I don't agree that recipients of assistance should be given a mandatory drug tested. That is a discriminatory practice in that it assumes everyone who needs assistance is a drug abuser and that usage was what created the need. While I completely understand the frustration involved, I also must add that the cash assistance is not usually the only assistance one gets. Recipients usually get food stamps, assistance in paying for daycare, as well as free or very low cost medical assistance. Most are eligible for assistance with housing, but it's harder to get and many do not take advantage of that benefit. Then, of course, there is the assistance in paying for school and/or finding a job. It is what you make of it.
Public assistance is not meant to give anyone a cushy life, it's meant for survival and is meant to be temporary. And, yes, it is an absent parents responsibility to pay for the welfare of their child, but more often than not, it is tax payers who take on that responsibility.
I've done this work for 25 years and I have to say that there have been times when my clients had more spendable income than I did. Being a single parent is not easy on most.