Cross Match Provides Enabling Technology for Florida Department of Children and Families Identification Effort.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2002

Live scan fingerprinting systems from Cross Match Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of fingerprint identification solutions, provide the enabling technology being used by the State of Florida's Department of Children & Families (DCF) to further identify the 45,000 kids under DCF statewide protective services. The systems will provide a complete set of fingerprints, a photo of the child and relevant other information in a digitized format for DCF use.

Fingerprints and photographs for an anticipated 3,000-plus children will be obtained during a special two-day event on August 16 and 17 at DCF District 11 (comprising Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties) headquarters in Miami. This is the initial phase of what will become a statewide identification system not only for kids under protective care but will also be expanded to expedite background checks on all relative and non-relative caregivers, including adult members of the household where a child under DCF protection resides. This requirement is one of several recommendations made last spring by Governor Jeb Bush's Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection.

Last month, Cross Match provided DCF statewide with 19 portable ID 1000TM Live Scan units, software, and printers plus training and maintenance to meet the background check requirement. These units have been temporarily sent to Miami to allow for the two-day District 11 event. Special software developed by Cross Match will be used to facilitate the capturing of small children's fingerprints. The data collected will then be used to validate the child's identity every 90 days as further mandated by the Governor and the Blue Ribbon Panel.

"Our ability to respond rapidly with the right technology to meet Florida's urgent need clearly demonstrates our leadership role in the live scan fingerprint industry," said Theodore "Ted" Johnson, Cross Match Chairman and CEO.

"The technology solution from Cross Match in rapidly obtaining high quality fingerprints and then combining those with photos and other necessary data to produce the needed documentation is central to our efforts in meeting the new identification standards," said DCF District 11 Director of Administration Maria Hossford.

Live scan technology, as exemplified by Cross Match's industry leading ID 1000, replaces traditional ink-on-paper fingerprints by capturing and storing the prints electronically. This provides significant improvement in the time it takes to fingerprint, the quality of the prints, and allows for the prints in digital format to be rapidly forwarded to law enforcement databases for background checking and other uses. State-of-the-art imagery is assured as the ID 1000 technology is certified in compliance with the standards set by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's highest rating (Appendix F) for Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) image quality.

Since its founding in 1996, Cross Match Technologies, Inc. has been at the forefront of applying forensic quality fingerprint imaging technology towards the development of cost-effective biometric security solutions for law enforcement, federal, aviation, commercial and international organizations. Headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and offering the broadest product lines in the industry, Cross Match is recognized for setting new standards in fingerprint imaging components through its more than 40 patents and related intellectual properties. Additional information on Cross Match is available at http://www.crossmatch.net.