Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE); Privacy Act of 1974; Amended System of Records, 20306-20309 [E8-7944]

Agencies

• Department of Health and Human Services (hhs)
• Administration for Children and Families (acf)
• Children and Families Administration

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20306-20309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7944]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS)

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)


Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE); Privacy Act of 1974; 
Amended System of Records

AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement, ACF, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of Amended System of Records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 
(5 U.S.C. 552a), the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is 
publishing notice of amendment of its system of records, entitled 
``Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders'' (FCR), 09-80-0202, 
last published at 69 FR 46550 on August 3, 2004. The amendment adds 
four routine uses; new categories of records; and clarifying 
information and technical amendments.

DATES: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) invites interested 
parties to submit written comments on the proposed notice until May 15, 
2008. As required by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(r)), HHS on April 
8, 2008 sent a report of an Amended System of Records to the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives, and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 
of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The amendments described 
in this notice are effective on May 15, 2008, unless HHS receives 
comments that would result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit written comment on this notice 
by writing to Linda Deimeke, Director, Division of Federal Systems, 
Office of Automation and Program Operations, Office of Child Support 
Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families, 370 L'Enfant 
Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. Comments received will be 
available for public inspection at this address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Deimeke, Director, Division of 
Federal Systems, Office of Child Support Enforcement, 370 L'Enfant 
Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. Telephone Number (202) 401-5439.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Child Support Enforcement 
(OCSE) is amending one of its systems of records, ``Federal Case 
Registry of Child Support Orders'' (FCR), 09-80-0202, last published at 
69 FR 46550 on August 3, 2004.
    First, OCSE is adding a routine use (15) to facilitate 
international child support enforcement in cases involving residents of 
the United States and residents of foreign countries that are the 
subject of a declaration under section 459A of the Social Security Act, 
by providing to foreign reciprocating countries notification of the 
state of residence of individuals sought for support enforcement.
    Second, OCSE is adding a routine use (16) for the disclosure to 
authorized OCSE users and the HHS Office of Inspector General, Office 
of Investigations, in accordance with established procedures for the 
purpose of Federal criminal nonsupport prosecution.
    Third, in accordance with a memorandum issued by the Office of 
Management and Budget, OCSE is adding a routine use (17) for the FCR 
pertaining to the disclosure of information to appropriate persons and 
entities for purposes of response and remedial efforts in the event of 
a breach of data maintained in the FCR. This routine use will 
facilitate an effective response to a confirmed or suspected breach by 
allowing for disclosure to those individuals affected by the breach, as 
well as to others who are in a position to assist in response efforts.
    Fourth, OCSE is adding a routine use (18) for disclosures to 
authorized agency contractors for the purpose of accomplishing an 
agency function.
    Fifth, OCSE is adding a category of records that will be maintained 
within the FCR, records from locate requests, which are disseminated 
through the FCR. Note: OCSE assists State child support agencies and 
other authorized persons in locating individuals who are involved in 
child support cases and to locate employment and asset information 
maintained in OCSE's National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) database, 
and within other Federal agencies' records. Records from locate 
requests are included in this Notice as a category of records within 
the system of records because they are disseminated through the FCR. 
However, because the records are collected and maintained within the 
NDNH prior to disclosure through the FCR, the routine uses under which 
they

[[Page 20307]]

are disclosed are published in the system of record notice for the 
Location and Collection System.
    Sixth, OCSE is adding a category of records that will be maintained 
within the FCR, records from locate requests, which are retained within 
the FCR as a result of a computer system enhancement to electronically 
filter and suppress redundant information that would have been 
transmitted to State child support agencies or other authorized 
persons. This new filtering, suppressing process will also reduce State 
child support agencies' staff and computer processing unit costs.
    Seventh, OCSE is adding a category of records maintained in the 
FCR, transaction audit logs.
    The amendment also revises and expands upon the language of the 
previous system of records Notice and adds other clarifying information 
and technical amendments.

    Dated: March 21, 2008.
Margot Bean,
Commissioner, Office of Child Support Enforcement.
09-80-0202

SYSTEM NAME:
    Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders (FCR).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    National Computer Center, Social Security Administration, 
Baltimore, Maryland.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    The categories of individuals whose records are maintained within 
this system are: (1) Individuals involved in child support cases being 
enforced by the State child support agencies, and (2) individuals who 
are parties to child support orders established or modified after 
October 1, 1998. The individuals include custodial parties, non-
custodial parents, putative fathers (individuals whose parentage is 
alleged but not established), and children. The information is obtained 
from the State Case Registries.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The FCR maintains, collects, and disseminates several categories of 
records. The FCR collects records provided by State Child Support 
Registries. These records are information from child support cases and 
support orders being enforced by the State child support agencies. The 
records may include the following information: name, Social Security 
number (SSN), State case identification number, State Federal 
Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, county code, case type 
(IV-D, non-IV-D), sex, date of birth, mother's maiden name, father's 
name, participant type (custodial party, non-custodial parent, putative 
father, child), family violence indicator (domestic violence or child 
abuse), order indicator, locate request type, and requested locate 
source. These records are maintained within the FCR and are regularly 
compared (matched) to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) and 
other Federal agencies' databases to locate information for the State 
child support agencies or other authorized persons.
    State child support agencies and other authorized persons can 
directly request locate information (locate requests) from Federal 
Parent Locator Service (FPLS), which includes the FCR system of 
records, and the ``Location and Collection System'' (LCS), 09-90-0074. 
The Notice for the LCS lists the authority and routine uses of 
disclosures from the LCS. The FPLS must also seek the requested locate 
information from other Federal agencies. When State child support 
agencies, or other authorized persons, make locate requests to the 
FPLS, the request is transmitted to the FPLS via the FCR. Upon receipt 
of such requests, or as a result of the regular comparisons of the FCR 
with the NDNH and other agencies' databases, the records located 
pertaining to the requests are disseminated to the requestor via the 
FCR. The records disseminated, depending upon the requestor's specific 
authority, may include information retrieved from the FCR, from the 
NDNH, or from other Federal agencies. Records from the NDNH and other 
agencies disseminated through the FCR may include categories of 
information such as name, SSN, address, phone number, employer, 
employment status and wages, retirement status and pay, assets, 
military status and pay, Federal benefits status and amount, 
representative payees, unemployment status and amount, children's 
health insurance, incarceration status, financial institution accounts, 
assets, and date of death. The FCR also contains information related to 
those categories of records; for example, the date of receipt of 
Federal benefits.
    The FCR maintains records (logs) of transactions involving the 
receipt of locate requests and the dissemination of requested 
information and copies of the disseminated locate information for the 
purpose of electronically filtering and suppressing the transmission of 
redundant locate information.

AUTHORITY OF MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The Social Security Act (the Act), Section 453(a)(1) requires HHS 
to establish and conduct a FPLS pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653(a)(1). 
Section 452(a)(9) of the Act placed the operation of the FPLS under the 
direction of the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) pursuant to 
42 U.S.C. 652(a)(9). Section 456(h) requires OCSE to maintain within 
the FPLS an automated registry, the ``Federal Case Registry of Child 
Support Orders'' (FCR), containing abstracts of support cases and 
orders as furnished and regularly updated by State child support 
agencies pursuant to 42 U.S.C Sec.  653(h).

PURPOSES:
    The primary purpose of the FCR is to assist States in establishing 
parentage or establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or 
enforcing child support obligations. OCSE is required to compare 
records transmitted to or maintained within the FCR to records 
maintained within the NDNH and other Federal agencies' databases and 
discloses information about the individuals within the records to State 
child support agencies or other authorized persons. The information 
assists State child support agencies or other authorized persons by 
locating individuals and their employment and asset information who are 
involved in child support cases. The FCR also conducts FCR to FCR 
comparisons to locate information about individuals who are involved in 
child support cases in more than one State and provides the information 
to those States. Other purposes of the FCR are: to provide locate 
information (state of residence) pertaining to individuals sought 
pursuant to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction to authorized persons in a Central Authority; to assist the 
Attorney General of the United States in locating any parent or child 
for the purpose of enforcing State or Federal law with respect to the 
unlawful taking or restraint of a child, or making or enforcing a child 
custody or visitation determination; and to assist the Secretary of the 
Treasury in administering the sections of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 which grant tax benefits based on support or residence of 
children. FCR records, without personal identifiers, are also available 
for research purposes likely to contribute to achieving the purposes of 
the Temporary Assistance for Needy

[[Page 20308]]

Families (TANF) or the Federal/State child support program.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSE OF SUCH USES:
    The routine uses for the FCR are compatible with the stated purpose 
of the system. Records maintained within the FCR may be disclosed to 
the following categories of users for the purposes listed. If any 
record contains a ``family violence indicator'' associated to the 
record by State child support agencies if there is reasonable evidence 
of domestic violence or child abuse, and that disclosure could be 
harmful to the party or the child, the record will not be disclosed 
from the FCR. However, disclosure of any information defined as 
``return or return information'' under 26 U.S.C. 6103 of the Internal 
Revenue Code will not be disclosed unless authorized by a statute, the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or IRS regulations.

ROUTINE USES INCLUDING FURNISHING INFORMATION TO THE FOLLOWING 
CATEGORIES OR USERS:
    (1) Agents and attorneys of a State which has in effect an approved 
plan under Title IV-D of the Act who have duty or authority to collect 
child and spousal support for the purpose of establishing parentage or 
establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child 
support obligations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653(c)(1); (2) the court 
which has authority to issue an order against a non-custodial parent 
for the support and maintenance of a child, or to issue an order 
against a resident parent for child custody or visitation rights, or 
any agent of such court for the purpose of establishing parentage or 
establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child 
support obligations pursuant to 42 U.S.C 653(c)(2); (3) the resident 
parent, legal guardian, attorney, or agent of a child (other than a 
child receiving TANF assistance) for the purpose of establishing 
parentage or establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or 
enforcing child support obligations. 42 U.S.C. 653(c)(3); (4) a State 
agency that is administering a program operated under a State plan 
under subpart 1 of part B of the Act (Child Welfare Services) or a 
State plan approved under subpart 2 of part B (Promoting Safe and 
Stable Families) or under part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance), 
for the purpose of locating or facilitating the discovery of an 
individual who is or may be a child's parent pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 
653(c)(4). Only information as to the name, SSN, address or location, 
and employment wages, benefits or income of the parent shall be 
provided under this section. Requests must be made through the State 
child support agency; (5) the Social Security Administration for 
verification of name, SSN, and birth dates pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 
653(j)(1); (6) State agencies for the purpose of locating individuals 
in a paternity establishment case or a case involving the 
establishment, modification, or enforcement of a support order pursuant 
to 42 U.S.C. 653(j)(2)(B); (7) State agencies for the purpose of 
assisting States to carry out their responsibilities under programs 
operated under Titles IV-D (child support programs) and IV-A (TANF) of 
the Act pursuant to 42 U.S.C 653(j)(3)(B); (8) agents or attorneys of 
States having an agreement under this section who have the duty or 
authority to enforce child custody or visitation determinations. 
Requests may be made for the purpose of determining the whereabouts of 
any parent or child when such information is to be used to locate such 
parent or child for the purpose of making or enforcing a child custody 
or visitation determination. Only information as to the most recent 
address and place of employment of any parent or child shall be 
provided under this section pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 663(d)(2)(A); (9) 
courts or their agents having jurisdiction to make or enforce a child 
custody or visitation determination. Requests may be made for the 
purpose of determining the whereabouts of any parent or child when such 
information is to be used to locate such parent or child for the 
purpose of making or enforcing a child custody or visitation 
determination. Only information as to the most recent address and place 
of employment of any parent or child shall be provided under this 
section pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 663(d)(2)(B); (10) agents or attorneys of 
the United States having an agreement under this section with the U.S. 
Attorney, or of a State, who have the authority or duty to investigate, 
enforce, or prosecute the unlawful taking or restraint of a child. The 
request may be made for the purpose of determining the whereabouts of 
any parent or child when such information is to be used to locate such 
parent or child for the purpose of enforcing any State or Federal law 
with respect to the unlawful taking or restraint of a child. Only 
information as to the most recent address and place of employment of 
any parent or child shall be provided under this section pursuant to 42 
U.S.C. 663(d)(2)(C) and 42 U.S.C. 663(f); (11) the U.S. Central 
Authority (U.S. Department of State) designated in accordance with the 
International Child Abduction Act, for the purpose of locating any 
parent or child on behalf of an applicant to that Central Authority. 
Only information as to the state of residence shall be provided under 
this section pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 663(e); (12) the Secretary of 
Treasury for the purpose of administering sections of the Internal 
Revenue Code which grant tax benefits based on support or residence of 
children pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653(h)(3); (13) researchers for approved 
research purposes found by the Secretary to be likely to contribute to 
achieving the purposes of part A or part B of title IV of the Act, but 
without personal identifiers pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653(j)(5); (14) any 
of the departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States 
or of any State for the purpose of locating the individual, information 
on the individual's location, wages (or other income) from, and 
benefits of, employment (including rights to or enrollment in group 
health care coverage) and information on the type, status, location, 
and amount of any assets of, or debts owed by or to, any such 
individual pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653(e); (15) a foreign reciprocating 
country in cases involving residents of the United States and residents 
of foreign countries that are the subject of a declaration under 
section 459A of the Social Security Act. Information disclosed is the 
State of residence of individuals sought for support enforcement 
purposes pursuant to 42 U.S.C.659A(c)(2); (16) OCSE and HHS Office of 
Inspector General, Office of Investigations, to identify, investigate, 
and, where warranted, to a U.S. Attorney for Federal nonsupport 
prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 228; (17) in the event of a breach of FCR 
data, an authorized individual or entity for response and remedial 
efforts related to such breach; and (18) an entity under contract to 
operate the records in the FCR for the purpose of accomplishing an 
agency function.

DISCLOSURES TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Records in the FCR are stored electronically at the Social Security 
Administration's National Computer Center. Historical logs and system 
backups are stored offsite at an alternate location.

[[Page 20309]]

RETRIEVABILITY:
    System records can be retrieved by an identification number 
assigned to a child support case by the State child support agency or 
an SSN of the individuals whose records are maintained in the FCR.

SAFEGUARDS:
    OCSE has established appropriate administrative, technical and 
physical safeguards to ensure the security and confidentiality of 
records maintained in the FCR. These safeguards include, but are not 
limited to, the following:
    (1) Administrative Safeguards. On an annual basis, a risk 
assessment and a security assessment are conducted. Personnel are 
required to undergo background checks and must participate annually in 
security awareness training. (2) Technical Safeguards. Identification 
and authentication controls for access to the system and for access to 
the datasets are used, with audit logging for accountability. Records 
are encrypted prior to transmission. Firewalls and intrusion detection 
equipment are in place. (3) Physical Safeguards: Policies and 
procedures limit physical access to the system and the facility in 
which it is housed, while ensuring that authorized access is allowed. 
Guards, electronic monitoring, access keys, personal badges and 
physical barriers all contribute to the physical safeguarding of the 
system and the records maintained therein.
    Records maintained in the FCR are secured in full compliance with 
Federal requirements, including the Federal Information Security 
Management Act and the HHS Security Program Policy, and in accordance 
with requirements governing a FIPS 199 categorized system. The FCR is 
fully certified and accredited in accordance with HHS requirements and 
guidance issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    (1) Records provided from State child support agencies. (a) 
Electronic records furnished by the State child support agency 
containing child support case and order information (input files) are 
retained for 60 days and then deleted. (b) State agency records (as 
posted to the FCR) remain within the FCR until removed, upon 
notification by the State agency that the case is closed and notifies 
OCSE to remove it from the FCR, provided that, upon request, a sample 
may be retained for research purposes found by OCSE to be likely to 
contribute to achieving the purposes of child support programs or the 
TANF program, but without personal identifiers. (c) Records pertaining 
to closed cases are archived on the fiscal year basis and retained for 
two years. Family violence indicators are removed from the individual's 
record, upon request by the State that initiated the indicator. (2) 
Locate requests and match results. (a) Locate requests submitted by 
State child support agencies and other authorized persons are retained 
for 60 days and are then deleted. (b) Audit trail records of locate 
requests and disclosures of match results pursuant to those requests, 
which include indications of which Federal agencies were contacted for 
locate information, whether information was located, and the type(s) of 
information returned to the requesting entity. These records are 
archived once a year based on the fiscal year. The records are retained 
for two completed fiscal years and then destroyed. These records 
indicate the type of information located for the authorized user, not 
the information itself. (c) Copies of records containing information 
from the NDNH or other agencies obtained pursuant to locate requests 
are provided to authorized persons through the FCR. They are maintained 
within the FCR for one year for the purpose of electronically filtering 
and suppressing redundant information from being transmitted. After one 
year, the records are deleted. (3) Match results generated as a result 
of FCR to FCR comparisons which locate individuals who are participants 
in child support cases or orders in more than one state are transmitted 
to the relevant States. Copies of FCR to FCR match results are retained 
for 60 days and then deleted. (4) Any record relating or potentially 
relating to a fraud or abuse investigation or a pending or ongoing 
legal action including a class action, is retained until conclusion of 
the investigation or legal action. (5) Copies of the FCR records 
transmitted annually to the IRS for the purpose of administering the 
earned income tax credit (routine use 12) are retained for one year and 
then deleted.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Director, Division of Federal Systems, Office of Automation and 
Program Operations, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration 
for Children and Families, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., 4th Floor East, 
Washington, DC 20447.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    To determine if a record exists, write to the Systems Manager at 
the address listed above. The Privacy Act requires that, except under 
certain conditions specified in the law, only the subject of the 
records may have access to them. All requests must be submitted in the 
following manner: Identify the system of records to be searched, have 
the request notarized to verify requestor's identity, and requestor 
should indicate awareness that the knowing and willful request for or 
acquisition of a Privacy Act record under false pretenses is a criminal 
offense subject to a $10,000 fine. The requestor's letter must also 
provide sufficient particulars to enable OCSE to distinguish between 
records on subject individuals with the same name.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Write to the Systems Manager specified above to attain access to 
records. Requestors should provide a detailed description of the record 
content they are seeking.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Contact the official at the address specified under the Systems 
Manager above, and identify the record and specify the information to 
be contested and corrective action sought with supporting justification 
to show how the record is inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or 
irrelevant.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Records maintained within the FCR are furnished by State child 
support agencies. Records disseminated from the FCR for the purpose of 
providing locate information from the NDNH and other Federal agencies 
are furnished by departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the 
United States or any State, employers, financial institutions, and 
insurers or their agents. Records maintained for the purpose of 
filtering redundant data are also furnished by these sources.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FROM THE SYSTEM:
    None.

[FR Doc. E8-7944 Filed 4-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P