TN Welfare applicants drug tests: 37 out of 16,017 positive (0.2%)

[Statistikhengst]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

 

[g5000]

Now if we could just drug test Tennessee legislators...

 

[Statistikhengst]

Now if we could just drug test Tennessee legislators...

I suppose that Righties will pass out when they see that I am not really against the testing itself. The costs of such testing, if they don't shoot up to the sky, make it possible to do this.

But Righties are just crazy if they think that a huge number of social net recipients are druggies...

 

[Preacher]

37 people that need kicked off welfare. It should be done nationwide.

 

[Kosh]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

Once again the far left drones do not represent all the facts..

279 drug tests were administered

37 drug tests were positive

37 out of 279 is the true number, but this far left drone will once again show their religious dogma rules over reality..

 

[Sonny Clark]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

To me, it seems only fair to test every single member of the state government also. And, every member of law enforcement, lawyers, judges, and the ones giving the tests. In addition, some are only getting food stamps, which is way below your $1,000 per person figure. Why test only the poor and less fortunate? Why single out the needy? How many residents of the state are getting a state paycheck? To me, very unfair and prejudicial treatment.

 

[Cosmos]

I think your Stats are skewed somehow.

Illicit drug use in America has been increasing. In 2012, an estimated 23.9 million Americans aged 12 or older—or 9.2 percent of the population—had used an illicit drug or abused a psychotherapeutic medication (such as a pain reliever, stimulant, or tranquilizer) in the past month. This is up from 8.3 percent in 2002.

DrugFacts Nationwide Trends National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA


9.2% >>> 0.2%

 

[Sonny Clark]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

Just curious here. Did they also round up all the illegal immigrants in the state and test them? What about all the social workers?

 

[Cosmos]

Once again the far left drones do not represent all the facts..

279 drug tests were administered

37 drug tests were positive

37 out of 279 is the true number, but this far left drone will once again show their religious dogma rules over reality

About 13.25%. Much closer to the national average of 9.2% that I just posted.

 

[g5000]

279 drug tests were administered

37 drug tests were positive

Hey, the blind squirrel found an acorn!

13 percent of those tested yielded positive for drug use.

16,017 x .13 = 2,124

 

[Kosh]

279 drug tests were administered

37 drug tests were positive

Hey, the blind squirrel found an acorn!

13 percent of those tested yielded positive for drug use.

16,017 x .13 = 2,124

Hey look the far left drone believes the far left drone OP that 16,000 have been tested..

 

[Statistikhengst]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

Just curious here. Did they also round up all the illegal immigrants in the state and test them? What about all the social workers?

You really didn't understand the OP, now did you....

 

[paulitician]

37 less Moocher Democrats on the dole. Looks like Tennessee is onto something. Kudos.

 

[Kosh]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

Just curious here. Did they also round up all the illegal immigrants in the state and test them? What about all the social workers?

You really didn't understand the OP, now did you....

Obviously neither did you..

But what do you expect from a far left drone..

 

[WillowTree]

If you must be drug tested to hold a job and pay taxes I see no reason not to be tested when asking for taxpayer handouts!

 

[Statistikhengst]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

Once again the far left drones do not represent all the facts..

279 drug tests were administered

37 drug tests were positive

37 out of 279 is the true number, but this far left drone will once again show their religious dogma rules over reality..

I stand corrected. You are indeed right. I didn't see the end notes. That is then 11%, a higher figure indeed.

However, without having tested all 16,017 applicants, we will never know how many really would have tested positive. We also don't know what kind of profiling they used to decide to only test these 297. So, the figure is probably still quite low.

Thank you for catching my error, it was not intentional.

That being said, the statistic in the headline was still accurate:

16,017 applicants. 37 positive tests. That is 0,2% of the 16,017 applicants. Not my fault that they didn't test them all...

 

[Uncensored2008]

So those drug test cheating kits really DO work....

 

[Clementine]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

These stats don't really mean much. They didn't test those currently on welfare and tested less than 300 of new applicants over a period of time. So, it means that there were at least 37 stupid people who didn't wait for the drugs to be out of their system when they applied.

To be clear, no one has said that most welfare recipients are drug users but it stands to reason that most drug users are unable to hold down a job and turn to welfare.

 

[Sonny Clark]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

Just curious here. Did they also round up all the illegal immigrants in the state and test them? What about all the social workers?

You really didn't understand the OP, now did you....

Yes, I understood. What part of it do you think I didn't understand? What did I miss?

 

[GHook93]

Drug testing of welfare applicants yields few positives

Six months after the rollout of a controversial law to drug-test people applying for public benefits, only a small fraction of low-income Tennesseans seeking financial assistance have tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thirty-seven of 16,017 applicants for the Families First cash assistance program between July and December tested positive for illegal substances, according to the Department of Human Services.

Another 81 lost their chance to receive benefits because they discontinued the application process at some point between the time they were required to fill out a three-item drug screening questionnaire and completing their application....

...In the first six months of the program, the state spent $5,295 to administer the program, including $4,215 to pay for the drug tests.

So much for the RW meme that all welfare recepients are on drugs.

On the other side, the cost of the testing program is really not very expensive, so assuming $1,000 per month in welfare, with 37 less people, that means $37,000 saved, minus $9,500 for the drug testing = $27,500 saved. Statistically, the drug tests are worth doing.

Funny at the bank I work for they drug test every new employee (including myself) and last year they had 1 failure which is a percent of a percent of the new hires. Does that mean we should stop drug testing because so few fail? Nope!