have been infected.

The Republican-controlled House eagerly approved the measure Wednesday on an 83-13 vote.

But Goodin is now reconsidering his proposal after learning from The Indianapolis Star that only nine adults in Scott County receive payments through the welfare program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. About 60 additional adults receive benefits on behalf of 93 children.

Goodin said those numbers surprised him.

"There's this urban myth that there are all these people taking welfare money and buying drugs with it," he said. "Maybe there's not as much fraud as people say there is. ... It even makes me rethink my position. Since now we found out the drug testing isn't going to reach many people, maybe there's a different way to reach these people who are hooked on drugs."

At this point, however, the measure is largely outside his control.

It is now up to the bill's initial author, Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, to decide whether to concur with the drug-testing provision and other changes made in the House. Miller said Wednesday she is still reviewing those changes and hasn't made any decisions.

It isn't the first time Indiana lawmakers have considered the idea, though in the past it has been Republican lawmakers who have pushed for it. A similar measure passed the House last year but died during a dramatic 24-24 tie vote in the Senate.

Indiana is one of at least 15 states to consider drug testing or screening for public assistance this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Twelve states already have such requirements.

Goodin's amendment would require drug testing for TANF recipients who are identified as high risk for drug abuse or who have been charged with a drug-related crime in the past.

If recipients fail a drug test, they would have an opportunity to receive counseling. But if they continue to fail drug screenings after counseling, they would be ineligible for welfare benefits for at least three months. Recipients would be responsible for the cost of counseling and positive drug tests.

Supporters of such measures say drug testing would prevent public assistance from being spent on illegal drugs and would help addicts find treatment. Opponents say it unfairly targets poor people and that similar programs in other states have proved costly and ineffective.

David Sklar, past president of the Indiana Coalition for Human Services, said there is no data to support the claim that low-income individuals are drug users.

"We have worked to try to dispel this myth that if you have to use public benefits, you are lazy and not interested in work," he said.

It doesn't make financial sense for Indiana to create such a program, Sklar said. State officials estimated a drug-testing program would cost about $2 million per year — a hefty expense for an initiative that serves about 3,900 adults, he said.

"There are much better ways that we could prioritize those dollars — job training, child care," he said. "Just to sort of do random standardized drug tests is not effective."

Some also see drug testing as yet another in a long list of efforts to discourage people from participating in the welfare program.

Derek Thomas, senior policy analyst for the Indiana Institute for Working Families, said the state shouldn't do anything to discourage participation in programs such as TANF when poverty is still on the rise.

"It's going to further stigmatize the program, which means less people will be on the program," Thomas said. "We should be trying to help more people out of poverty."

Since 2000, poverty has increased nationally by nearly 30 percent, according to a 2015 report called "The Status of Working Families in Indiana." In Indiana, the number of people living in poverty rose 57 percent during that same time period.

At the same time, the number of people receiving TANF benefits has been declining. From December 2011 to December 2014, the number of individuals who received TANF declined 48.9 percent, according to Indiana Family and Social Services Administration records.

Statewide, 3,909 adults and 17,194 children received TANF in February, the most recent month for which data were available. The average monthly payment per recipient in a child-only or one-parent family was $88.30 a month. The average payment per recipient in a two-parent family was $53.23.

There are also concerns about the constitutionality of drug-testing programs. A judge in Florida halted that state's drug-testing requirement, ruling that it violated the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

"In my opinion, it's obviously unconstitutional," said Ken Falk, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. "The fact the legislature is telling someone who needs these benefits for them and their family to exist that they have to waive their Fourth Amendment rights is reprehensible."

Goodin said targeting poor people with punitive measures was never his intent. He noted that under his proposal, children would never have their benefits taken away.

"This was an outreach to try to help people get help," he said.

Ultimately, state lawmakers will have to make a decision about how to proceed with the measure before the legislative session ends April 29.

Call Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.