Referrals may come from members of the public, but most come directly from DHS caseworkers. If an OIG investigator discovers fraud in an amount above the threshold for felony prosecution, OIG refers the case to the appropriate county or district attorney. OIG may refer cases that are not prosecuted to an administrative disqualification hearing if the client has been documented as having committed fraud previously or to the DHS Recovery Unit for recovery of the overpayment. Although a previous analysis of OIG by TPR recommended referral tracking, OIG does not keep statistics on the number of referrals received, accepted or rejected for either the fraud prevention program or the post-fraud program. OIG has an automated case management system but does not use it for the collection, entry or use of referral statistics.
Many states use telephone hotlines to help catch public assistance cheaters.
South Dakota started a welfare fraud hotline in July 1992 considered successful largely due to the extensive publicity. The state held press conferences, distributed posters and sent notices to those receiving public assistance checks. This program has allowed South Dakota to catch fraud that might not otherwise have been caught by routine computer matching. Other states with welfare fraud hotlines include Louisiana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Kentucky and New Jersey. New York has a computer matching program with neighboring states to check for concurrent enrollment in public assistance programs.