DRUG TESTING FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Despite a lawsuit seeking to stop it, a pilot program mandating drug tests
for welfare recipients began in Michigan on Oct. 1.

The program, overseen by the state Family Independence Agency, is designed
to help those on the dole get ready for the rules of the workplace, as well
as to make sure the state isn't subsidizing drug use. Those who test
positive will be offered treatment and will be denied benefits only if they
refuse to be tested or treated.

Still, there are those who prefer welfare as we have long known it. Civil
libertarians and welfare rights activists claim such testing runs afoul of
the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

``Forcing parents to choose between providing for their children and giving
up their privacy rights is a giant step backward for public policy in
Michigan,'' said Kary Moss, executive director of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Michigan.

Such thinking is in no way progressive because it's business as usual. The
fact is that nearly half of the American work force is now tested for
illegal drugs as a condition of employment. And if workers can be forced to
take a drug test to be eligible to earn a paycheck, then it is not
draconian to ask those receiving public aid to do the same.

The object of this policy is not to punish drug-abusing parents. The goal
is to get them ready for employment, which increasingly demands drug-free
employees. This cannot be accomplished if the state inadvertently provides
the cash for drugs.

It also sends a message early that receiving a welfare check will not be a
permanent lifestyle. For too long, irresponsible behavior, including
reckless procreation, was subsidized by the state. There was little
incentive to change, and generational dependency became the trend. In 1996
governors, Congress and the president all agreed that it was time for this
to stop.

The Michigan program and others that are sure to follow may possibly be
ruled unconstitutional. So far the U.S. Supreme Court has been reluctant to
sanction drug-testing programs where public safety is not at stake, but
that shouldn't stop states from going through with policies they can
clearly see are for the public good.

The Michigan drug-testing program is progressive, not punitive. It is
designed to help people turn their lives around. It will help them break
the bonds of dependency - chemical and otherwise - to eventually lead
independent lives. And that is the most fundamental right a civilized
society can offer.