Fulcrum Biometrics worked with New Jersey system integrator Eyemetric Identity Systems to develop and deploy a new biometric homeless services management system based on Fulcrum's modular framework. The new system implemented in 2010 has enabled the Bergen County Department of Human Services to eliminate duplicate paperwork and time-consuming data entry tasks by using finger image scans to efficiently document individuals who are receiving services.
Homeless individuals can retain their confidentiality and easily input their personal data. Individual fingerprints are scanned when they first enter the center, and their information is enrolled into the system and uploaded to the homeless management information system (HMIS) database. For those that choose to remain anonymous, a unique number identity is assigned by the system and used for tracking.
Finger image scanners from Futronic Technology and high-speed image-matching algorithm from Neurotechnology are used by the framework, but it retains the option to go multimodal. The biometric framework consists of an identification/matching server, a custom application logic system for industry-specific solutions, a client side device manager and template generator that securely communicates to the framework's biometric controls, and biometric controls which are a group of browser-independent controls that communicate between the server, logic system and device manager.
Fulcrum used the framework to develop a Web-based application that communicates via Fulcrum's proprietary BioXML Web services interface to start tagging biometric data collected from the various department service areas. The data is then merged into singular records that resolve back to individual identities inside the HMIS. Fulcrum worked with Eyemetric to develop a data-sharing method that periodically augments the HMIS data, while allowing the department to run daily operations independently.
The end result of the solution is an unduplicated count of people served by the various department programs, and accurate data that is difficult to obtain without unique identification and yet is essential for organizations requesting grants or funding from various state and federal agencies.