Say what you will about Florida’s new Governor, the man is steadily implementing every campaign promise. Mandatory drug testing for people taking government assistance is a biggie and sure to be contested.
Governor Rick Scott signed a bill Tuesday that will require people who receive government assistance to take a drug test in order to receive benefits.
“The goal of this is to make sure the taxpayers aren’t paying for someone to take illegal drugs,” Scott said.
The law requires every person who applies for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program to pay for the drug test. If the test comes back negative, then the state will pick up the cost. If it’s positive, the person loses benefits for one year.
In the video: Ms. Greene, who relies on the government to feed her 8 children, thinks coming up with the money to be tested might be difficult. If the test comes back negative, the state will reimburse the cost of the test.
The look on her face just says it all. :shock:
Yep.
About time. Ms. Greene there shouldn’t have had EIGHT G(*&AMN kids without any money. $1 says they have at least 4 different dads.
Oh and look, she’s pregnant AGAIN. :shock:
I wondered who would catch #8 1/2…
Are you kidding? YsD had four with three different dads. This woman could have several baby daddies out there..
Fuck anyone that has a problem with this legislation.
It will be interesting if this passes the inevitable court challenges. We need to weed out the druggies to make room for the millions of people dropped out of the bottom of the Obama economy.
No kidding! The druggies will have to step to the back of the line and make room for the new American… the OBAMA American.
Oh, and what Erinyes said.
Ditto! :clap:
This is how it should be!!
Excellent.
You’ve made my day!
LBC
Good! :thumbs:
What they’d do then is get SDI for their kids…get them diagnosed with ADHD, then get money for the kid’s meds AND a ‘disability’ check. And spend it all on drugs for themselves.
…and I was feeling so good about this legislation….! :(
We need another plug in the dike…
Anyone working the system to support their drug habit already does this. At least this legislation will prevent abuses at one level. Besides, as far as I am aware, there is no welfare available directly to children, a la SSI and so forth since the parents, not children, are responsible for rent and bills.
SSD is available for children but paid TO the caretaker but it is extremely hard to get. The child needs to have a severely debilitating condition in order to qualify. ADHD doesn’t count as severely debilitating. This per Folly, who has some not limited knowledge of the subject as a family law attorney.
When O.D. adopted YsD’s first two children, the state gave them free college educations, monetary help for their daycare and free health care until they’re of age. And the option to “give them back” to the state.
All are bones of contention with me. But yes, some kids get government assistance directly.
Yes, but none of that is cash in hand that can be used by parents to buy drugs. I think the legislation is a huge step forward in ending abuse of welfare and LONG overdue.
True. And me too.
I can speak to this point. If the kids were in state care before custody (eventual permanent custody) was given to OD then yes, they receive a waiver for any up to 4 year college/secondary school after High School/GED graduation. They have to qualify to get in to school and this will fill the gaps of any financial aid/assistance.
They’ll also help with childcare coverage and provide a stipend up to 80% of the states expenses for their care. That and the medical stays with them until of age or they graduate from college, whichever it may be. We had to negotiate with the state for Daisy’s money as it’s provided for every child in care of the state. We use it for her private schooling, which makes it affordable for her to go and get the best education she deserves. It’s all covered as part of the benefits that every child who is a ward of the state receives and they should maintain that eligibility.
I have no problem with the college education or even the childcare help. It’s mainly the medicaid, the health care that trips me up. Both parents have good jobs with health care benefits; why do the taxpayers still pay for adopted children’s health care?
I know much has changed since I was adopted in the 50′s and the benefits are so people can afford to adopt kids who need homes, God bless them.
In our case, Daisy is still on her medicaid because we can’t afford to put her on our private health insurance at this time. (Thanks ‘Bama) I like her pediatrician, but for dental and vision, we do that privately – I can’t tolerate substandard care. And as soon as we’re able to put her on private care we will, but she’ll always have the Medicaid until she ages out or finishes college as a backup.
For family coverage of just health insurance alone, I was looking at paying over $350 a month, and that didn’t include dental or vision. It was just cost prohibitive.
I do understand, really. It’s just an emotional thing for me, not logical.
Hell, I was subjected to a credit check while I was pregnant and trying to get into subsidized housing. I have no problem with drug testing. It makes sense. The credit check thing? That was kinda funny. If you don’t have any money coming in, chances are you don’t have a very good credit rating (what with bills coming due and not being able to pay them). Still, I accepted the decision of the housing board and managed to find a way into other housing. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Just like, even if you don’t hand over cash money to an addict, they’ll still find a way to barter their benefits for drugs.
I see no sense in the credit check, for the reasons stated. Strange.
YsD is all for the drug testing, by the way.
All in favor of drug testing, don’t pass…no money. Got kids to take care of? Guess the state will step in take care of them for you, but here’s the clincher with that now. The State now has a hard deadling with parents, you have 12 months to get your act together and pass through their requirements and hoops. Don’t do it in time, then they can pursue termination of parental rights. Which is great because it puts a time limit on keeping these kids in interminable limbo while biological’s string things along and kids get bounced from house to house, causing further psychological and emotional damage to be cleaned up by others.
Quite frankly, in most cases, I think it should be one strike and you’re out. Period. End of story. Game over. But I tend to be a hard-ass where kids and certain situations are invovled.
The kids were snatched from YsD in the hospital, before she could even take the baby home because she tested positive for crack. As it should be.
…and we all breathed a sign of relief. On the one hand, because they were finally safe, but on the other, they were put into foster care. That lasted a very short time, though, before O.D. could get the paperwork together to be able to take them.
They would have put them in a medical foster home to ensure any drug withdrawls were dealt with appropriately. Then they look to family first before going to another foster home.
A sibling group we’re trying to get matched with is a similar situation. The baby was taken from the hospital due to failing a drug test. Went to a medical foster home where there were no withdrawl problems and is in the same foster home with 2 brothers (both under 4). We’re very hopeful that it will work out and we can adopt all 3 as they need to stay together.
Oh, I see. Then it was a necessary step. I remember OD going crazy while they were in foster care; they wouldn’t tell her where or let her see them and she knew Tyler would be wondering what happened.
Good luck! I didn’t know you were trying to adopt again! Good for you! I’ll be praying for you all.
