Black Township's drug-free welfare policy gaining national attention

Now, after only a month of testing, the little township’s results comprise some of the only hard data available on the number of welfare recipients who use drugs in Indiana. And so far, those numbers are high.

“We have a problem here,” Suits said, looking over a pile of drug test results.

Since Black Township began drug testing in early January, nearly 13 percent of the 50 tests it’s run came back positive for amphetamines, opiates, THC, cocaine, PCP or K2 spice. On top of that, Suits said she’s had half the number of people apply for assistance so far this year as last. Some people have outright told her they won’t apply for the emergency money because they know will test positive.

“I think our office was not given the ability to identify if we were funding drug use before now,” Suits said. “It’s important to have some data behind you. We’re always assessing.”

Black Township’s data is already being noticed by state lawmakers.

There are two bills proposing random drug testing of welfare recipients in the state Legislature. A house bill sponsored by Rep. Jud McMillin (R-Brookville) would require drug tests for 25 percent of applicants who county officials had reason to suspect use drugs. A senate bill sponsored by Sen. Dennis Kruse (R-DeKalb) would implement a similar program on a trial basis in three counties.

Other than Black Township’s month of test results, neither Kruse nor McMillin have any solid statistics on how many Indiana Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients use illegal drugs.

“I’ll take that a step further,” McMillin said. “Even after we implement it, if it’s a successful program, we’re not going to have hard data. There’s not a way to account for the people who would have accepted welfare dollars who would not apply because of the drug testing. There is a deterrent affect to this.”

Around the nation, statistics on the number of drug users on welfare programs is scarce. Yet at least 28 states, including Indiana, proposed some form of legislation that required welfare recipients be drug free in 2012.

In 2011, the state of Florida passed a law that mandated testing for everyone applying for TANF. That law was quickly ruled unconstitutional by a trial court judge after the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state. A higher court is considering the case.

In the four months the state conducted drug tests, less than three percent of the people applying for the state assistance tested positive.

“It tells me that — and it should tell any state that is considering a bill like Florida’s — the perception that applicants for TANF are drug users is a stereotype that is wrong,” said Maria Kayanan, the associate legal director of the ACLU of Florida.

Regardless of statistics in other areas, Suits maintains that drug abuse is an issue that plagues her township, which includes the town of Mount Vernon. The 13 percent positive test rate shows that, she said. Posey County, which includes Black Township, saw 49 drug related convictions in 2011 and 31 in 2012.

But according to other township trustees, the number of people abusing drugs varies by area, even when looking at just Southwestern Indiana.

“I don’t see drug abuse; I simply don’t see that in my township,” said Robinson Township Trustee Gary Saalweachter. Robinson Township is also in Posey County, just northwest of Black Township.

“I’m a small and rural township,” Saalweachter said. “Maybe it’s different in more urban cities.”

Saalweachter said he does home visits for all his Township assistance applicants, and he’s never seen evidence of heavy drug abuse. That doesn’t mean its not there, he added.

“There have been some (township assistance applicants) I’ve wondered about,” said Warrick County’s Boon Township Trustee Kevin Derr.

“For the most part, the people coming in to seek assistance from us work a job full time jobs that just don’t pay enough, or they have some kind of impediment. They have an injury or are on Social Security.”

But even if the percentage is low, people who support drug testing welfare recipients argue that no taxpayer money should go to drug users.

“I believe that if people getting government assistance are out (buying) illegal drugs, they should not be receiving any government money to buy their food,” Senator Kruse said.

Kruse said that if, after implementing random drug tests in three Indiana counties, the state determined few drug users applied for TANF then he would not seek to continue the program. It would not be worth the costs.

A single drug test in Black Township costs around $60, Suits said. She has budgeted $22,000 in 2013 for the costs of the tests and the manpower to administer them.

Since Suits’ new drug test policy hit national news last week, she has received calls from county governments in Kentucky and other Indiana townships. Most of the responses have been positive, she said.

That came as a surprise.

“I didn’t know how this would all blow over,” Suits said. “I thought I would leave my office everyday with two black eyes. But you do it because you know it’s right.”

Although a drug testing policy does protect taxpayers from funding drug abuse in their areas, Suits said her main purpose for implementing the policy is to help drug users get clean and become self sufficient.

Most employers drug test potential new hires before extending formal offers, she said. What good does it do to give someone free township assistance if they will never be able to find a job?

Anyone who tests positive is still eligible to receive township money if they successfully complete a drug rehab program, Suits said. That’s a provision in both the proposed house and senate bill.

Suits plans to take a training course with Stepping Stone, a local drug rehab center, to learn how to better help those who test positive.

“This is tough stuff,” Suits said, tapping the three-ring binder full of the drug test results on the desk before her. A pile of urine sample cups sat stacked on a small desk to her right. “But if they know you’re doing it because you care about them, that’s when you really start to break down barriers.”

She paused a moment, looking at the stack of results.

“I believe drugs kill, steal and destroy,” she said. “We’re drawing a line in the sand.”