WELFARE CLIENTS PUT TO THE TEST OVER DRUG USE

Loss of benefits possible; program offers treatment for those who fail

BENTON HARBOR -- Tedra Johnson used to smoke marijuana.

But the 22-year-old mother of three doesn't smoke dope anymore because she
knows if she does, she soon would be required to undergo drug treatment or
lose her welfare benefits.

Last year, Berrien County started testing some welfare recipients for drug
use as part of a state program called Project Zero. Each community that is
part of the project tailors its own plan. Johnson failed the drug test last
year and moved out of the county. She gave up marijuana and moved back into
the county, took the test again this year and passed.

"I know they're trying to help, but at the same time they're bringing you
down," she said.

On Oct. 1, Michigan will begin requiring everyone who applies for welfare in
the counties of Alpena, Presque Isle, all of Berrien, plus a section of west
Detroit near Greenfield and Joy roads, to take a drug test.

State officials will offer free drug treatment to those who test positive.
Those who refuse treatment will be booted off welfare.

Some officials are looking to Berrien County for a glimpse of what to
expect.

The program will spread to Kent County and western Wayne County's Romulus
district in February. It is expected to go statewide by 2003, making
Michigan the first state in the country to require a drug test in order to
get benefits.

Some civil libertarians and welfare rights advocates say the program
stigmatizes the poor. Others are concerned some parents could lose custody
of their children. State officials, however, say employers are testing for
drug use so it only makes sense to help welfare recipients with treatment,
as they help with other barriers to work, such as child care and
transportation.

"I did a survey of businesses in the community and we came up with 65 to 70
percent of Berrien County employers who already do drug testing," said Jerry
Frank, Berrien County's Family Independence Agency director. "Our thought
is, we have an obligation to test up front and help with treatment so we
don't send customers to a workplace and have them fail."

No one is sure how big of a problem drug use is among welfare recipients or
how much it will cost to provide treatment. Studies have shown that up to 39
percent of the general public uses drugs, said Ann Marie Sims, who is
setting up the program statewide for the agency.

In Berrien County, unlike the state's plan, the only welfare recipients
required to take a drug test are those who can't find a job after two to
four weeks of Work First, the state's mandatory job search program. Those
folks are referred to Gateway, an employer which teaches basic job skills,
but before they show up, they must take a drug test.

Between January and Aug. 1, 367 welfare recipients were referred to be
tested; 74 failed. Of those, 29 are in treatment, 21 successfully completed
treatment and 24 refused to follow their treatment plan and dropped out. It
costs the county $24 for each drug test. The agency has $100,000 to spend on
the drug program, but during the first six months of the year, spent
$18,000. The remainder went to the cost of treatment. For now, the health
department administers drug tests in Berrien County. A welfare recipient
must urinate in a cup while a health department worker watches through a
two-way mirror. If the urine tests positive for cocaine, opiates or
marijuana, a substance abuse counselor sets up a treatment plan.

Tonya Brumfield, 28, and Nicole Landry, 23, had to take a drug test within
the last few months. Neither uses drugs, but both said the experience was
humiliating.

"They look at you," said Brumfield, of the two-way mirror. "It's
embarrassing."

Frank said the mandatory drug tests will not be done by the health
department beginning Oct. 1, and there will be no two-way mirror at the new
sites. Instead, welfare recipients will receive drug tests from the same
medical companies that test state employees.

In Berrien County, the most commonly used drugs showing up in the urine are
marijuana and cocaine. Most who test positive undergo four weeks of
intensive outpatient therapy, meeting four times each week in three hour
blocks. They then continue to meet once a week for 10 weeks.

Few choose to attend a residency drug treatment program. Daniel McKisson,
manager for substance abuse treatment services at the county's health
department, said the residency program doesn't permit clients to bring their
children. The county is in the process of looking for another treatment
program where kids could attend, he said.

A 37-year-old woman in the intensive outpatient program who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, said she has smoked marijuana for 20 years. She's
been clean for one month. She has two sons, ages 12 and 17. Until she failed
the drug test, she was never forced to confront her drug use, she said.

"There is a whole lot of women in this town who are taking the (welfare
money) and turning it over to the drug dealer to get them their fix," she
said. "This is really a good thing. If they would have had this years ago,
things probably would be better for me."

Other women have mixed feelings about the tests. Johnson, who gave up
occasional marijuana use without treatment, said she fears the state will
use the test to take away people's children. Others said the program is good
because it can help children.

Gwain McCree, deputy director of the Berrien FIA, said the county has not
opened child abuse or neglect cases on women who tested positive for drugs,
and has not taken anyone's children. Instead of separating families, McCree
and Frank said they believe the testing and treatment will keep families
together, since drug use often escalates and if left untreated, could cause
numerous problems for the family later on.

WENDY WENDLAND can be reached at 313-223-4792 or wendland@freepress.com.