Schwarzenegger considers monitoring devices to track in-home health care

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By Susan Ferriss | The Sacramento Bee

The Schwarzenegger administration is considering buying $5,000 high-tech devices to photograph and fingerprint Californians who get subsidized in-home care for the elderly and disabled.

The MorphoTrak "mobile biometric identification" device can fingerprint, snap a photo and transfer data to government systems, according to state social service officials.

Officials say legislators authorized and budgeted money to invest in tools to curb fraud and save millions of dollars.

The fingerprinting applies as of April 1 to any new recipients of the In-Home Supportive Services program.

Sacramento and San Diego counties are experimenting with cameras on loan from the manufacturer.

To read the complete article, visit www.sacbee.com.

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