New York City: Fingerprints for Auditing Food Stamps

Fingerprinting Those Seeking Food Stamps Is Denounced (New York Times)

New York City, where 1.8 million people receive food stamps, is one of only two jurisdictions in the country that require applicants to be fingerprinted, according to Ms. Quinn’s office. The other is Arizona.

California and Texas recently lifted a similar requirement; New York stopped using fingerprinting for food-stamp recipients statewide in 2007, but kept it in New York City at the Bloomberg administration’s request.

Robert Doar, the commissioner of the city’s Human Resources Administration, said the policy deterred fraud and prevented case duplication, catching 1,200 duplicated cases a year and saving about $4 million annually in federal benefits.

The Gothamist also has a poll associated with its article on the issue. Currently, a slim majority of the 296 respondents answer in the affirmative to the question, "Should Food Stamp Recipients Be Fingerprinted?" This despite the generally disapproving tone of the two linked articles.