TANF Substance Abuse Prevention Act

“(8) Certification that the State will operate an illegal drug use screening and testing program

“(A) In general—A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State will operate a program in accordance with section 408(a)(13) to screen all applicants for assistance under the State program funded under this part, and all individuals described in subparagraph (C) of such section, for the use of illegal drugs (as defined in subparagraph (E) of such section), and to test all such applicants and individuals who are found as a result of the screening to have a high risk of substance abuse.

“(B) Authority for continued testing—The program described in subparagraph (A) may include a plan to continue screening or testing individuals receiving assistance under the State program funded under this part for illegal drug use at random or set intervals after the initial screening or testing of the individuals, at the discretion of the State agency administering such State program.”

“(13) Requirement for drug screening and testing; denial of assistance for individuals not screened, or if necessary, tested for the use of illegal drugs

“(A) In general—A State to which a grant is made under section 403 shall not use any part of the grant to provide assistance to any individual who has not been screened for the use of illegal drugs, or who, having been found as a result of the screening to have a high risk of substance abuse, has not been tested for the use of illegal drugs, under the program required under section 402(a)(8).

“(B) Screening method—The method by which substance abuse screening is to be conducted under this paragraph is by means of a survey that has been shown to be effective in identifying likely substance abuse and that is administered by an interview or a self-administered test designed to determine whether an individual should be further evaluated for substance abuse.

“(C) Transition rule—In the case of an individual who is receiving assistance under the State program funded under this part on the effective date of this paragraph, or whose application for assistance is approved before such date if the assistance has not begun as of such date, a State may not provide assistance to the individual unless the individual is screened for illegal drug use in accordance with this paragraph after the 3rd month that begins after such date and, if found as a result of the screening to have a high risk of substance abuse, is tested for the use of illegal drugs, under the program so described.

“(D) Limitation on waiver authority—The Secretary may not waive the provisions of this paragraph under section 1115.

“(E) Illegal drug defined—In this paragraph, the term illegal drug means a controlled substance as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).

“(F) Preservation of assistance for other family members—If an individual is denied assistance under this paragraph, the State shall continue to provide the assistance that would otherwise be provided in respect of the other members of the family of the individual, through protective or vendor payments to a 3rd party for the benefit of the other family members.”