Onondaga County’s Department of Social Services – Economic Security is responsible for providing public benefit programs to the citizens of our county. More than 120,000 members of our community will receive some benefit through DSS-ES this year. The benefits available vary greatly, from Temporary Assistance and SNAP (food stamps), to energy assistance (HEAP), day care subsidies, child support and medical insurance (Medicaid). The downturn in the economy has increased the need for these programs dramatically. In fact, 25 percent of Onondaga County’s population qualifies for assistance in some way through DSS-ES.
Ensuring the integrity of our public benefit programs is critical which is why Onondaga County’s Fraud Division is so important. The Fraud Unit handles referrals, conducts investigations, recovers overpayments and prepares cases for criminal and civil prosecutions. They work with several agencies to conduct joint investigations, such as the USDA. On an annual basis, our Fraud Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture team up to investigate clients and stores involved in the misuse of benefits. The USDA will follow up with store owners that are breaking the law, and our Fraud Division will further investigate our clients to determine if fraud has been committed.
Recently, a link was added to the DSS-ES website to facilitate the public’s ability to report fraud. Suspected cases of fraud can now be filed by filling out an online form. You can also call the Investigations Unit directly at 435-2585. All calls are kept confidential and your identity will not be disclosed. Fraud investigations are taken seriously and every allegation is reviewed.
The Onondaga County DSS-ES Fraud Unit is one of the best in the state, saving more than $14 million in county, state and federal funds in the last year alone. This is accomplished in two ways; the first is cost avoidance, such as closing a case or stopping an investigation, and the second is actually recovering funds that were inappropriately paid.
Approximately 5,000 eligibility investigations resulted in nearly $10 million in cost avoidance, for example. And, 2,000 fraud investigations were completed resulting in the recovery of $1.7 million. Disqualification consent agreements have also resulted in over $800,000 in repayment agreements and nearly $1.7 million in cost avoidance.
Additional fraud resources are also available at 1-877-873-7283 (Medicaid/Medical Assistance), 1-800-269-0271 (Social Security) and 1-800-424-9121 (Food Stamps/SNAP).
As a public servant, I believe that it is imperative that we do everything in our power to prevent fraud and abuse and to ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent appropriately and wisely so as to minimize the financial burden on taxpayers.
Casey Jordan represents the 14th district, which includes the eastern portion of the town of Clay and the village of North Syracuse. Casey welcomes constituent feedback and can be contacted at 699-7246 or by email at [email protected].
