County Supervisors place measure on Nov. 5 ballot to tie public assistance to drug tests

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to add a ballot measure requiring county aid recipients to undergo drug screening.

Measure R, also known as “Illegal Substance Dependence Screening and Treatment for Recipients of County Public Assistance,” specifically targets single adults receiving essential living expenses from the county Human Service Agency’s General Assistance program.

District 3 Supervisor Tom Patti brought the ballot proposal to the Board of Supervisors to not only promote their ongoing stance supporting individuals in accessing drug rehabilitation while bringing accountability.

”If we can prompt that person and save lives here in San Joaquin County and use this as a tool to help us in engage that person and get their support to participate, I believe this is worth supporting,” Patti said.

Aid recipients who refuse drug screenings and evaluations would face losing their benefits.

“Today the Board took action in response to overwhelming public support for reform in how we address homelessness, drug addiction, and theft in San Joaquin County,” Supervisor Miguel Villapudua said in a press release announcing the board’s decision.

The General Assistance program provides eligible recipients $75 on an EBT card each month for up to nearly five months, totaling a maximum of $367, to pay for items such as food, utilities, housing and other costs. Just over 400 county residents are currently supported by the program each month, which cost the county $301,354 during the 2023-2024 fiscal year. 

If the measure is approved by voters in November, about five to 10 program recipients would be affected by the change after taking effect in January.

The county’s new Measure R mirrors that of similar legislation in San Francisco, which authorized drug testing of city aid recipients 65 and under with no dependent children. San Francisco’s measure was approved by 58% of voters during the March primary.

Genevieve Valentine, director of San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services (BHS), who will carry out the drug testing, noted during Thursday’s Board of Supervisors meeting that the county would be unprepared to carry out additional drug screenings in January when the law would take effect due to a lack of staffing required for the extra work.

It was not made clear during the board of supervisors meetings as to how BHS intends on carrying out the additional drug testing assigned to the agency under Measure M. BHS did not respond to requests for comment regarding the issue.

Aid recipients who refuse to participate in drug screening would lose their benefits after a 30-day period. However, recipients may receive an extension for housing assistance to prevent eviction.

According to Patti, the county would most likely request money from local, state and federal resources to provide BHS assistance to carry out the additional drug screening.

“If we can establish a need then we can allocate resources,” Patti told Stocktonia by phone.

The proposition adopts similar language to San Francisco’s recently-passed measure to ensure a regional continuity with their counterparts according to Patti. During last week’s meeting, supervisors expressed concerns over individuals migrating to San Joaquin Valley to receive benefits they otherwise wouldn’t have received in places like San Francisco.

Valentine noted that fine details pertaining to the release of client medical data from BHS to HSA and what participation is under Measure R need to be established if they intend on enforcing the ballot measure.

To enforce the ordinance the county needs to create guidelines to allow for the release of information of people undergoing drug tests or participation in rehabilitation as currently individuals may opt to not release any information. 

A discrepancy appeared between the ordinance proposed and the ballot measure presented to SJC voters in November. The ordinance and subsequent press releases about the ballot measure say all adults receiving aid will be drug tested. Meanwhile, the ballot measure specifies adults 65 years old and under.

San Joaquin County Counsel, Edward J. Kiernan clarified that the verbiage of the ordinance reflects the current limits of the General Assistance Program. “So if someone is not an adult or is an adult over age 65 or is an adult with dependent children, the General Assistance Program does not apply to him/her,” Kiernan said During the same meeting the supervisors voted unanimously to support California Proposition 36 which reclassifies fentanyl as a hard drug increasing penalties for users and traffickers of the substance.

Edward Lopez is serving a summer internship with Stocktonia. He is a graduate of Columbia University.