United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-09-06 monographic deposited born digital 54 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-346 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-346 P0b002ee180399940 f:d02346 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-346 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-346 GAO-02-346 Federal social security programs Information technology Data bases Computer matching Criminals Social security benefits Supplemental Security Income Program Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance Program Other Written Product A04765

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), is the largest cash assistance program in the United States. For fiscal year 2002, SSA expects to pay SSI benefits totaling $31.5 billion to more than six million financially needy individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled. Since becoming operational in August 1996, the fugitive felon program has provided a valuable service by helping SSA to identify and prevent payments to ineligible SSI benefits recipients and helping law enforcement agencies to locate and and apprehend fugitive felons. Nevertheless, several technological and other barriers are contributing to inefficiencies in the program's operations. Certain information systems that SSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) use in processing matched data are not interoperable or compatible, thus also hindering the efficient exchange of warrant information. Contributing to these inefficiencies is that no one office within SSA has been designated to oversee and manage the overall performance of the fugitive felon program. Consequently, no program officials could explain the overall data sharing and matching process. Largely because of the SSA's and states' limited uses of information technology to support the fugitive felon program, many state law enforcement agencies have been reluctant to enter into data-matching agreements with SSA. According to SSA and law enforcement officials, among the factors that made some states reluctant to enter into the agreements were that some states did not maintain central repositories of warrant information and SSA's guidance for formatting, downloading, and manually transmitting the information created additional resource requirements that some states were unable to meet. The enactment of legislation prohibiting OASI and DI payments to fugitive felons could increase SSA's recovery of improperly paid benefits and prevent more potentially dangerous fugitives from fleeing justice. However, the additional matches of warrant records against OASI and DI recipient files could substantially increase the data processing workloads of both SSA and the FBI's Information Technology Center. SSA may be able to improve the fugitive felon program's operational efficiency and outcomes by exploring its existing telecommunications connectivity supporting other federal, state, and local programs. SSA currently has direct, on-line connections with every state that transmits and receives data supporting various other programs, including its program to suspend SSI, OASI, and DI benefits to prisoners. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-346/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-346.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-346/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-346.pdf GAO-02-346 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-346 Other Written Product GAO-02-346; Social Security Administration: Fugitive Felon Program Could Benefit from Better Use of Technology; Federal social security programs Information technology Data bases Computer matching Criminals Social security benefits Supplemental Security Income Program Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance Program Title 5 Section 552a 5 U.S.C. 552a Volume 202 Page 2105 202 Stat. 2105 Public Law 93-579 Public Law 100-503 Public Law 104-193