U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Employee Drug Testing: Status of Federal Agencies' Programs

NCJ Number
132320
Date Published
1991
Length
37 pages
Annotation
The US General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted an evaluation in 1990 of the approval and implementation of Federal agencies' employee drug testing plans, the personnel and drugs subject to testing, program costs, and testing results. The GAO report is based on agency plans, Department of Health and Human Services analyses of these plans, and Office of Management and Budget estimates.
Abstract
GAO found that, of the 122 agencies authorized to conduct drug testing programs as of September 30, 1990, 40 have begun tests. The head of each executive agency must determine the number of personnel in testing designated positions (TDPs) and the frequency of drug tests. In all Federal agencies, over 460,000 employees are in TDPs. While agencies vary in the extent to which they plan to test TDP employees, the number of anticipated annual tests exceeded 162,000. Most agencies intend to test for the presence of marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and PCP. Budget estimates of program costs totaled $11.3 million for fiscal year 1991. The 40 agencies reporting they have begun testing had performed over 31,000 tests in the 6-month period ending September 30; illegal drugs were found in 169 of these tests, or about 0.5 percent. 5 tables, 2 figures, and 4 appendixes