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State Considering Public Assistance Authentication Options

California has been testing an identity verification program for public assistance programs such as CalWORKS or cash assistance.

California has been testing an identity verification program for public assistance programs such as CalWORKS or cash assistance.

Placer, Napa, Riverside, Los Angeles, Stanislaus and Ventura counties have piloted the non-biometric system, known as a knowledge-based authentication (KBA) method, since late 2016. The pilot program is in response to Senate Bill 89 of 2017, which requires “the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to implement and maintain an automated, non-biometric identity verification method in the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program to replace the Statewide Fingerprint Imaging System (SFIS).”

The fingerprinting system must be replaced by July 2018, according to the law. Programs such as the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program (CalWORKS) began using fingerprinting to verify recipients' identities in the mid-1990s with federal welfare reform.

“Part of it is, it can be very intrusive,” said Lynn Perez, deputy director of Napa County’s Health and Human Services Self-Sufficiency program. "And we have to have the client come in, while [with] this other process, a lot of it can be done over the phone," Perez told Techwire.

A legislative report from November 2017, outlining replacement options, describes the fingerprinting system as “stigmatizing for applicants” and “cumbersome, requiring significant documentation to be provided.” The SFIS can validate that the information is correct but can't necessarily authenticate their identity.

The KBA system, which was licensed through Pondera Solutions, overrules the need for fingerprinting recipients and instead asks questions about address, asset and educational history that could only be answered by the legitimate user.

The new system verifies identity through matching birthdates and Social Security numbers to names and then authenticates the individual by quizzing them with four multiple choice questions about their history, according to Michael Weston, public information officer for the Department of Social Services. The KBA system indicates whether answers are correct through a color-coded system — green for pass, red for a problem and yellow for a questionable response.

“We did parallel processes, and we do it because it was small for us," Perez said. "We don’t have that many cases. We wanted to see what would benefit our clients.” 

Recipient verification reduces fraud by identifying applicants and confirming they are receiving aid in only one county.

The fingerprinting program costs the state $12.3 million, and both methods are used during the pilot test so that results can be compared. The legislative report estimates it will cost $2.4 million to phase out the SFIS over six months.

“I don’t know at this point what the direction they are going to go with in the identity verification program,” Perez said of the report’s results.

About 1,800 people took part in the pilot. No duplicate cases were found by either system, but 20 cases were flagged as having moved from one county to another.

Kayla Nick-Kearney was a staff writer for Techwire from March 2017 through January 2019.