§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.