NORWICH – In an effort to reduce instances of fraud and welfare abuse, the Chenango County Department of Social Services has adopted changes to its finger printing system that it says will help track down individuals who are questioned of cheating the system.

Last month, DSS became one of eight counties in the state to sign up for a notification feature that’s available within the statewide Automated Finger Imaging System, or AFIS. By using the feature, the DSS investigation unit can request to be notified when a certain individual who is under investigation for fraud or abuse seeks help from another department. Notifications make the fraud unit aware of that person being in the building.

AFIS notifications connect the fraud unit to all departments in the agency that are susceptible to fraud or abuse, including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps), Temporary Assistance, and Home Energy Assistance.

“This will help us connect a certain person with the unit that’s looking for them,” explained DSS Deputy Commissioner Daniel Auwarter. “There have been many situations where the fraud unit is trying to conduct an investigation on a person for various reasons. Maybe they’re not returning calls or we can’t verify an address or they could be homeless; so they’re having difficulty connecting with the person. If that person is here in the building, this system helps make sure that they can connect.”