WELFARE WATCH : Fingering Fraud

Welfare cheaters have never been as prevalent as political demagogues claim, but there is no doubt that some exist. Los Angeles and Orange counties are about to team up to crack down on such fraud.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to spend nearly $1.3 million to fingerprint applicants for general relief, a program with 3,600 beneficiaries, most of them single men. Officials said they expected the anti-fraud operation to pay for itself in less than five years.

Officials of Los Angeles County’s Public Social Services Department claim their anti-fraud program has saved millions of dollars since it began three years ago. Orange County will “piggyback� onto the computer system in Los Angeles, checking fingerprints to ensure applicants are not collecting payments in both counties.

That is a good example of regional cooperation, but officials must show that there is indeed enough fraud to make fingerprinting cost-effective. They must also keep the emphasis on programs to get poor people off welfare altogether and onto the employment rolls through programs like California’s Greater Avenues to Independence.

Los Angeles County has begun a three-year pilot program to fingerprint parents receiving money from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, and Orange County officials said if it proves itself they will follow suit. That is wise. Crackdowns on fraud should not stigmatize all those on welfare. But if clamping down on cheaters frees up more money for the truly needy, the programs will be worth it.