[Adopted 9-14-1993 by L.L. No. 20-1993 (Ch. 166, Art. III,
of the 1985 Code)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Commissioner of the County Department of Social Services.
A.
The County Department of Social Services is hereby authorized, empowered and directed, pursuant to § 21 of the New York Social Services Law, to establish and implement a Finger Imaging Identification for Recipients of Public Assistance Program for the finger-imaging identification and matching of recipients of public assistance, designed to prevent welfare fraud and abuse to the maximum extent permissible by law, by determining eligibility for such payments through such finger-imaging identification. Initially, this program shall be limited to recipients of home relief and may be expanded at a subsequent date to recipients of other forms of public assistance, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).[1]
B.
The Department is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to prepare
and circulate a request for proposal (RFP) for the purpose of engaging
the services of an organization capable of providing (design and implementation)
finger-imaging identification technology that displays the color photo,
referenced data and finger image on a single operator's monitor,
which RFP shall include at least the requirement that 100% of the
savings generated by the program be utilized to amortize the cost
of the peripheral system and initial enrollment, with the balance
of savings beyond such initial amortization cost to be split no more
than 50/50 between the contract vendor and the County of Suffolk.
The contract for these services shall be subject to County legislative
approval and/or ratification.
C.
The Department shall not share with the criminal justice system the
actual results of finger-imaging identification of recipients applying
for public assistance obtained under this program or use, or disclose
or redisclose such results for any purposes other than the prevention
of multiple enrollments. However, nothing contained herein shall preclude
the administrative expansion of this program to cover recipients of
other forms of public assistance as agreements are worked out with
the state and/or federal government. The data collected and maintained
by this program shall not be used, disclosed or redisclosed for any
purpose other than the objective of this article and may not be disclosed
in response to a subpoena or other compulsory legal process or warrant,
or upon request or order of any agency, authority, division, office
or other private or public entity or person, except that nothing contained
herein shall prohibit disclosure in response to a subpoena issued
by or on behalf of the applicant or recipient who is the subject of
the record maintained as part of such system.
D.
The full cost of expenditures by the County for the design, development
and implementation of this system shall be borne by the County, if
necessary, less any federal or state funds made available for such
purposes, including the following: acquisition, installation, maintenance
and operation of a County computer; acquisition, installation and
maintenance of the telecommunications network and equipment; development
and provision of County-mandated forms; modification of existing data
processing operations determined by the Department to be necessary
to assure systems compatibility; and development and provision of
training materials, equipment and costs of staff for training provided
by the County.
E.
The Commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to negotiate
such agreements with the state and federal government as shall be
necessary and appropriate to implement this program, said agreements
to be submitted to the County Legislature for approval and/or ratification.
F.
The Commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to negotiate
such agreements with other counties as shall be necessary and appropriate
to implement this program on a regional basis with cooperative testing
and the joint sharing of the identification information amongst such
counties, said agreements to be submitted to the County Legislature
for approval and/or ratification.
The Commissioner of the Department is hereby authorized, empowered
and directed to adopt, issue and promulgate such rules and regulations
as he or she shall deem necessary and appropriate to carry out and
fully implement this article. These rules and regulations shall include
the rules and procedures for terminating, suspending or reducing home
relief or TANF benefits based on a determination of fraudulent multiple
enrollment or ineligibility for such payment through such finger-imaging
identification.
This article shall apply to all pertinent applicants filing
for public assistance in Suffolk County occurring on or after the
effective date of this article, each of whom shall receive immediate
notice of the provisions of this article.
Any willful violation of § 221-13C of this article shall constitute an unclassified misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to one $1,000 and/or six months in jail. Each violation shall be deemed a separate offense.
