About PARIS
History
In 1993 the Department of Health and Human Service's Administration for Children and Families (ACF) began working with State public assistance agencies (SPAAs) and other Federal agencies to develop information-sharing projects proven useful in verifying public assistance client circumstances. ACF sought to identify information-sharing opportunities, and to lead and coordinate the activities required to take advantage of these opportunities. As a result, ACF is able to provide SPAAs with information from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation and pension payment records and interstate public assistance benefit payments.
Between 1993 and 1997, ACF provided twenty nine (29) State public assistance agencies with VA compensation and benefit information for their use in verifying public assistance client circumstances when determining public assistance eligibility and benefits. The District of Columbia, Kansas, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee reported actual and projected program (AFDC, Medicaid, Food Stamps, SSI and other Federal and State public assistance programs) savings achieved through State agency use of the VA information. While not providing written reports, the other twenty-four (24) States that received VA information generally indicated that the information proved useful when verifying client circumstances.
In September of 1997, while providing VA information to States, ACF also provided information to sixteen (16) States regarding possible duplicate interstate public assistance payments (AFDC/TANF, Medicaid, Food Stamps, SSI and other Federal and State public assistance programs). States participating in this initiative signed State-to-State agreements for the interstate exchange of information on active cases. The agreements do not cover other situations such as closed cases being investigated for possible overpayments. Sample copies of the VA and Federal match agreements can be found in the PARIS Agreements section of the site.
In May 2002, PARIS received approval for a new match with active and retired Federal civilian employees, and active and retired military.
The Department of Defense's Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) provides computer resources to support PARIS development and operation. DMDC produces a match file based on SSNs. Some States apply filters to the matched records received from DMDC to insure precious staff time is spent on the records with the greatest potential for savings. States currently apply filters based on individual goals and needs. For example, Pennsylvania, filters on birth date and surname to identify possible SSN-only errors. Maryland goes a step further by looking at the benefit amount and length of overlap. Many States filter out cases lacking opening dates. After applying the filters, the matches are then cleared by the State. Note: The number of matches received for the initial run is greater than subsequent matches as data is "cleaned up."
Some States use local benefit office staff to clear the matches, fraud investigators, or both. States are expected to verify the matched individual's continued eligibility for benefits in their State, and take whatever case action is appropriate. There are currently no mandated match clearance procedures.
A vital component of the multi-State match process is the need for a telephone contact system. States need to quickly communicate with one another for a number of reasons; confirming an action that was taken, obtaining benefit history data for overpayment processing, or trying to resolve data discrepancies that can occur. Some States have established a central or county point of contact. The file submitted to DMDC has fields for contact information. States should be prepared for the volume of calls the State may receive as a result of other States following up on matched records. A list of all current PARIS board members is found at Board of Directors. Any of the contacts are happy to discuss their PARIS/automated matching experiences and help you prepare for your first PARIS match. They can provide statistics on the number of records expected from a match, or any other PARIS-related interest. VA issues are cleared through the regional VA service center.
The majority of PARIS States allow staff 30-45 days to complete their work on a match and some allow staff up to 90 days; there is no required completion deadline. The PARIS board is currently working to develop data collection standards that will allow for uniform PARIS reporting in the future.
PARIS Recognized by the ACF Assistant Secretary in its 2008 Honor Awards Program
At the October 30, 2008 ACF Honor Awards Program, the Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families presented an award to the PARIS Project. “As a part of ACF’s scorecard, Proud to Be Reporting and the President’s Management Agenda, PARIS is a leader in the Administration’s Improper Payments Program that have translated into documented savings totaling $300 million dollars."
PARIS Recognized by the HHS Secretary in its 2006 Honor Awards Program
At the June 29, 2006 HHS Honor Awards Program, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services presented an award recognizing the PARIS project as a “true Federal-State Partnership Program under the President’s Management Agenda that helped save millions of dollars through the identification of improper payments.”
If your State is not part of the PARIS family at this time, you might seriously reconsider your decision in light of this recent recognition and what becoming a member can do for your State from a cost avoidance perspective. Remember, when you join PARIS, you are not only helping reduce improper payments in your State, but also helping other States to do so. So, it’s a win-win for both States. And, in some cases, it could even be helping more than one State when the same individual is collecting benefits in more than two States. Check out the current Success Stories part of our website where an individual was collecting Food Stamps in eight States.
A PARIS Board of Directors was formed in 1998 and meets annually to discuss the matching process and ways to improve the PARIS system. Participating States are urged to send representatives to the annual meetings.
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