All D.C. residents who apply for welfare benefits would be required to undergo drug screening as a prerequisite for getting financial help under a bill being considered by the D.C. Council.
The measure, introduced last week by Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry, is designed to tackle a “powerful disease” that afflicts some 60,000 D.C. residents, or about 10 percent of the city’s population, Barry said.
“The ideal world would be for those who were addicted to voluntarily reach rock bottom and voluntarily seek treatment,” Barry said. “That doesn’t happen. It’s a very powerful disease and people need a push from someone.”
Barry’s proposal mandates drug screening, usually an interview, for each public assistance applicant to determine the likelihood of drug use. If the screening indicates a problem, the Department of Health could then require a physical drug test, a formal substance abuse assessment or treatment before the applicant receives benefits through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
Any person who refuses screening or rehabilitation would be ineligible for cash assistance through TANF.
“Making sure that people who are coming into that program are free of drugs just makes sense to me,” said Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham, one of the bill’s five co-sponsors.
Requiring drug screening is not unprecedented, though results vary by state, said Elizabeth Lower-Basch, senior policy analyst with the D.C.-based Center for Law and Social Policy.
“Once you start saying people are going to lose benefits, does that mean that people will be less likely to disclose and less likely to get help?” Lower-Basch asked. “The devil’s in the details and how it’s administered.”
Barry, who was convicted in 1990 on a single count of cocaine possession and sentenced to six months in jail, said the bill is “not punitive.” Similar legislation in Virginia was killed last month in committee.
“A number of people are probably surprised I would go this way,” Barry said. “But I’ve been fighting this front for a long time. I’ve been an ally of those who have suffered, whose families have suffered, from this incredible disease.”
