JACKSON — During the first four months of Mississippi’s new welfare drug testing law, 3,656 people have applied for welfare, 38 of them have been tested for drugs and two tested positive.
A state advocate for low-income children tells The Clarion-Ledger the low numbers indicate that the program is a waste of money. Cassandra Welchin, policy director of the Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative calls it just another barrier to services for poor working families.
The bill’s author — House Public Health and Human Services Chairman Sam Mims — says it’s working because two families will be helped.
Mississippi Department of Human Services spokeswoman Julia Bryan says every applicant for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families must fill out a questionnaire to screen for possible illegal drug use.
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