NEW CITY – The Rockland
County Department of Social Services rejected 89 new applications for
public benefits due to Front End fraud-detection so far this year. That
saved the county $828,242 in cost-avoidance to local taxpayers, said County
Executive Edwin Day.
Since Day took office in January 2014, Front End detection has denied
216 new applications due to questionable information. “Red flags”
were identified by studying existing patterns of welfare fraud by clients
already in the system, and then applying the information to new applicants
with the help f computers and investigative techniques.
Day said his administration is “working to make sure that people
who steal from the system are brought to justice, protecting Rockland
County taxpayers, as well as the limited pool of resources available to
help our must vulnerable neighbors. We simply cannot afford to let our
county’s safety net become a hammock.”
