NY Soc Serv L § 139-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws SOS - Social Services Article 5 - Assistance and Care Title 1 - General Provisions 139-A - Special Provisions to Avoid Abuse of Assistance and Care.

§ 139-a. Special provisions to avoid abuse of assistance and care.  1. Any  person  who  shall  apply  for  safety  net  assistance  or  family assistance within one  year  after  arrival  in  this  state,  shall  be presumed to have come into the state for the purpose of receiving public assistance or care and the social services official where application is made,  shall  deny  public  assistance and care to such applicant unless such applicant shall establish by clear and convincing  proof  that  the purpose  of  his or her entry was not for the purpose of securing public assistance and care in this state. In addition  to  complying  with  the foregoing  provisions,  the  applicant shall also submit with his or her application a certificate from the appropriate local  employment  office of  the  state  department of labor issued within a two week period from the date of his or her application stating that such  employment  office has  no  order  for  an  opening  in  part-time, full-time, temporary or permanent work of any kind to which  the  applicant  could  properly  be referred  by  such  office,  taking  into  consideration only his or her physical and mental capacity without reference to his or  her  customary occupation or acquired skill.   2.  The  social  services  official  shall  in every case complete his investigation and make his determination of the application  under  this section not more than thirty days after receipt of the application.   3.  (a)  The  social services districts of Allegany, Broome, Dutchess, Niagara,  Onondaga,  Oneida,  Orange,  Oswego,   Rensselaer,   Rockland, Steuben,   and  Suffolk  shall  authorize  and  implement  demonstration projects for the  purposes  of  determining  the  cost-effectiveness  of preventing multiple enrollment of home relief benefit recipients through the use of an automated two-digit finger imaging matching identification system.  The  system  shall  only  include home relief benefit recipient finger imaging upon application for eligibility for  such  benefits  and finger imaging of home relief recipients currently receiving home relief benefits.  (b)  Notwithstanding  the provisions of section one hundred thirty-six of this article or any  other  provision  of  law,  data  collected  and maintained  through  the  use  of  an  automated finger imaging matching identification system as authorized by this subdivision may not be used, disclosed or redisclosed for any purpose other than  the  prevention  of multiple  enrollments in home relief, may not be used or admitted in any criminal or civil investigation, prosecution, or proceeding, other  than a  civil proceeding pursuant to section one hundred forty-five-c 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 a part of  such system.    Any  person  who  knowingly makes or obtains any unauthorized disclosure of data collected  and  maintained  through  the  use  of  an automated  two-digit finger imaging matching identification system shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor, and shall be punished in  accordance with the provisions of the penal law.  (c)  Data  collected  and maintained on the automated two-digit finger imaging  matching  identification  system  shall  be  subject  to  those provisions  relating  to  unauthorized disclosure of confidential client information  currently  subject  to  part  357  of  the   commissioner's regulations.  (d) Such social services districts shall develop a competitive request for   proposal  for  an  automated  two-digit  finger  imaging  matching identification system, and shall thereafter contract for the services of  a firm certified by the department as able to design and implement  such automated  two-digit  finger imaging matching identification system. The department shall oversee the process by which districts select and award contracts for the demonstration projects. Prior to the implementation of any  contracts,  the  department  shall certify that a system exists for data collection and for destroying  and  expunging  a  recipient  finger image upon such recipient ceasing to be a home relief recipient and that the design of the demonstration project fulfills all the requirements of this  section. The department shall provide such assistance as needed to facilitate  finger  image  matching  among  social  services   districts including  centralized  sharing of data when local matching among social services districts is not feasible.  After award the department shall be responsible for ensuring that the demonstration projects are carried out in accordance with the  requirements  of  this  section,  that  adequate training  for  local  district  staff  involved with the project will be provided and taking any actions necessary to bring  such  programs  into compliance  if required.  Such contractual arrangement shall ensure that state payments for the contractor's necessary  and  legitimate  expenses for  the administration of such program are limited to amounts specified in  advance  and  that  such  amounts  shall  not  exceed   the   amount appropriated therefor in any fiscal years.  (e)  Immediate  notice of all the provisions of this subdivision shall be provided to home relief recipients or applicants.  (f) Notwithstanding any other  provision  of  law,  nothing  contained herein   shall  be  deemed  to  authorize  or  permit  the  termination, suspension, or diminution of home relief benefits  except  as  elsewhere specifically  authorized  in this chapter, provided, however, that where the basis of a proposed sanction is  a  determination  of  a  fraudulent multiple  enrollment  based  on  the  use of an automated finger imaging matching identification system authorized pursuant to this  section,  no such  sanction  shall be imposed pending a hearing conducted pursuant to section twenty-two  of  this  chapter  within  forty-five  days  of  the notification  of  the  applicant  or recipient of the alleged fraudulent multiple enrollment, or pending a final determination of a request by an applicant or a  recipient  for  correction  or  amendment  of  a  record pursuant  to section ninety-five of the public officers law, and no such sanction shall be imposed unless the local social services district  has verified   the   results   of  the  automated  finger  imaging  matching identification system by means of a manual match conducted by  a  person who is qualified to perform such identifications.  (g) The department shall conduct periodic audits to monitor compliance with  all  laws  and  regulations regarding the automated finger imaging matching system to insure that any records maintained as  part  of  such system  are  accurate  and complete, that no illegal disclosures of such records have taken place, that effective software and  hardware  designs have  been  instituted  with  security  features to prevent unauthorized access to  such  records,  that  access  to  record  information  system facilities,  systems  operating environments, data file contents whether while in use or  when  stored  in  a  media  library  is  restricted  to authorized  personnel  only,  that operation programs are used that will prohibit inquiry, record updates, or destruction of  records,  from  any terminal  other  than automated finger imaging matching system terminals which are so designated, that operational programs are  used  to  detect and  store  for  the  output  of  designated  department  employees  all unauthorized attempts to penetrate any automated finger imaging matching system, program or file, that adequate and timely  procedures  exist  to insure  that  the recipient or applicant's right to access and review of records  for  the  purpose  of  accuracy  and  completeness,   including  procedures  for  review of information maintained about such individuals and for administrative review (including procedures  for  administrative appeal)  and necessary correction of any claim by the individual to whom the   information   relates   that  the  information  is  inaccurate  or incomplete.  (h) The department shall report to the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the senate on the operation of the  demonstration project  by March first, nineteen hundred ninety-six.  This report shall include analysis of the cost-effectiveness of such  project,  and  shall include information concerning instances of multiple enrollment detected through  use of this system, and shall include a detailed summary of the results of audits required by paragraph (g) of this  subdivision.    The report  shall  include  recommendations  regarding  whether  the program should be discontinued, expanded, or otherwise modified.  (i)  The  department  of  social  services  shall  contract  with   an independent   academic   or  research  organization  (the  "contractor") experienced in evaluating public assistance programs for a comprehensive evaluation of  the  automated  finger  imaging  matching  identification system  authorized in this section. The results of such evaluation shall be set forth in a report which shall include, but not be limited to  the following:  (1)  a  description  of  the demonstration project, its implementation schedule and the problems encountered in implementation;  (2) investigations of each instance where a recipient does not respond to a notice informing the recipient of the  need  to  submit  to  finger imaging. Such investigation shall determine, to the extent possible, why the  recipient  did  not respond and whether such failure to respond was due to the recipient: (a) becoming  eligible  for  federal  supplemental security  income  benefits, if any; (b) no longer being eligible because of earned income, if any; (c) no longer being a resident of the  county, if any; or (d) failing to respond because of other reasons;  (3) an evaluation of historical caseload trends, both statewide and in the demonstration counties, including a study of monthly records for the two  years prior to the demonstration, and also including the closing of cases at recertification. Analysis of  such  monthly  records  shall  be conducted  as  part  of  the  basis  of  estimating  benefits  under the demonstration;  (4) an analysis of the procedures used to verify suspicions  of  fraud including follow-up of identified cases of fraud, if any;  (5)  aggregate  totals  of false matches, if any, found by the system, the methods used to  correct  such  errors  and  an  accounting  of  the duplicate  applications  for  benefits, if any, that are detected by the system; and  (6)  an  estimate  of  the  savings,  if  any,  resulting   from   the implementation of finger imaging, and an estimate of the actual costs of the  system  including, but not limited to equipment costs, the costs of linking terminals, site preparation and  the  costs  of  any  additional staff required to operate the system.  (j)  Not  later  than February first, nineteen hundred ninety-six, the contractor  shall  submit  the  report  required  by  paragraph  (i)  of subdivision  three  of this section to the governor, the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly and to the commissioner of the department of social services.  (k) The local  social  service  districts  establishing  an  automated finger   imaging   matching   identification  system  pursuant  to  this subdivision shall be deemed an agency as defined in subdivision  one  of section  ninety-two  of  the public officers law, and data collected and maintained in such automated system shall be deemed records and  systems  of records as defined in subdivisions nine and eleven of such section of such law. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section, the provisions  of article six-a of such law, known as the "personal privacy protection  law"  shall  apply  to  the  records  and systems of records collected and maintained by such local social service districts pursuant to this section.  (l) Expenditures made by social  services  districts,  and  determined cost effective by the department, including those expenditures necessary for  contracts  planned  or  executed on or before the effective date of this  section,  for  the   design,   development,   implementation   and administrative   costs   of   the   automated  finger  imaging  matching identification system shall be subject  to  one  hundred  percent  state reimbursement.  (m)  The automated finger imaging matching identification system shall be established in the selected districts not later than  October  first, nineteen  hundred  ninety-four,  and  such  demonstration projects shall expire upon the enactment of a chapter of the laws of  nineteen  hundred ninety-five  providing for an automated fraud prevention system based on personally unique identification factors.