Wisconsin officials faced an Oct. 1 deadline to put in place drug screening requirements for certain FoodShare recipients. But three weeks later, the state Department of Health Services has yet to implement them.
A DHS official didn’t indicate in a Monday email to the Cap Times that the department has a timeline for doing so.
It’s not uncommon for agencies to delay the implementation of certain changes. But DHS also has yet to submit a report or any updates to the Legislature’s budget committee on its plan to put in place the drug screening, testing and treatment requirements for certain non-disabled adults without children that are participating in the FoodShare Employment and Training program.
That requirement — as well as the Oct. 1 implementation deadline — was included in legislation approved under former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s administration. But a review of DHS reports to the Joint Finance Committee didn’t uncover any related to the FSET drug screening provisions, including any requests for a timeline extension to implement the requirements.
The 2013-15 state budget created a rule for some recipients of the state’s food stamp program known as FoodShare: If you’re an able-bodied adult without children living at home, you must work at least 80 hours a month or look for work to stay in the program.
That rule went into effect in April, and between July and September, about 25 percent of the 60,000 recipients eligible to work were dropped from the program when the penalty took effect, according to DHS data.
Meanwhile, about 4,500 recipients found work through a new job training program for FoodShare recipients.
We’re talking about single, able-bodied adults. If they are not willing to even look for work, why should the rest of us be handing our hard-earned tax dollars to feed them? This allows those resources to be focused on those who actually need them and are trying to improve their lot in life.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage’s administration says more than 9,000 Maine residents have been removed from the food stamps program since it began enforcing work requirements last year.
The number of people dropped from the program exceeded the administration’s expectations. Advocates say they fear it’s forcing more residents to rely on food pantries.
Under the change, adults who are not disabled and do not have dependents cannot receive food stamps for longer than three months unless they work at least 20 hours a week, participate in a work-training program or meet volunteering requirements.
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesman told The Associated Press that 12,000 nondisabled adults were in the program before Jan. 1. That number has dropped to 2,680.
