Testing Costs

"None of the State cost estimates identified for this paper showed net savings resulting from proposed drug testing programs, though these are all legislative cost estimates rather than rigorous cost?benefit analyses. Also, none of the State cost estimates identified described anticipated unit costs of drug testing programs. However, an article from a magazine published by The Society for Human Resources Management reported in 2005 that, “testing an applicant or employee ranges from $25 to $44 for urinalysis... [while] hair follicle testing costs $75 to $150 per test.”³⁵ News reports regarding the implementation of Florida’s new drug testing policy have cited an estimate of $30 per TANF recipient for the drug tests being required of applicants,³⁶ though the State’s drug testing pilot program in the early 2000s cost $90 per test once staff costs and other program costs were included.³⁷ Testing costs among the Indian Tribes that currently administer drug tests in their TANF programs ranges from $15 per client to $89 per client, with most reporting unit costs in the range of $30 to $50.³⁸"