Integrated Earnings Clearance/Fraud Detection (IFD) is quarterly match that gives various income data to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to compare CalFresh and CalWorks records submitted by the counties. These records show quarterly wage data maintained by the Employment Development Department (EDD) and Social Security Administration (SSA).
A workgroup was formed in 2016 to provide technical assistance, updates on policy changes, and calculations of best practices to ensure precise determination for benefits in the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) and CalFresh programs.
The workgroup identified some previous issues with the frequency and outdated data provided by the IFD match. Finding that data was nine months old by the time it reached the association. Income data will now come in faster and will be no more than four to six months old to prevent outdated information from showing up two quarters later. The processing timeframes for the IFD match remain unchanged. Match follow-up must be finalized within 45 days of transmission of the data to the County Welfare Departments. (ACIN I-30-22, April 21, 2022.)