History

Capitol Office:

201 W Capitol Ave., Rm. 331

Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

Dear, Senator Rob Schaaf

My name is Tom Marler I am writing to you on behalf of the Citizens of Missouri to express our concern in your support of HB 1377(Restriction on Temporary Assistance benefits for Needy families). According to this bill individual's who test positive for drugs must enter a drug treatment facility or they will lose their benefits. If they test positive again after completing the drug treatment they will lose their benefits for two years. The first obstacle your support stirs up is how are we going to pay for the parent's drug treatment? According to the Senate's budget plan for 2011 it calls for a ten percent deduction in aid to support drug treatment and cuts in other social programs that would aid in the success of this bill.

The second concern I have with HB 1377, is how the children are going to be protected who are caught in the middle. The main point many politicians make is, that children who are raised in households with drug addicted parent are not safe, and I agree. But according to John Aliperti who is a drug counselor at a treatment facility says," Drug addiction is not an individual problem but a family problem because the parent who is the drug addict is desperately trying to stay off drugs to see their kids.

This brings up my final concern when this bill; you are not only hurting low-income families but using legislation to control the morals of a particular group of Missouri families. According to Missouri Department of