One in Ten Florida Welfare Applicants Fail Drug Tests

Requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive a check from the state is saving Florida a lot of money so far. The program began in July. Tarren Bragdon of the Foundation for Government Accountability, a new Florida-based think tank, reports:

[F]or July, 9.6 percent of otherwise qualified applicants for cash assistance were denied for a drug-related reason. With an approximate annual savings to the state of $1,608 per drug-related denial […] these 574 denials from July 2011 represent annualized savings to Florida taxpayers of $922,992. The cost of reimbursing the 5,390 approved applicants with a negative drug test ($30 average for each) reduces this annualized savings figure by $161,700, for a net savings to taxpayers of $761,292 for the first month of the program alone. Since Florida’s initial denial rate is 9.6 percent, the State is currently saving an estimated $5.71 on drug testing for every $1 it spends reimbursing approved applicants with negative drug tests who ultimately receive cash assistance. If these July trends continue throughout the first year, the drug testing requirement will save Florida taxpayers $9,135,504 from July 2011 through June 2012.
READ MORE HERE: INSIDER ONLINE