WELFARE RECIPIENT DRUG TESTS GET GO-AHEAD

Governor Lauds Court Ruling, But Appeal Likely

LANSING -- A federal Court of Appeals on Friday cleared the way for
Michigan to test welfare recipients for drugs, saying such programs are
constitutional.

The decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could have a
significant impact nationally. Michigan was the first state to put such a
drug-testing program in place, and many other states have been watching
this case, the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday.

Gov. John Engler praised the decision and said Michigan is reviewing the
steps it needs to take to reinstate the program.

"We know that drugs are a significant barrier to employment, and testing
and treatment for welfare recipients for drug use is consistent with our
goal of helping them reach true self-sufficiency," Engler said in a statement.

Robert Sedler, the attorney who sued the state Family Independence Agency
on behalf of several welfare recipients and the ACLU, said he will appeal
the case to the full 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel
issued Friday's decision.

"It's been our position that the decision is inconsistent with existing
law, because we are dealing here ... with the suspicionless testing of
adults," he said.

Michigan's drug-testing program began Oct. 1, 1999. Five weeks later, U.S.
District Court Judge Victoria Roberts halted it with a restraining order,
saying it likely violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against
unreasonable search and seizure.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Roberts' decision Friday,
saying the drug-testing program is constitutional and based on a legitimate
need to protect the children of recipients and the public.

It pointed to four U.S. Supreme Court decisions allowing drug-testing where
no suspicion is present, including a 1989 decision allowing drug-testing of
U.S. Customs Service officials.

"Here, the public interest lies (in) ensuring both that the public monies
are expended for their intended purposes and that those monies not be spent
in ways that will actually endanger the public," the appeals court said in
its seven-page opinion.

The court also said welfare recipients should have a "diminished
expectation of privacy," and that the privacy interests of recipients don't
outweigh the state's interests.

Berrien County FIA Director Jerry Frank on Friday deferred comments about
the appellate decision to the state FIA office.

State FIA Director Doug Howard said the decision will allow his agency to
help people whose drug problems keep them from getting and retaining jobs.

"This approach is the right thing to do," he said.

Berrien County was one of the original pilot drug-testing programs.

Although Roberts stopped drug testing in November 1999, Berrien County had
already started drug testing welfare recipients a month earlier along with
two other pilot sites -- Alpena/Presque Isle and an area of Wayne County.

During October 1999, Berrien ran 178 tests and got 132 results back from
those tests, according to information on the state FIA Web site. Of the 132
results, 120 were negative and 12 were positive for drug use.

Of all the 258 drug test results from the three state test sites in 1999,
21 tests, or 8 percent, came back positive. Of the 21 positive results,
three tests indicated cocaine in the test recipient's system. The other
tests were positive for marijuana.

Michigan's program would randomly test 20 percent of welfare recipients
every six months. An individual who tests positive for drugs would have to
go to a drug treatment agency. The state could refuse welfare benefits if a
recipient failed to take the test or comply with a drug treatment plan.

Kary Moss, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, said the state is
unfairly singling out welfare recipients.

"It is a very big door that the 6th Circuit opened today, by allowing the
government to have authority to drug-test a group of people simply because
they get some form of government assistance," she said. "Who's next?
Students who get loans? Taxpayers who get deductions?"

According to the Welfare Information Network, based in Washington, D.C.,
states that have some form of drug-testing for welfare recipients include
Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Oregon.

"It's clear that the Michigan case had a chilling effect, but some states
have gone ahead and done it anyway," said Andrea Wilkins, a policy analyst
with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick Posthumus on Friday hailed the
federal appeals court decision.

Posthumus, the lieutenant governor, said the ruling would help people
escape welfare dependency. He questioned whether his Democratic opponent,
Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, would continue the program if elected.

"Does she plan to implement it? That's the real issue," Posthumus said at a
news conference.

Sage Eastman, a spokesman for Posthumus, said Granholm has called
drug-testing "degrading and demeaning" and questioned whether she would
implement the law.

But Chris De Witt, a spokesman for Granholm, said she would implement the
law if elected on Nov. 5. He also pointed out that Granholm defended the
law as the attorney general.

"She had some concerns about the law but she defended it and she will
implement it when she is governor," De Witt said.