By Kathleen Berger
Jefferson City, MO (KSDK) - Should Missouri test welfare applicants and recipients for drugs? It's a proposal that's before the House. But as you might imagine, the bill is igniting strong opposition.
Opponents at Tuesday's Senate committee hearing say drug testing welfare recipients could hurt the children of families on welfare, and would not help welfare recipients kick the habit. So we went to the St. Patrick Center in downtown St. Louis, where many people in need seek help.
Alesha Johnson just finished her living skills course at St. Patrick Center. She's there to learn how to live on her own, and support her child. In the meantime, Alesha's on welfare. And when it comes to drug testing welfare recipients, she thinks it's a great idea.
"It's a reality check. Don't do drugs. If you have a family to support, don't do drugs. Your money is going towards drugs," said Johnson.
But the Interim CEO of St. Patrick Center says if a welfare recipient tests positive for drug use, losing benefits for one year will not help them kick the habit, and could do more harm than good.
"Making it much more difficult for people with children to exist and to live," said Interim CEO Greg Vogelweid.
Hurting low income children, he says. But the sponsor of the bill, Republican Representative Ellen Brandom, says her law would take care of the children.
"The only person who loses their benefit is the parent. So the parent would lose $58 a month. If you have a family of three, the family would receive $292. The children's benefit would go to a third party vendor," said Brandom.
But opponents say drug testing could be subjective, based on a screener's reasonable suspicion.
"When you leave things very subjective, this could lead to all kinds of abuses, such as racial profiling. Profiling based on the way people dress. The way people look," said Vogelweid.
Representative Brandom says screeners would be trained to look for signs that law enforcement officers look for, such as glassy eyes and slurred words.
This is the fourth year Brandom has sponsored this legislation.
KSDK