Advocates Hail the End of Finger-Imaging

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 17th, 2012

Contact: Theresa E. Hassler, Director of Communications
thassler@nyccah.org
(314) 276-7691 – mobile
(212) 825-0028 ext. 212

Advocates Hail the End of Finger-Imaging

The following is a statement from Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger:

“We thank Governor Cuomo for having the courage to end this counterproductive and discriminatory policy, which is essentially an ‘electronic stop and frisk.’ The Governor understands that ending child hunger is not only the compassionate, moral thing to do, but it also would have the very concrete benefits of boosting educational performance, aiding our economy, reducing health care spending, and reducing poverty.

Given that about half of all those who receive food stamp benefits are children – and that New York State has far lower program participation than similar states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois – there is no question that one of the best ways to reduce child hunger in New York is to boost the number of eligible families who receive federally-funded food stamps benefits.

It is also clear that one of the best ways to ensure that eligible families receive the benefits they need is to eliminate the wasteful, harmful process of finger imaging, which costs millions of dollars, yet fails to prevent any program fraud or duplication that is not more easily and cheaply detected through processes successfully used in the 48 other states that do not finger image applicants.

The respected and non-partisan Urban Institute, hired by the City for other research, has found that finger imaging does indeed deter eligible, law-abiding people from applying for benefits. One reason the process is such a deterrent is that it forces parents to drag children to a government office, sometimes waiting outside in the cold.

Governor Cuomo deserves great credit for recognizing that, as an initial step towards the vital goal of ending hunger for all New Yorkers, the first thing we must do is eliminate pointless barriers against participation in existing programs.”