Officials to look into data mining

Valley Press on ^ | Wednesday, May 30, 2007. | JAMES RUFUS KOREN

[BenLurkin]

LOS ANGELES - Officials will look into how electronic data mining might help Los Angeles County root out and prevent fraud in public assistance programs. The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to study the possibility of use of data-mining technology and of training public assistance staff members in fraud prevention techniques.

" 'Data mining' is a $10 term for collaboration between agencies and information sharing," said Tony Bell, aide to 5th District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

Using data mining, the county would be able to check if applicants for county-administered aid programs are also getting assistance from other programs or agencies, said Helen Berberian, another Antonovich aide.

"The concept is to be able to get information from different county public assistance databases," she said. "We can see if the same family is receiving assistance from various county agencies and see if they're double-dipping."

Berberian said data-mining programs at the state were responsible for exposing three doctors who had been defrauding Medi-Cal, saving the state $274 million.

"We thought if it works so well for Medi-Cal, why can't we use the same system to look at the county's public assistance programs," Berberian said.

The state investigates fraud in Medi-Cal and in-home supportive services programs, while counties investigate fraud in child care, welfare and food stamp programs

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

Don’t defraud the California public assistance program.....THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE ENOUGH $$$$$ TO GIVE TO THE ILLEGALS!!!!!!!!!!

[Kirkwood]

When nothing else works, turn to data mining. It produces nothing of substance, but it makes you look like you are working very hard on the problem.

[Jeff Chandler]

But I thought data mining was an evil neocon Bush Cheney Halliburton trashing of the Constitution? Oh, that’s right. That’s only if done to prevent Moslems from killing us.