PathWays PA Policy Blog

If passed,  HB 1380 , a bill to drug test benefits recipients who are deemed to have a "high likelihood" of substance abuse, would amend the Public Welfare Code so that benefits applicants would be required to complete a written questionnaire as a condition of eligibility. Applicants who are deemed to have a "high likelihood" of substance abuse would then have to be drug tested. A person testing positive once would be assessed for treatment options, while anyone who is tested positive twice would have their access to benefits suspended for 12 months. Please urge  your legislator to support your community and oppose HB 1380.  Interested in PathWays PA blog posts on similar topics? 6/9/15 - House Bill 222: Good Intentions but Negative Consequences 9/3/14 - Good and Cheap: Free SNAP Cookbook Available for Download 4/24/15 - Great News From Governor Wolf

House Bill 222 , which previously would have imposed a lifetime ban for all people convicted of drug felonies from receiving SNAP/food stamp benefits and other forms of public assistance, has been amended in response to public outcry. Unfortunately, the redrafted bill remains flawed at heart. The bottom line is, access to such basic subsistence such as food should not be banned once someone has completed their prison sentence. While HB 222 now exempts domestic violence survivors  with a documented "judicial adjudication" of abuse , this still leaves out the majority of survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking. Amendments have also decreased the lifetime ban to 20 years, an empty promise for those wanting to rebuild their lives upon release from prison or completion of a drug treatment program. Because there will be a vote this week or early next, prompt action must be taken to stop this flawed bill from becoming law. You can make sure your voice...

According to The Times-Tribune , Pennsylvania is planning to scale back benefits commonly termed "welfare" and to place new requirements on people receiving those benefits. Random drug tests of recipients convicted of felony drug crimes are one of the new changes expected.  Recipients tested will be limited to those with a felony drug conviction within the past five years and those currently on probation for felony drug convictions.  The system to be put into place will test approximately 20% of these recipients, according to the article. Under a new law passed in the waning days of the fiscal year, the Department of Public Welfare now has the authority to limit oral and prescription drug coverage for adult medical assistance recipients and overhaul the special allowance program currently used to pay for tools, training, and work clothing so that TANF recipients can move from welfare to work. According to a report released by CLASP earlier this year, th...

What a week in Harrisburg! The state's fiscal year ends today, but we are not done yet! We need your voice on a couple of key issues over the next two days. 1- Are you frustrated with what happened with the State Budget? Come to a Community Budget Veto on Friday ! 2- Respond to Voter Suppression Vote by Sending Your Rep an Email today 3- Help Us Stop a Bill Giving DPW Authority to Cut Benefits With No Public Input Are You Mad About the State Budget? Join us for a Community Veto of the PA budget on Friday. This week, the PA legislature passed a budget that cuts funding for services, education & health care, without raising a dime of new revenue from the drilling of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, or from the closing of corporate tax loopholes. Join community allies in a symbolic community veto of a budget that rewards a few while it harms our children and our communities. Governor Corbett isn't gonna veto that budget--but we are! WHEN: Friday, July 1 · 12:...

Please make calls today or tomorrow to your state representative and to Rep. Turzai, the House Majority Leader, and Rep. Dermody, the House Minority Leader. Ask them to vote NO on HB 960. It is expected to be voted on quickly after its passage in the PA Senate today. HB 960 would give the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) unbridled power. DPW would have the authority to make drastic cuts affecting Medical Assistance, SNAP (food stamps), child care, welfare-to-work, and cash assistance programs, without proper legislative oversight, or public comment. The cuts would hurt Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable seniors, women, children, victims of domestic violence and people with disabilities. In sum, the amendment would slash Pennsylvania’s safety net – without proper consideration by the General Assembly. Representative Turzai can be reached at 717-772-9943 or mturzai@pahousegop.com . Representative Dermody can be reached at 717-787-3566 or fdermody@pahouse.net . Contact ...

So far this week two bills from the WelFAIR initiative won final passage in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and another was agreed to on second consideration as amended. HB1312 , the bill proposed to change the DPW’s nearly $20 million Special Allowance Program from a grant program into a loan program, was agreed to on second consideration on Tuesday after amendments by Democrats were voted down. The bill won final passage on Wednesday by a vote of 159-29 and will proceed to the PA Senate. HB1297 , the bill proposed to create a requirement for people with felony drug convictions to undergo drug testing in order to receive public benefits, was also agreed to on second consideration on Tuesday after failed attempts by Democrats to make amendments, and won final passage in the House on Wednesday with similar support, by a vote of 164-23. HB1301 , which would limit reimbursements by the Medical Assistance Transportation Program to trips under 50 miles, was agreed to on second...

As Pennsylvania continues searching for a way to close its $4 billion budget gap, the mantra of "cut waste, fraud, and abuse" is growing ever louder.  While ending waste, fraud, and abuse is a critical part of providing good services, these problems are not where the bulk of spending goes .  Meanwhile, programs to reduce such fraud, like random drug testing of TANF recipients, is likely to cost far more than it saves. CLASP has just updated a report on random drug testing to show the cost of these programs.  According to their report, the cost of catching a drug abuser runs between $20,000 and $77,000 per person.  Meanwhile, in most counties, a family of three only receives $403 per month from TANF.  When the state budget is announced on March 8, there will be a number of cost-cutting measures included. As we get closer to budget time, please take a moment to talk to your legislators now to prevent penalizing people using needed services while running up u...

Budget Update Yesterday, Governor Rendell announced his budget proposal for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The deficit for the fiscal year is $525 million (there was a $2 billion deficit last year). In the FY 2010-2011 budget, the Governor is calling for overall spending of $26.3 billion. His budget maintains cuts from last year and does not create any new programs. The Governor also stated his commitment to having a budget signed by the constitutionally mandated deadline of June 30th - unlike last year's budget, which was passed 101 days late. Under the proposal: Adult and Family Literacy will receive funding of $17,510,000 (which matches their current funding under the budget freeze) Child Care Assistance will receive $198,682,000 in funding (an increase of $535,000) Children's Health Insurance will receive $100,375,000 in funding (an increase of $3,263,000, enough to cover approximately 10,300 more children) Community Colleges will receive $214, 217,000 (level funding from th...

CLASP just released a new report on drug testing of welfare recipients , reminding us once again that random drug testing is an expensive and inefficient way to find public benefits recipients in need of treatment (not to mention unconstitutional ). Despite the data showing the inefficiencies of these drug tests, the report notes that at least ten states have introduced bills in the past year to require this testing, in addition to an amendment offered at the federal level (which was defeated). However, in these times of economic crisis, more states (including Pennsylvania ) may look to similar bills to provide “savings” in the state budget. It is important to remember that, based on analysis from other states , these savings don't seem to exist.

This week has seen many news headlines discussing legislation to ensure that people using public programs are not also on drugs. At least eight states are looking to require testing before people can receive TANF, food stamps, or even unemployment. In Pennsylvania, several representatives are looking to introduce legislation requiring testing for welfare recipients. So what’s the problem? The ACLU points out that drug testing of welfare recipients is flawed policy from three standpoints: Fiscally: The drug test itself averages around $42 per person, not including personnel costs. If costs are measured by the number of people “caught,” they could range from $20,000-$77,000 per person – much more than what is spent on the amount of benefits received (the TANF cash grant has not been increased since 1990 , when it was set at between $365 and $421 per month depending on the county a family resides in). Scientifically: Drug testing services note that tests don’t usually catch “ha...