New drug testing-policy required for welfare recipients

El Paso County welfare recipients who are suspected of abusing drugs or alcohol may be required to complete a drug test, beginning Monday.

If they refuse to take the test, they will lose their benefits.

More than 2,000 people in El Paso County need financial assistance every month.

If you’re one of them, you may soon have to take a drug test- because of a new policy.

“If they have slurred speech, if they smell of alcohol, or, if they stumble or their behavior is erratic. That may be reasonable suspicion that they’re using a substance,” Cheryl Schnell of El Paso County Human Services said.

If a caseworker has a “reasonable suspicion” that a recipient is abusing drugs or alcohol, he or she may be have to be tested.

“We would have a conversation about it. If you smell like marijuana, would that affect your job interview? That’s our focus, it’s about that self-sufficiency employment,” Schnell said.

Kaylyn Dowse, a single mother on welfare, says she has no problem with the new drug test policy.

“It took me a lot to get clean a few years back. Having someone there to push you is a good thing. I did it on my own, and it was hard. I’m glad about the way they’re handling it. They’re not just going to test you and boot you if you fail, they’re giving you options to get treatment and get clean,” said Dowse.

Those who refuse to get help through a treatment program will also lose their funding.

“You have to get a drug tests to do any job out here, why shouldn’t you have to get one to get money from the state? They’re not going to give you money to go get high,” Dowse said.

But not everyone sees it that way. The American Civil Liberties Union says the policy is an invasion of privacy. Unions say it singles out limited-income people.

“We don’t see it as an invasion of privacy,” said Schnell. “I see it as an opportunity for people to get treatment and become stable.”

The new regulation affects anyone in El Paso County on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, also known as Colorado Works.