DRUG-TEST RULE FOR WELFARE IS HALTED BY JUDGE

Michigan's experimental program requiring welfare applicants to be
tested for drugs was blocked Wednesday by a federal judge who said the
practice appears to be unconstitutional.

Under the program that began Oct. 1, most welfare applicants in three
western counties and a portion of the Detroit suburbs must provide
urine samples before being considered for benefits.

No one who tests positive will be denied food stamps or assistance
checks, and police won't be notified. But offenders who don't go to
state-ordered treatment risk the gradual loss of benefits.

Although a few other states require limited drug testing for some
welfare recipients, none has made it part of the application process
for family benefits, as Michigan's program did, said the New
York-based Legal Action Center, a nonprofit policy group.