Although they exercised due diligence in pursuit of data security, they missed an important consideration that made the data accessible to more people than its intended audience. Privacy should be a premier concern for all of us who develop systems to implement welfare reform. It is not trivial, and it does not come without planning and deliberate execution. There is real potential that by uniting health, criminal records, education and other personal information in one location that the system could be abused. But I believe that so long as we guard against misuse of those files, audit their use and prosecute those who misuse the records, there is not any unreasonable risk.
Welfare reform has time limits on benefits, and various restrictions on eligibility.
Many large welfare systems appear to be failing. Inc. All Rights Reserved.