A Company Offers Drug Treatment and a Job to Addicted Applicants

Since February, the Belden electric wire factory in Indiana has been offering drug treatment to job applicants who fail the drug screen, and promising jobs to those who complete the program, reports National Public Radio . Area employers have long struggled with failed drug tests, and are trying to find ways to bypass this problem. Belden's program is unique not only in that the company itself is paying for the drug treatment, but is also doing so for those who are not yet in its workforce. "It's not a silver bullet, but it is part of an overall solution, we believe, to the epidemic," says Belden's Doug Brenneke. Seventeen applicants have so far enrolled in the one- to four-month-long course. Brenneke notes the company always needs new recruits, since 33 percent of its workforce is within five years of retirement age. Addiction experts such as Mitch Rosenthal say addicts referred to treatment through work often respond better; he notes employers can often learn of an addiction at an earlier stage, making treatment easier. Employees going through Belden's program also can support each other on the job. "Their sobriety and the fact that they have changed, and are changing their lives, is an encouragement to the people who will come in after them," Rosenthal says.