Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-18-2013 - 4cORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 18, 2013 Action Agenda Item No. 4 -c SUBJECT: Resolution Opposing Potential Drug Testing for Public Assistance Recipients DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners ATTACHMENT(S): 1) Draft Resolution 2) Senate Bill 594 Fourth Edition 3) Additional Background Information PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No INFORMATION CONTACT: Clerk's Office, 245 -2130 1 PURPOSE: To consider a Resolution Opposing Potential Drug Testing for Public Assistance Recipients, which is proposed in Senate Bill 594 before the 2013 North Carolina General Assembly. BACKGROUND: Senate Bill 594, filed on April 2, 2013 in the North Carolina General Assembly, proposes drug testing requirements for recipients of public assistance and requiring families who apply for Work First to be screened at their own expense. The proposed drug testing requirements would create hardships for families with the least resources and in many cases will discourage those families from applying for available assistance even when no substance abuse is present. In some instances, local county social services departments would be required to reimburse drug testing costs although no State funds have been appropriated for this expense, thereby establishing another State unfunded mandate for county governments. Further, such provisions for a small, targeted class of government aid recipients are discriminatory, needlessly intrusive, and may be unconstitutional. The attached draft resolution provides an opportunity for the Board to consider opposing the changes proposed in Senate Bill 594. The bill has been approved in the Senate and is currently before the House Committee on Judiciary Subcommittee C. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with consideration of the resolution. Should Senate Bill 594 become law, the County may incur an undetermined expense related to reimbursements to members of the public for drug testing costs. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board consider the resolution and, if approved, authorize the Chair to sign the resolution. RES- 2013 -049 DRAFT Attachment 1 2 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Resolution Opposing Potential Drug Testing for Public Assistance Recipients WHEREAS, Senate Bill 594 has been introduced in the 2013 North Carolina General Assembly session, proposing drug testing requirements for recipients of public assistance and requiring families who apply for Work First to be screened at their own expense; and WHEREAS, the proposed drug testing requirements would create hardships for families with the least resources and in many cases will discourage those families from applying for available assistance even when no substance abuse is present; and WHEREAS, if a family does pursue the screening and no issues are identified, it is proposed that the local county social services department will reimburse the family for the costs although no State funds have been appropriated for this expense, thereby establishing another State unfunded mandate for county governments; and WHEREAS, the imposition of a drug testing requirement appears discriminatory by requiring low income families to be screened when many other individuals supported by other various government subsidies and programs are not subject to these arbitrarily invasive requirements; and WHEREAS, provisions such as the one proposed have been successfully challenged on constitutional grounds in other states and the same challenge would likely occur in North Carolina, while in the interim local agencies will have already implemented procedures to adopt the new rules, clients will have already been impacted and costs will already have been incurred; and WHEREAS, there are presently a significant number of requirements that limit the eligible population for the Work First Program, including provisions that 1) the Program only serves parents with children; 2) parents must comply with various regulations related to the education and health of their children; and 3) parents must also participate in work related activities (usually thirty hours per week); NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, support all families and children and believe that the changes being proposed to the Work First Program through Senate Bill 594 will harm children and their parents, will be ineffective and costly, will create another unfunded mandate for county governments, and will ultimately and appropriately be reversed on constitutional grounds as has occurred in other states. The Board encourages all members of the North Carolina General Assembly and Governor Pat McCrory to oppose the changes detailed in Senate Bill 594 and any other bills requiring drug testing as a condition of eligibility for public assistance programs. This the 18th day of June 2013 Barry Jacobs, Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners Attachment 2 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2013 SENATE BILL 594 Judiciary II Committee Substitute Adopted 4/10/13 Health Care Committee Substitute Adopted 4/17/13 Fourth Edition Engrossed 4/22/13 4 Short Title: Require Drug Testing/Work First Benefits. (Public) Sponsors: Referred to: April 4, 2013 1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 2 AN ACT TO REQUIRE DRUG SCREENING FOR APPLICANTS FOR AND RECIPIENTS 3 OF WORK FIRST PROGRAM ASSISTANCE. 4 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5 SECTION 1. G.S. 108A -29.1 reads as rewritten: 6 "§ 108A -29.1. Drub testing required for Work 7 First Program applicants and recipients. 8 (a) Eaeh appliea*t or- e aa� of Wof-k First Pr-ogfam benefits, determined by--a 9 10 II ' 12 13 14 15 16 I7 ' 18 . The 19 Department shall require a drug test to screen each applicant for or recipient of Work First 20 Program assistance. The cost of the drug testing is the responsibility of the individual tested. 21 The Department shall provide notice of drug testing esting to each applicant or recipient. The notice 22 shall advise the applicant or recipient that drug testing will be conducted as a condition of 23 receiving Work First Program assistance, and that the results of the drug tests will remain 24 confidential and will not be released to law enforcement. The applicant or recipient shall be 25 advised that the required drug testing esting may be avoided if the applicant or recipient does not 26 apply for Work First Program assistance. Dependent children under the age of 18 are exempt 27 from the requirements of this section. The Department shall require the following 28 (1) That for two - parent households, both parents comply with the drug-testing 29 requirement. 30 (2) That any teen parent who is emancipated pursuant to Article 35 of Chapter 31 7B of the General Statutes comply with the drug-testing _ requirement. 32 (3) That each applicant or recipient be advised before testing that he or she may 33 inform the agent administering the test of any prescription or 34 over - the - counter medication he or she is taking. * S 5 9 4- V- 4* 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2013 4 1 f4� That each applicant or recipient being tested to sign a written 2 acknowledgement that he or she has received and understood the notice and 3 advice provided under this subsection. 4 (5) That each applicant or recipient who fails a drug test understands that he or 5 she has the right to take one or more additional tests. 6 (b) 7 'his seetieli shall fiet e eligi, 1, for- befiefits or- shall be stlbjeet to the teffnifia+iefi a 8 benefits, btA shall be eensider-ed be r-eeeiving benefits f6r- pu+poses of detefmining eligibility 9 f r ffie iea ,,,,stk+_ree—.For an applicant or current recipient who tests negative for controlled 10 substances, the Department shall increase the amount of the initial Work First Program 11 assistance by the amount paid by the applicant or recipient for the drug testing. esting. An applicant or 12 recipient who tests positive for controlled substances as a result of a drug test required under 13 this section is ineliuible to receive Work First Program assistance for one vear from the date of 14 the positive drug test except as provided in subsection (b I) of this section. The individual may 15 reapply after one year. However, if the individual has any subsequent positive drug tests, the 16 individual shall be ineligible for benefits for three years from the date of the subsequent 17 positive drug test unless the individual reapplies pursuant to subsection (b 1) of this section. 18 (b 1) An applicant or recipient deemed ineligible may reapply for Work First Program 19 assistance if the individual can document the successful completion of a substance abuse 20 treatment program offered by a provider under subsection (e) of this section and licensed by the 21 Department. The applicant or recipient who reapplies for Work First Program assistance after 22 completion of a substance abuse program shall pass a drug test. The cost of any drug testing 23 and substance abuse program provided under this subsection shall be the responsibility of the 24 applicant or recipient being tested and receiving treatment. An applicant or recipient who 25 reapplies for Work First Program assistance pursuant to this subsection may reapply one time 26 only. 27 (c) The children of any applicant or current recipient shall remain eligible for benefits, 28 and these benefits shall be paid to a protective payee pursuant to G.S. 108A -38. 29 (d) Aft appkea*t or- etff+e"' 30 31 The Social Services Commission shall adopt rules pertaining to the testing of 32 applicants and recipients under this section. 33 (e) Area mental health authorities organized pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 122C of 34 the General Statutes shall be responsible for administering the provisions of this section. 35 36 37 ." 38 SECTION I.I. The Department of Health and Human Services shall report to the 39 General Assembly no later than July 1, 2014, on the implementation of this act. 40 SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law. Page 2 Senate Bill 594- Fourth Edition 5 Attachment 3 We would like to express our concerns about proposed drug testing requirements for recipients of public assistance. These requirements create incredible hardships for families with the least resources and in many cases will discourage these families, even when no substance abuse is present, from applying for available assistance. It also appears discriminatory to require low income families to be screened when many other individuals are supported by various government subsidies and programs and are not subject to these requirements. The current proposal (Senate Bill 594) requires families who apply for Work First to be screened at their own costs. These families generally have no income (if they make more than $1000 per year they lose some or all of their benefits) and a parent with one child receives maximum monthly assistance of $236. Many of these families will not have the funds to pay privately for the drug screening. If they do pay for the screening and have no issues, the local county office is to reimburse them for the costs. No funds were appropriated for these tests so this becomes an unfunded county mandate. In other states, laws such as the one proposed have been successfully challenged on constitutional grounds and this would likely occur in North Carolina as well. However, local agencies will have already implemented procedures to adopt the new rules, clients will have already been impacted and costs will already have occurred before the law could be struck down. The Work First program already has a significant number of job requirements that limit the eligible population. The Work First program in North Carolina only serves parents with children. The parents must comply with various regulations related to the education and health of their children. They also must participate in work related activities (usually thirty hours per week) before their checks can be released to them. Each family is subjected to state and federal time - limits (two and five years) and the number of recipients has steadily declined since welfare reform was enacted. Even with these restrictions, many parents have taken advantage of our Work First program of temporary assistance to help them get back on their feet after a separation or divorce or a domestic violence situation. There are already ways to address substance abuse issues if present without Senate Bill 594. If the professional staff assigned to the case believes there is a substance abuse issue, the participant must submit to an assessment and to treatment indicated by the assessment. By working with parents and caretakers, local agencies are intervening in various social issues. Not only do these efforts help the parents to become more economically self- sufficient, but they also help children to live in better situations. Our community wants to support all families and children and believes that the changes being proposed to the Work First program through this bill will harm children and their parents and be ineffective and costly. We encourage you to vote against Senate Bill 594 and any other bills requiring drug testing as a condition of eligibility for public assistance programs. Please let us know if you have any questions. We appreciate your assistance with this very important issue.