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Fiscal conservatives have done it again, proving how their values of saving money do exactly the opposite – at least for the taxpayers.
Utah’s newest war on the poor has mandated a quiz for all welfare recipients. This quiz determines if the person is likely to use drugs. If they are, then they’re required to take a drug test. Even if they test positive, they are not kicked off of the welfare program, but instead are required to enter substance abuse programs.
To date, Utah has spent over $30,000 (all taxpayer funded, remember) to quiz and test these welfare recipients. Was it worth it?
Only twelve people tested positive of the 400+ required to test…twelve.
Read more: Utah Welfare Drug Testing Results Find Only 12 Drug Users at Cost of Over $30,000
Looks like these "fiscal conservative" policies arent working out to well. Their witch hunts have failed yet again. [/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
Read more: Utah Welfare Drug Testing Results Find Only 12 Drug Users at Cost of Over $30,000
Looks like these "fiscal conservative" policies arent working out to well. Their witch hunts have failed yet again. [/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
I oppose the program because it presumes guilt. As a society, especially in government aspects, we either believe in "innocent until proven guilty" or we don't. Cherry-picking here and there is simple hypocrisy.
Read more: Utah Welfare Drug Testing Results Find Only 12 Drug Users at Cost of Over $30,000
Looks like these "fiscal conservative" policies arent working out to well. Their witch hunts have failed yet again. [/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
If you looked at the program it doesn't presume guilt - less than 10% of the state's welfare recipients are tested and only because they were prescreened and determined to be at risk by the administrators who look after their case files. It's hypocrisy to let precious monies in short supply get into the hands of abusers when you have the ability to stop or limit the abuse.
If those 12 people were eligible for just $10k in benefits each I figure it's cost effective. Keep in mind that 12 of 400 is 3% of the group so it's a significant percentage.
Read more: Utah Welfare Drug Testing Results Find Only 12 Drug Users at Cost of Over $30,000
Looks like these "fiscal conservative" policies arent working out to well. Their witch hunts have failed yet again. [/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
Looks like the "fiscal conservatives" have a policy that pays for itself. $30,000 is not as expensive as 12 drug users on the welfare payroll.
I oppose the program because it presumes guilt. As a society, especially in government aspects, we either believe in "innocent until proven guilty" or we don't. Cherry-picking here and there is simple hypocrisy.
I disagree.
Welfare is intended to be a temporary means of assistance while a person finds work and most jobs require a passing grade on the whiz quiz. It doesn't seem unreasonable for the state to make sure potential recipients have a way to get off the program before they start writing checks. It isn't an alternative to working after all.
Firstly, from what I've seen, the costs were under $27,000, but what's a 10% rounding error.
Secondly, not all welfare recipients were tested - less than 10% were actually tested and about 4% of those tested positive, 9 of which were cut off welfare and 5 who are in treatment.
Finally, with welfare payments being just under $1,000 monthly, those 9 who were cut off the welfare rolls will pay for the testing in about 3 to 4 months.
Well, those nine didn't just disappear. Their upkeep came out of the system somehow- in fact, they might be costing more because of the treatment program.
Maybe so - is that a bad thing? How many drug addicts on welfare ever get off welfare and become productive members of society? Wouldn't the first step be having them take responsibility for their own lives by attending treatment? Seems to me, from the results, 14 people were found to be abusing illegal drugs - 5 of those agreed to go into treatment, and their welfare payments continued, 9 refused treatment and were cut off. You can't force someone to help themselves.
forced rehab is a joke. Rehab is for people who have a need and desire to stop. You need both of them. In these cases it is just jumping through the hoops and hoping you do not get tagged again. State mandated rehab is the biggest load of BS because the person still wants to do drugs. It is just a way to funnel money into programs which profit private people. Please do not warp this, because i am not saying all rehab is a joke. However, when you are going to rehab to get the check you are not admitting you have any problem, and you might not actually have a problem. Rehab should not be wated as punishment. it should be available for people who have realized they have a problem and need help. Filling it up with some schmuck who just wants a welfare check wastes everyone's time. If they are going to do the program do it right and boot them off of welfare, don't funnel any small bit of money you save into expensive rehab programs subsidized by the state because these people cannot pay the sliding scale. Someone has to pay, and a sliding scale means the money is coming from a state program to cover the extra because these facilities still have to pay their staff and expenses.
OH...follow on...I'd TRULY love to see what kind of testing they are doing. Most day treatment facilities and parole offices conduct urine tests. Its cheap, easy to administer, and requires very little training.
Who is being forced? Weren't they given a choice?
You are spot on regarding the money. As far as treatment goes....it doesnt cost anyone any additional dollars (the state or the individuals). The state has already contracted with private agencies to conduct mental health and substance abuse services for the counties. That is a finite pocket of resources once the contract is awarded. The County behavioral health services are required to offer clinical services including substance treatment programs at no cost to medicare/medicaid and unfunded clients. Saying it cost an additional 30k is like saying the war cost 4trillion while ignoring the fact that the military would have used approximately similar amounts of fuel and ordinance training during that same period. It looks like it is costing more..but it isnt.I would imagine they are probably doing swabs. Easy to administer, cheap, and you can probably charge a bunch at the lab. They do not want to actually catch anyone on this. Both sides love the welfare because the tax money flows through the recipients into the companies. Swabs are a great way to pretend to scare people, and they suck. I remember the first time i was in probation and they said i was going to be tested. I was scared after that weekend of cocaine, PCP, pot, morphine, vicadin, and extasy. I was a non drug offender and it was supposed to be odd to test us. They did a swab and that was it. Whatever they paid for the stuff and the lab was wasted more than I was.
They just want to pretend to be doing something.
This. The 'rehab' programs are pretty much a joke and it has gotten much worse. It is recommended by the NASW that case managers host no more than a caseload of 25-30 clients. Today...typically...they are carrying anywhere from 90-120. Docs are seeing clients for about 5 minutes to review meds every 3 months. Outpatient 'classes' (if held at all-many are just pencil whipped...sign in here and see you on Tuesday) are canned materials that discusses the dangers of evil drugs with no therapy as to WHY people are on drugs. Oh yeah...and a whole lot of threat an consequence discussed. Oh...and did I mention drug treatment groups are a GREAT place to go and score drugs? People in a court ordered status are typically not there because they WANT to be but because they HAVE to be.technically yes, but if you need or want the money it is not much of a choice. Especially if you are just some casual user who dinged the test. Go to rehab and play good for the people. That is welfare and social security, get on the wagon and be nice. Give them a success story, and then they like you, just don't get caught cheating which is not terribly hard.
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