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Utah House approves targeted drug‑screening for TANF applicants amid debate over treatment capacity
Summary
The Utah House passed House Bill 155 to screen and selectively drug‑test TANF applicants who screen positive for likely substance dependency; sponsor said tests will identify about 10% of applicants for treatment and that Medicaid will cover treatment costs. Lawmakers pressed the sponsor on study sources, treatment wait times and safeguards for children.
The Utah House on March 1 passed House Bill 155, a measure that establishes targeted screening and conditional drug testing for applicants to the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
Representative Wilson, the bill’s sponsor, told colleagues the measure inserts a written screening questionnaire into the Family Employment Program used to administer TANF benefits. He said the screening tool — analogous to tools the Department of Workforce Services already uses in counseling — will identify an estimated 10 percent of applicants as likely to have a substance‑use problem; those applicants would then be asked to take a drug test and, if positive, to enter treatment rather than be barred from benefits unless they refuse treatment.
Wilson said the department currently uses…
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