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Apply For Benefits, Fail A Drug Test And Get Investigated For Child Abuse?
June 16, 2011
People who apply for temporary assistance for needy families and fail the new required drug test may be subject to being investigated for child abuse, according to draft rules reported on Wednesday by the Tampa Tribune.
The draft rules, which could change, were published by the Department of Children and Families. They say that applicants who test positive for drugs must be referred to the Florida Abuse Hotline, which could start a child protective services investigation.
The requirement wasn’t spelled out in the law, passed this session, that requires drug testing for welfare applicants. The rulemaking to work out the details must be complete by July 1 when the new law takes effect
Comments
10 Responses to “Apply For Benefits, Fail A Drug Test And Get Investigated For Child Abuse?”
Every month have various distribution sites for Welfare checks, Food Stamps, etc., any & all public assistance handouts. Here’s the catch—when you receive your assistance, you supply a ’sample’ to be tested. Your ’sample’ may be selected or it may not…..make it random (to assist with the cost). I would bet there would be a few out there that wouldn’t show up to collect their handout for the month if they weren’t ‘clean’. Many drugs don’t stay in your system 30 days, so a hair sample could also be submitted & randomly tested for those.
The consequences of getting caught should be rather tough. Charges for drug use, fraud, child endangerment, etc.
@meemee: That’s what is bothering me. It is my understanding that all those already on public assistance will be “grand-fathered” in and not have to be drug-tested. That would be a big mistake! And it seems unfair also. Why not test across the board, then see how it pans out??
what about the ones already on public assistant randomly check them you may be surprised,,,,,
Sounds right to me.
If they are druggies you just know the kids need better parents. They don’t
need to ask for our help and then use the money for drugs instead of making
their children safe from hunger and homelessness.
Someone NEEDS to evaluate them.
I do not see a problem with the new rule.
If any one has a issue with the new law, let them be tested before they are allowed to speak out!! Just Sayin!
This algorithm looks simple enough to me!
People claiming to be needing money while spending money on drugs are also people who are not spending money on their children’s needs. This is negligent on their part. (By the way, that applies even if the drug is ethanol or nicotine.) If they ask you to continue to support thier expenditures, there is still a chance they will not spend it on children but continue to spend it on their own desires.
David for children
Good!!!
I fail to see a problem here. Money used to buy drugs is money that should be used for the welfare of the children. That is money that may be taking food and or clothing from the children ergo, child abuse.
I’m the blogger that passed the lead along to Tampa Bay Online.
There has apparently been a change in DCF policy since TBO ran their story and my blog posts got plastered all over Facebook on Monday, which is when this subject started showing up on the web.
Kenric Ward from Sunshine State News quoted from a new DCF:
DCF will also make a cursory review to determine whether further inquiry is needed into the safety of the minor children . . . DCF may initiate a “Parent Needing Assistance” contact with the applicant to ensure the safety of the applicant and any minor children.
Should DCF discover further information indicating that the applicant or children in the applicant’s care are in jeopardy, it may initiate contact through the Florida Abuse Hotline.
Which appears to be just a bait and switch for the press by DCF. The “Parent Needing Assistance” is part of a child protective investigation, which is what occurs when a call is made to the Abuse Hotline. Which makes sense, when you consider the Florida Abuse Hotline is a division of DCF.