That sure sounds great, except I see this:
Man is down on his luck. Goes to Welfare office. Fills out lengthy application. Interviews. Provides several documents that detail his financial situation. He gains initial approval, pending results of a drug screening. Now comes the kicker; "Sir, we would need $60 today to continue the process. You will need to report to XYZ Clinic to provide a urine sample. If your test is clean, which would be known in approximately 7-10 days, you would be reimbursed for this fee. However, it may take 4-6 weeks for that check to arrive. At that time, you would also begin receiving benefits." So we have this man, required to pay up front to receive benefits. And this would be a government program, so you know they are not going to expediate anything, nor are they going to have a skeleton crew in the newly created Welfare Drug Testing Dept. It would most likely include a whole bunch of bureaucratic red tape at every juncture, a huge procedure manual, intensive training for all kinds of issues related to dealing with the public, a legal team to defend all the lawsuits. Certainly it will reduce the impact of drug abusers that are on the rolls. Sadly, the man I described will be the one that pays, not the tax payer that has things going their way.