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Receive Assistance, Fail Drug Test And Lose Your Kids?
June 29, 2011
With the start of a new law Friday requiring applicants for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program to test for drugs, a new rule will also require that anyone who fails be reported to the state’s child abuse hotline.
The Tampa Tribune reported Tuesday on a June 24 memo in which the Department of Children and Families directs staff to refer applicants to test positive to the abuse hotline for possible offer of services, or a possible investigation into the welfare of the child.
DCF officials told the Tribune that rule won’t mean that anyone who tests positive will lose their children, although DCF spokesman Joe Follick told the newspaper that a referral likely would trigger a visit to the applicants home by someone representing the agency, though not necessarily a child protection investigator.
“Our goal is always to keep families together, and give them the tools to stay together,” Follick told the Tribune.
Some child welfare advocates are critical, though.
“Caseworkers risk missing more children in real danger while they check out pot-smoking potential welfare recipients,” Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform in Virginia said in an e-mail to reporters.
By The News Service of Florida
Comments
22 Responses to “Receive Assistance, Fail Drug Test And Lose Your Kids?”
REGARDING:
“But instead of taking from them, you could help them with their addictions. Seeking counseling, helping them to find jobs. Education is an option because some might need a high school diploma. Taking children is not the answer.”
Sometimes taking the children IS the answer. They’re not saying it would always be the answer, but the question should be asked if they have proof the parents are picking drugs over the good of their own children.
Further, if they refuse to finance drug abusers, they aren’t taking away from them, they’re refusing to take away from taxpayers who earn a living, working those jobs which aren’t supposed to be out there. Or perhaps they have more money to help those who actually do need help and won’t blow it on dope.
Still further, if the only way they can get funding from the public is to dry out and abandon drugs, this program might actually help them. That would also help them get jobs from those people who don’t dare hire people who walk around high for work on heavy equipment or to work in potentially dangerous situations.
Finally, yes, education is helpful. Nobody arbitrarily stopped them from earning a high school diploma. They chose to drop out of school or behaved so badly in school that they were ejected for the safety of the other children. Even then, GED is still a way of getting a diploma. If they’re convinced they don’t need an education to earn money because “the government” will give them money, they have been hurt much worse than being denied money for their next fix.
David for real good
I mean these people on my comment. Law is arbitrary!
Law is so arbitrary! This is one of the worst ideals ever. You only make things worst. How are you helping this people. Some people take care of their children. I agree that some people are abusing the system, and their are some people that really have a drug problem. But instead of taking from them, you could help them with their addictions. Seeking counseling, helping them to find jobs. Education is an option because some might need a high school diploma. Taking children is not the answer. Not only you hurting them, you are hurting the children. First all the world need “Jesus”. We need prayer. Prayer changes things. If you want to do something victorious, get the drug dealers off the street. That’s the only way thats gonna change. Then we wonder why people so much crime. Why?…their no jobs, they require so much experiences and quailifications, etc. We are living in perilious times. We need to wake up! Stop labeling people thats on assisstant!, and help them. Cause if it was that easy to find a job, they wouldn’t be on assisstant would they. In my conclusion, Stop through rocks, and hiding your hands. When you dig one ditch, you better dig two. The trap you set for someone, may be for you. God see all things. If their never been no rain in your life, just wait a while. It’s coming!.
I aggree with this whole-heartedly, but we need to be sure and test for all drugs including ALCOHOL and CIGARETTES which arguably are two of the most dangerous and addictive drugs that are readily available.
Certainly we wouldn’t want kids being neglected by druggy parents who are high on alcohol and nicotene would we?
I think not…
REGARDING:
“You may ask who is John Bowlby …..probably the most eminent man that ever lived in the field of Attachment and Bonding”
Nope, nobody asking, don’t care other than to wonder how eminent he could be if he wondered if Charles Darwin died of a psychosomatic disease.
More to the point, though, is to wonder why we would worry about someone who dealt with non-drug abandonment problems since a drug test won’t find them. The subject at hand deals with the fact that parents sometimes abandon their children’s welfare to buy recreational drugs for their own pleasures.
This has nothing to do with “Two parents working and “Drugged” on the benefits of all the best things in life” because they aren’t demanding money for themselves to spend on drugs. They may do a poor job as parents but no single law addresses every ill and folks don‘t agree on what constitutes perfect parenting.
Drugs which are needed for medical problems aren’t faulted by the testing. Even those reported are simply reported as possible (likely) evidence of child abuse.
David for holding accountable those who prefer children to drugs
Now we compare a cup of tea to hard drugs. There is no way tea stains compare
to drugs that change a persons perception and impare their reaction time to
cituations that need immediate attention. I follow the reasoning that some
parents are not as attentive to their children as they shoud be. Drugs just
complicate an already 24-7 job. If you dull your wits with drugs and alcohol,
you make an almost impossible responsibility a lot toughfer.
as i agee people do abuse food stamps are abused,however ive always wondered why they could not issue a ck like wic does with household items desperatly needed ,soap tissue shampoo etc to those with no income this would stop alot of sellin for money.the drug issue im against cause some may or may not abuse drugs,taking childing instead of just bennifits are wrong.there are to many children they know about not on assistance being abused that nothings being done.smoking pot like above does not make abuser.and i know from experiance they say theres help for people addicted there isnt .3 days maybe at most .whats next you smoke ciggerretts they take your kids .get to the real issue of child abuse .dont single these out .
Just because someone uses “Drugs” does not naturally make them a bad parent
The word “Drug” can be used in many varied formats
Two parents working and “Drugged” on the benefits of all the best things in life which they can buy with the money and the children coming home from school in the afternoon with no parent there can be just as much “Abuse” as parents that take Substances as their “Drug”
Read John Bowlby …Attachment and Loss…..The Trilogy and see what Attachment and Bonding is all about
You may ask who is John Bowlby …..probably the most eminent man that ever lived in the field of Attachment and Bonding
I have seen parents that sit and drink cups of tea with friends and ignore the children…..There are many ways “Drugs” can be explained
These people are going to be treated worst than the crackhead moms in drug court. Noone ever complains about giving them chance after chance. I read the TANF website and I was just thinking if all of these parents who test positive let the grandparents keep their children they can recieve more money per child than the parents so I am so sick of people always putting people down because they are on welfare. I am thinking let grandparents have temp custidy and really get paid alot more since they will get atleast 200-250 per child plus foodstamps. HHMM Mr Scott would love that. someone with 4 kids could prob get 800 a month if not more. Just thinking everyone wants change welfare people could change things in a big way if they wanted.
The children who have druggies as parents are already suffering. Maybe this will be a wake up call for some of these young parents who have not been putting their children ahead of getting high. These innocent children are not getting the food and care that they need when the parents are just interested in their own addictions. Children are being traded for drugs. How bad does it have to be for the taxpayers to stop paying for drug addicts?
well i know people that sell their food stamp card for half price just to support their drug habit.it should be harder to do this also. they sell them to pay their rent to cause they to sorry to get out and get a job.
TANF and food stamp assistance are two different things. The money is from two separate and different pots. As for testing those who recieve food stamps: I have seen in my experience many people who do sell their stamps for money, but not always to buy drugs. Sometimes, it is for baby diapers, soap, detergent, gas, and things you cannot buy with food stamps. It is a shame, really, that our economy is so stressed things have come to this. TANF is reserved for other types of assistance and I don’t know if testing will be eligible for that program, but it should be. There are those who receive food stamps ONLY to sell them for drugs. Overall, the incentive to not abuse may develop, however, it seems this will only be another thing people will find a way around.
REGARDING:
“Is this only for “new” applicants, or is everyone who is already on assistance going to be tested also??”
From page 9 of:
http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/programs/access/docs/TANF%20101%20final.pdf
Time Limits
Federal law restricts receipt of federal TANF benefits to not more than 60 months of assistance. States may exempt up to 20 percent of the caseload from the time limit due to state-defined hardship.
Florida law limits receipt of assistance to not more than 48 cumulative months of assistance with exemptions to the time limit provided for hardship. Examples of hardship would include individuals receiving Social Security disability benefits (which are different than SSI benefits) or individuals caring for a disabled
So even if it only tests newbies, most of those already in the program should be out within 4 years.
David for drug-free parenting
Is this only for “new” applicants, or is everyone who is already on assistance going to be tested also??
If a parent can aford drugs they don’t need government aqssistance. If their
children don’t come ahead of their vices, they don’t need the children. Therefore,
the children would better off, heaven forbid, as wards of the state. If their children
come first ahead of everything, the drugs, alcohol, and the cigaretts for that matter, would be purged from their system so they could get help. After all,
you borrow money or buy a car on someone elses terms, so why not the same
with government assistance.
I do so hope there is a clause for random testing as well to continue to receive
state aid.
The way I see it it’s not right. How many drug dealers are out there recieving assistance while driving brand new cars. They sell not do, so they get away with everything. I think they need to be checked out just like everyone else. If they get assistance, how can afford new vehicles, when some of us are struggling just to put food in our childrens bellies.
Thinker…” but i also wonder how many children will suffer because of this?” Probably close to the same amount that are suffering due to the parent’s drug abuse. What’s your solution?
I personally have been through the situation of not having money for groceries but my ex-spouse made sure there was money for his drugs. That’s why they are an “ex”! I believe this would be great. Some parents think more of their drug habit than they do thier own children! Crack down on the druggies and make them get their butts out and work like the rest of us have to!
I think this is great! I really do hope it passes. There are families out there really struggling and because of sorry folks, and I know some of them, that would rather spend their money on drugs instead of bills, the truely needy people cant get help because the sorry one’s already got all the funds! It makes me sick to my stomach to see it!! I’m keeping my fingers crossed on this one!
Man, this will never pass the courts. The liberals have catered to “nonworking”
drug abusers so long that they can’t allow it to stop now! They use the excuse,
“what would Jesus do if he were here”. Well in the first place, the majority of
liberals don’t believe in Jesus and have no idea what he would do. All you have
to do is study his word and you’ll know he would not be a “liberal”. First of all,
his word says a person will “earn” their bread by the sweat of their brow-not
someone elses. He speaks to the issue of the drugs of his day, alcohol, that
it shouldn’t be abused. To know something is wrong and to continue to do it is
sin. The “wages” of sin is death.
Certainly, people who cannot provide for themselves should be taken care of.
With nearly 20% of Americans(including illegal aliens) are on some kind of
government assistance, thats 1 in every 5, there must be a lot of disable
people in this country. Of coarse many of these “disable” people are imported
by the liberal judges in our court system. If there are not enough jobs for
citizens in this country, why do we need to import more welfare recipients?
The answer is simple, votes.
How long can the middle class working taxpayers in this country continue to
foot the bill? They simply need to look at their own income and how it compares
to gasoline prices, food prices, health cost, etc. and the answer will be in the
math. Yet the liberals wont to raise taxes on these people for more “giveaway”
vote getting”, government programs. By the way, these programs do nothing
for the working few.
theres nothing wrong with a diversity of opinion from mr wexler of virginia…..i disagree, however….when they are “checking out pot-smoking POTENTIAL welfare recipients”, they are checking out parents who have tested positive for drugs and ARE recieving welfare benefits…tough love!…shouldnt take long for those in need to get their priorities in line.
I agree with drug testing the parents but i also wonder how many children will suffer because of this? I mean, will some parents avoid seeking assistance because they are afraid of failing a drug test? Don’t get me wrong.. if the parent choses to do without for their own selfish desires then let them starve.. but how many children will fall victim to this?