Welfare Reform And High Tech
The Changed Landscape Of Welfare Fraud Investigations Unit

The TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) legislation produced a fundamental philosophical change in the approach to the State's welfare system. As the welfare system shifts its focus to transitioning individuals into the workforce, "welfare-to-work," the legislation also created a whole new vocabulary for those working in welfare services and investigations; welfare-to-work, one-stop or work resource centers, nationwide prisoner matches, fleeing felon matches, including parole and probation violators, convicted drug felons, statewide fingerprint imaging systems. Each new program has added a layer of investigative resources and tools needed to verify eligibility to public assistance.

In this environment, although the mission of the Welfare Fraud Unit remains unchanged, this specialized unit must bridge the gap between delivery of social services to the needy with investigation and detection of fraud. The welfare fraud investigations remain a true form of community policing. Changes precipitated by the 1996 welfare reform legislation have resulted in rapid increases in the use of large-scale computer databases. Investigators combine the ability to integrate large amounts of documentation with the day-to-day requirements of law enforcement people skills to deal with the population served by the Department of Social Services.