Hotline 3/14: SSA match, identity match and names in BEACON

From the Hotline
If you have any questions on this column or other policy and procedural material, please have your Hotline designee call the Policy Hotline at 617-348-8478.

Q. 1. My TAFDC client’s name in BEACON is Jessica Barry. She recently appeared on a Social Security Administration (SSA) match with a discrepancy type Listed Under Another Name. I looked into the case record and noticed that the client signed her name as Jessica Barry and there’s no indication of any alternate name. “Howard,” is the surname the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) has on file for my client and neither of her children has this surname. I sent her a VC-1 for identity and SSN verification. Yesterday, this client left me a phone message saying that she is confused because her last name has always been Barry. Can I let my client know the last name that the RMV has on file?
A. 1. No. DTA staff is prohibited from revealing identifying information that may be about other individuals. The client must provide verification of her SSN. Also, she should be advised that the Department needs to use the legal name on file with SSA as her primary name in BEACON. If the client has provided satisfactory verification but a discrepancy remains, make a referral to the Fraud Investigations and Data Matching (FIDM) Unit for further review and remember to disposition the match.

NOTE: Remember that client information can only be accessed and used to carry out work-related assignments. See Legal Memorandum Confidentiality of Personal Information, issued April 25, 2013, on DTA Online, under Administrative Memos, for more information.

Q. 2. My EAEDC client wants to be referred to as Thomas Lee Nguyen, but he has an SSA match with a discrepancy type Listed Under Another Name and an Identity match that  displays Lee Nguyen as his full name. How can I honor my client’s request and also comply with DTA procedures?
A. 2. Explain to your client that DTA must use his name exactly as it appears with SSA. Clients with a name preference that differs from SSA can have any additional names or nicknames entered as either a middle name (if this applies) or entered in the Alternate Names field on the Assessed Person page. In this case, for alternate name type, select “Known by.” (Alternate name types include: Married, Maiden, Name at Birth, Alias, Known by and Prior Marriage.) Also, remember that the SSA match and the Identity match are separate matches with information coming from different sources (SSA and RMV). Consequently, they must be dispositioned separately. For more information on how to disposition these two matches, refer to Operations Memo 2014-11 BEACON Identify Match and Operations Memo 2014-12 Failure to Verify Social Security Administration Data.

Q. 3. My TAFDC client requests that I use her birth surname Brown, but she has an SSA match with a discrepancy type Listed Under Another Name. I sent her a VC-1 for identity verification and she was able to send me a copy of her birth certificate indicating Brown as her surname at birth. When I told her the surname Brown is discrepant with the name SSA has, she explained that she recently went through a divorce and is asking that I use her birth surname, instead of her married name. Can I continue using her birth surname?
A. 3. On BEACON, this client will be able to use her birth surname as her last name only after it has been changed at SSA. If your client chooses to not use her married name, then she must change her name at the Social Security Administration first. In the meantime, her birth surname should be entered in the Alternate Names field on the Assessed Person page. In this case, for alternate name type, select “Maiden.”