BLACK TOWNSHIP, Ind. -- A Southwest Indiana Township now requires applicants for emergency aid to pass a drug test.

Black Township started mandatory testing earlier this month.

Trustee Lindsay Suits says they are the first township in Indiana to make the requirement.

Suits also says the screenings will not only help battle the area's drug problems, it will also make them better prepared for the workforce, and less likely to ask for aid in the future.

"Sometimes helping in saying we need to get you ready for employment," said Suits.  "The first step to that is breaking their dependency to drugs."

Suits says more than 35 people have applied for aid this year, but that 30 percent of applicants have tested positive.