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Fact check: Viral post errs in list of states requiring drug tests for welfare

Sudiksha Kochi
USA TODAY

The claim: Florida, Kentuck and Missouri are the first three states to require drug testing for welfare applicants

Millions of low-income families in the U.S. apply for welfare programs to help with expenses and basic needs. Some social media users claim that three states are the first to require individuals to undergo drug testing as part of the application process.           

"Here...let me tick some people off...Did you get drug tested today? Thank you Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri, which are the first states that will require drug testing when applying for welfare," reads part of a Nov. 23 Facebook post (direct link, archived link).

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The post was shared more than 50 times in less than a week. A post with the same claim was shared more than 800,000 times since it was posted in 2015.

But the claim is off the mark.

Contrary to the post's claim, Florida and Kentucky do not require drug testing for welfare recipients, state officials told USA TODAY. Missouri does require it, but it's not a new policy and Missouri wasn't the first to implement it..

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.

Kentucky and Florida don't require drug testing

Mike Wynn, a spokesperson for Kentucky’s Legislative Research Commission, told USA TODAY in an email he is unaware of any law in Kentucky that requires recipients of public assistance to undergo drug tests.

Kentucky did introduce a bill in 2011 that would implement a substance abuse screening program for adults seeking monetary public assistance, food stamps or help under the state's medical assistance program, but the bill failed to pass.

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Florida does not require drug testing as a matter of eligibility for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides assistance to low-income families, or any other welfare programs, said Laura Walthall, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The state did pass legislation in 2011 that required adults applying for welfare assistance to undergo drug screening, according to the Florida Times-Union. But the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the law, arguing that mandatory drug testing without probable cause was unconstitutional.

A judge temporarily halted the law in 2011, and a U.S. district judge permanently halted the law in 2013, the Florida Times-Union reported.

Missouri requires drug testing

Missouri passed a law in 2011 that requires "certain applicants for and recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program benefits to be tested for illegal drug use." That law is still in effect, according to John Wells, a spokesperson for Missouri’s House of Representatives.

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But the claim that Missouri is the first state to require drug testing is wrong. 

Arizona was the first state to enact legislation "requiring welfare recipients with reasonable cause to be drug tested" in 2009, according to KJZZ , a National Public Radio member station, and other media outlets. Cash assistance recipients for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program can be drug tested if reasonable cause is established, Brett Bezio, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, told USA TODAY in an email.

Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Florida, Kentucky and Missouri are the first three states to require drug testing for welfare applicants. Florida and Kentucky do not require drug testing for welfare recipients, state officials said. And Missouri wasn't the first to implement this policy, nor did it happen recently – the testing began there in 2011. Arizona was the first state to enact such legislation.

Our fact-check sources:

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