§460.10. Drug testing for certain adult recipients of public assistance;
legislative policy; procedures
A. The legislature hereby reaffirms the legitimate government function
of promoting the safety and welfare of children and adults. The legislature
declares that the best interests of a significant portion of the state's population
are served by ensuring that they are free of the physical and mental
impairments associated with drug dependence. The legislature further
reaffirms its compelling interest in providing safeguards to eliminate the
misappropriation of entitlement benefits. The legislature hereby directs the
secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services in consultation
with the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and the
commissioner of administration to establish a mandatory drug testing program
for certain adults in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant
Program.
B. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services
shall cause to be instituted a mandatory drug testing program for certain adult
participants, to be determined by the secretary in consultation with the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and the commissioner of
administration, in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant
Program. No participant shall be tested if such testing is prohibited by federal
law. No sanction shall be imposed on an adult participant if such sanction is
prohibited by federal law. Such testing program shall provide procedural
safeguards to ensure the protection of the constitutional rights of the program
participants and provide that testing shall be done by state certified
laboratories.
C. The required drug testing program shall require a participant to
complete an education and rehabilitation program upon the initial
identification of such participant as an illegal drug user verified by a positive
test result as a prerequisite to continued receipt of benefits. Further, the drug
testing program shall provide for the suspension of participation in such
entitlement program for a participant subsequently identified by a verified
positive test result as an illegal drug user; however, in no event shall
participation in such entitlement program be suspended while the participant
is taking part in the education and rehabilitation program or until an education
and rehabilitation program is available to the participant. The secretary of the
Department of Children and Family Services in conjunction with the secretary
of the Louisiana Department of Health and the commissioner of administration
shall provide a program of education and rehabilitation for participants so
identified as illegal drug users. Such program shall include regulations
governing the reentry of a suspended recipient into the entitlement program
based on subsequent testing results and completion of education and
rehabilitation programs. Such program shall also include the provision of
inpatient services for any participant identified as an illegal drug user if it is
determined that such inpatient services are necessary for successful
rehabilitation.
D. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services
in consultation with the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and
the commissioner of administration shall promulgate rules and regulations to
implement the provisions of this Section in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act. Such rules and regulations shall provide that the cost of testing
participants for the presence of illegal drugs and the treatment of such
participants pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be borne by the
department or departments that grant the applicable public assistance.
E. The secretary shall prepare a written statistical report on the program
and submit the report to the legislature on or before January 1, 1999 and
annually thereafter.
Acts 1997, No. 1459, §1.
NOTE: ACTS 1997, NO. 1459, §4, PROVIDES FOR
EFFECTIVENESS UPON ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.