[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51663-51669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-26049]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Privacy Act of 1974; Altered System of Records
AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement, ACF, DHHS.
ACTION: Final notice.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is publishing a
notice to amend one of its Systems of Records, ``The Federal Parent
Locator System and Federal Tax Offset System (FPLS), DHHS/OCSE No. 09-
90-0074. We are also amending the routine uses for this system.
DATES: The amendments made by this notice are effective October 1,
1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Program
Operations Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for
Children and Families, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., 4th Floor East,
Washington, DC 20447, (202) 401-9271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the Office of
Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is amending one of its Systems of
Records, ``The Federal Parent Locator System and Federal Tax Offset
System (FPLS)'', DHHS/OCSE No. 09-90-0074.
Information on this system was published for public comment at 62
FR 45659, August 28, 1997. The OCSE received no comments on the Federal
Register publication. OCSE usually receives written responses from a
number of sources. The responses are generally supportive. To the
extent feasible, OCSE takes all public comments into account when
preparing the final notice.
OCSE is also giving notice that OCSE is changing the name of this
system to the ``Federal Parent Locator and Federal Tax Refund/
Administrative Offset System'' (FPLS). Furthermore, the uses of the
FPLS are being expanded pursuant to Pub. L. 104-193, the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA)
and pursuant to Pub. L. 104-134, the Debt Collection Improvement Act of
1996 (DCIA) and Executive Order 13019, dated September 28, 1996.
The system is divided into two subsystems: Parent Locator Service
and Tax Refund/Administrative Offset (TROP/ADOP). The Parent Locator
portion of the system is being expanded consistent with section 316 of
the PRWORA, which authorizes the establishment of a National Directory
of New Hires (NDNH) effective no later than October 1, 1997. The NDNH
will be comprised of three components. First, the NDNH will maintain
employment data on newly-hired employees (new hire reporting) submitted
by the State Directories of New Hires (SDNH) pursuant to section
453A(g)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (the Act) and by Federal
agencies pursuant to section 453A(B)(1)(c) of the Act. Second, the NDNH
will maintain quarterly wage information on individual employees,
submitted by States under the authority of sections 453A(g)(2)(B) and
303(h) of the Act, and section 3304(a)(16) of the Internal Revenue Code
(IRC) of 1986, as well as quarterly wage information on Federal
employees pursuant to section 453(n) of the Act. Third, the NDNH will
maintain unemployment compensation claims data submitted by States
under the authority of sections 453A(g)(2)(B)
[[Page 51664]]
and 303(h) of the Act, and section 3304(a)(16) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986. Federal agencies and States will transmit new hire and
quarterly wage and data electronically to the NDNH and States will
transmit claim information electronically as well.
The TROP/ADOP portion of the system is expanding the current use of
Federal tax refund intercepts to assist families in collecting past-due
child support, intercept certain other Federal payments owed by child
support obligors, and divert the payment to obligees/States for the
payment of past-due child support. Specifically, the TROP/ADOP will:
(1) combine the Federal Tax Refund Offset program with the
Administrative Program operated by Department of Treasury's Financial
Management Service (FMS); (2) periodically match cases from the TROP/
ADOP system with the NDNH; (3) conduct crossmatches with the State
Department for denial of passports; (4) conduct crossmatches for asset
identification with the Department of Treasury (Project 1099) against
States' obligor file(s); (5) disclose information to additional
sources; and (6) allow access to new authorized users.
The Social Security Act, as amended by PRWORA and the DCIA require
an expansion of the uses of the FPLS. The Parent Locator portion of the
FPLS will now be used to obtain and transmit information to any
authorized person, for the purpose of establishing parentage,
establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child
support obligations, investigating parental kidnapping cases, or making
or enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Additonally, PRWORA
replaced the AFDC programs with TANF programs, and routine uses are
being updated to reflect that change.
The Federal TROP/ADOP portion of the system will be used for the
purposes of: collecting past-due child support from Federal tax refunds
and from certain Federal payments otherwise owed to child support
obligors; identifying assets of obligors; and enforcing child support
orders by assisting the State Department in preventing delinquent
obligors from travelling outside the country by the denial, restriction
and/or revocation of passports.
Section 370 of PRWORA established a new section 452(k) of the Act
which requires that after October 1, 1997, the Secretary of HHS shall
transmit to the Secretary of the Department of State, certifications
from State child support enforcement (CSE) agencies of individuals who
owe arrearages of child support exceeding $5000 and that the Department
of State may revoke, restrict or deny passports to such individuals.
Project 1099 provides State CSE agencies access to all earned and
unearned income information reported to the Department of Treasury by
employers and financial institutions. This information is used to
locate noncustodial parents and to verify income and employment, which
is essential to establishing and enforcing child support obligations.
Sections 452 and 453 of the Social Security Act require the
Secretary of HHS to establish and conduct the Federal Parent Locator
Service, a computerized national location network which provides
address and social security number (SSN) information to State and local
child support enforcement agencies (CSEAs) for purposes of locating
parents to establish or enforce a child support order and to assist
authorized persons in resolving parental kidnapping and child custody
cases.
Pursuant to section 124(a) of the Family Support Act of 1988 (Pub.
L. 100-485), the FPLS obtained access to wage and unemployment
compensation claims information maintained for or by the Department of
Labor (DOL) or the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). In
January 1990, the FPLS began conducting periodic crossmatches in which
the names and SSNs of child support obligors are run against SESA wage
and unemployment files. OCSE is currently limited to 250,000 cases per
State per bi-weekly crossmatch. The information generated from
crossmatches between quarterly wage, claims and child support data,
both at the State level and in the more limited FPLS context, has
proven extremely beneficial for the location of child support obligors
and their wages. The inclusion of quarterly wage and unemployment
compensations claims data in the NDNH allows for a substantially higher
volume of interstate crossmatching than is currently possible.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996 requires the Secretary to develop an expanded Federal Parent
Locator Service to improve the States' ability to locate and collect
child support. The OCSE, within ACF, is charged with the task of
developing, implementing, and maintaining the FPLS. The Secretary will
house the expanded FPLS in the Social Security Administration's
National Computer Center. The Secretary and SSA believe that locating
the expanded FPLS there will provide the most efficient and cost-
effective mechanism for developing the expanded FPLS, as well as
ensuring state-of-the-art standards for system security and
confidentiality of the expanded FPLS data.
The expanded FPLS will include the NDNH (operational no later than
October 1, 1997), The Federal Case Registry (FCR) (operational no later
than October 1, 1998), and the capability to continue matching against
existing FPLS data sources, including but not limited to, the Internal
Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, Department of Defense/
Office of Personnel Management, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. The expanded FPLS will perform
crossmatches between the NDNH, the FCR, and specified additional
external databases. With these new expanded FPLS resources, the
interstate matching of child support obligors and employment, earnings,
and benefits data will flow more efficiently and quickly between
States.
In addition to performing automatic matching, the system accepts
and processes automated or manual information requests from State and
local CSE agencies as well as the FBI, the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children, the State Department, and the Attorney General.
The following information is available from Federal agencies (including
the Postal Service) and the SESAs:
(1) The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides three types
of information on the noncustodial or custodial parent per locate
request. SSA can also provide social security number information
(including identification, verification, nonverification or correction)
pertaining to the noncustodial or custodial parent. When SSA is the
specified agency queried, SSA provides the name and address of
employers, address where the benefits check is being delivered, and
date of death, as well as SSN and address information;
(2) The SESAs provide two types of information. If the noncustodial
parent is employed, the SESAs provide the name and address of the most
recent employer and the amount of the wages earned in the previous
quarter. If the noncustodial or custodial parent is unemployed, the
SESAs provide the home address where the unemployment check is or was
most recently mailed;
(3) The Department of Treasury (Treasury) provides several types of
information. If the noncustodial or custodial parent has filed a tax
return in the last three years, Treasury provides the address reported
on the most recent return. Treasury also provides the SSNs of parents
listed on the tax return.
[[Page 51665]]
Additionally, the Project 1099 provides information to State CSE
agencies to access all earned and unearned income information reported
to the Treasury by employers and financial institutions. The FPLS
conducts matches on data from IRS forms 1098 and 1099;
(4) The Department of Defense (DoD) provides information on
noncustodial or custodial parents who are in the Army, Navy, Air Force,
and Marine Corps. DoD provides the military unit address, pay grade,
and date of separation from the service. FPLS conducts matches with
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) through DoD. OPM provides the name
and address of the payroll office for non-military and non-postal
noncustodial or custodial parents who work for the Federal government,
or receive retirement benefits;
(5) The Postal Service provides information on noncustodial or
custodial parents who are employed by the U.S. Postal Service; and
(6) The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides information on
those individuals who are receiving VA benefits. The VA indicates if
the noncustodial or custodial parent is receiving compensation,
pension, or educational benefits, the amount of the benefit, and where
the check is being delivered.
Furthermore, pursuant to the DCIA, and pursuant to Executive Order
13019, the Department of Treasury's FMS is charged with the
responsibility of increasing the collection of non-tax debts owed to
the Federal Government and/or States, and collecting past-due child
support through administrative offsets. The OCSE will match its records
against Federal payment certification records and Federal financial
assistance records maintained by FMS. The purpose is to facilitate the
collection of delinquent child support obligations from persons who may
be entitled or eligible to receive certain Federal payments or Federal
assistance. State CSE agencies submit names of delinquent child support
debts to the OCSE for submission to FMS.
These cases are sent on-line, dial-up access via personal computer,
tape and cartridge via mail, file transfer, or electronic data
transmission. OCSE serves as a conduit between State CSE agencies and
the FMS by processing weekly updates of collection data and
distributing the information back to the appropriate State CSE agency.
The information will be disclosed by OCSE to State CSE agencies for use
in the collection of child support debts, through locate, wage
withholding, or other enforcement actions.
The system of records is used for the collection of past-due child
support via administrative offset, (offset of certain funds payable to
an individual by the Federal Government.) (Not all Federal funds will
be subject to administrative offset; see 62 FR 36205, dated July 7,
1997.) The FMS serves as the lead agency in this debt collection
initiative. The FMS has a Debt Collection Operations System to maintain
records of individuals and entities that are indebted and will match
these records against the payment certification records of Federal
departments and agencies.
In addition, the system of records is used to determine which
delinquent obligors are appropriate for referral to the U.S. State
Department for revocation/restriction/denial of a U.S. Passport. OCSE
extracts cases with arrearages of $5,000 or greater from the certified
case file. These cases are electronically submitted to SSA with name
and SSN. SSA returns the file with date of birth, SSN, name, place of
birth, and sex. These cases are then forwarded to the State Department
via tape with date of birth, place of birth, sex, SSN, and name. These
files are matched against individuals who make application for
passport. Passports may be denied to those obligors owing $5,000 or
greater. The State Department's system is called the Consular and
Support System (CLASS) (State 26, Passport Records, published at 60 FR
148, August 2, 1995).
If there is a match, the Passport Office will notify the applicant
to contact the State CSE agency that submitted his/her name. If, as a
result of payment, the applicant's child support arrearage falls below
the $5,000 threshold, the CSE office will issue a Notice of Withdrawal
of Passport Denial requesting that the Passport Office issue a passport
to the noncustodial parent if otherwise qualified.
The FPLS system of records will be comprised of records that
contain the name of noncustodial or custodial parent or child, Social
Security number (when available), date of birth, place of birth, sex
code, State case identification number, local identification number
(State use only), State or locality originating request, date of
origination, type of case (TANF, non-TANF full-service, non-TANF locate
only, parental kidnapping), home address, mailing address, type of
employment, work location, annual salary, pay rate, quarterly wages,
medical coverage, benefit amounts, type of military service (Army,
Navy, Marines, Air Force, not in service), retired military (yes or
no), Federal employee (yes or no), recent employer's address, known
alias (last name only), offset amount, date requests sent to Federal
agencies or departments (SSA, Treasury, DoD/OPM, VA, USPS, FBI, and
SESAs), dates of Federal agencies' or departments' responses, date of
death, record identifier, employee date of hire, employee State of
hire, Federal EIN, State EIN, employer name, employer address, employer
foreign address, employer optional address, and employer optional
foreign address; employee SSN, employee name, employee wage amount,
reporting period, claimant SSN, claimant name, claimant address, SSA/VA
benefit amount, reporting period, State code, local code, case number,
arrearage amount, collection amount, adjustment amount, return
indicator, transfer State, street address, city and State, zip code,
zip code 4, total debt, number of adjustments, number of collections,
net amount, adjustment year, tax period for offset, type of offset,
State code, submitting State FIPS, locate code, case ID number, case
type, and court/administrative order indicator.
Safeguarding: All requests from the State IV-D Agency must certify
that: (1) They are being made to locate noncustodial or custodial
parents for the purpose of establishing paternity or securing child
support, or in cases involving parental kidnapping or child custody
determinations and for no other purpose; (2) the State IV-D agency has
in effect protective measures to safeguard the personal information
being transferred and received from the FPLS; and (3) the State IV-D
Agency will use or disclose this information for the purposes
prescribed in 45 CFR 302.70.
The records in the FPLS will be maintained in a secure manner
compatible with their content and use. All Federal and State personnel
and contractors will be required to adhere to the provisions of the
Privacy Act and the HHS Privacy Act regulations at 45 CFR part 5b. The
System Manager will control access to the data. Only authorized users
whose official duties require the use of such information will have
regular access to the records in this system. Authorized users are: (1)
Any State or Federal government department or agency charged with the
responsibility of locating custodial or noncustodial parents; (2) State
agencies under agreements covered by title IV-D of the Social Security
Act for the purposes of locating noncustodial and custodial parents in
connection with establishing or enforcing child support obligations;
(3) State agencies under agreements covered by section 463 of the Act
for the purpose of locating
[[Page 51666]]
custodial parents or children in connection with activities by State
courts and Federal attorneys and agents charged with making or
enforcing child custody and visitation determinations or conducting
investigations, enforcement proceedings or prosecutions concerning the
unlawful taking or restraint of children; and (4) agents and attorneys
of the United States involved in activities in States which do not have
agreements under Section 463 of the Act for the purpose of locating
custodial parents in connection with activities by State courts and
Federal attorneys and agents charged with making or enforcing child
custody and visitation determinations or conducting investigations,
enforcement proceedings or prosecutions concerning unlawful taking or
restraint of children.
All microfilm and paper files are accessible only by authorized
personnel who have a need for the information in the performance of
their official duties. Safeguards for automated records have been
established in accordance with the HHS Information Resources Management
Manual, Part 6, Automated Information Systems Security Program
Handbook.
Storage: Records are maintained on disk and magnetic tape, and hard
copy.
Retrievability: System records can be accessed by either a State
assigned case identification number or Social Security Number.
Data stored in computers will be accessed through the use of
``passwords'' known only to authorized users. Rooms where records are
stored are locked when not in use. During regular business hours rooms
are unlocked but are controlled by on-site personnel.
Information will not be disclosed to any person if the disclosure
would contravene the national or security interest of the United States
or the confidentiality of census data.
Information will not be disclosed to any person if the State has
notified the Secretary that the State has reasonable evidence of
domestic violence or child abuse and the disclosure of such information
could be harmful to the custodial parent or the child of such parent.
Information received or transmitted pursuant to this section shall
be subject to the safeguard provisions contained in section 454(26) of
the Act.
Retention and Disposal; Quarterly wage data supplied to the FPLS
will be retained for eight calendar quarters and then destroyed. New
hire information supplied to the FPLS will be kept in an active file
for two years. New hire information will then be stored for an
additional three years before being destroyed.
Tax refund and administrative offset information will be maintained
for six years in an active master file for purposes of collection and
adjustment. After this time, records of cases for which there was no
collection will be destroyed. Records of cases with a collection will
be stored on-line in an inactive master file.
Records pertaining to passport denial will be updated and/or
deleted as obligors meet satisfactory restitution or other State
approved arrangements.
Records of information provided by the FPLS to authorized users
will be maintained only long enough to communicate the information to
the appropriate State or Federal agent. Thereafter, the information
provided will be destroyed. However, records pertaining to the
disclosures, which include information provided by States, Federal
agencies contacted, and an indication of the type(s) of information
returned, will be stored on a history tape and in hard copy for five
years and then destroyed.
System Manager(s) and Address: Director, Program Operations
Division, Ofice of Child Support Enforcement, Department of Health and
Human Services, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., 4th Floor, Washington, DC
20447.
Record Access Procedures: Same as notification procedures.
Requesters should also specify the record contents being sought.
Contesting Record Procedures: Contact the official at the address
specified under system manage above, and identify record and specify
the information to be contested.
Record Source Categories: Information is obtained from departments,
agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States or any State.
Systems Exempted From Certain Provisions of the Privacy Act: None.
Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including
Categories of Users and the Purpose of Such Users:
The current routine uses for this system of records are:
(1) Request the most recent home and employment addresses and SSN
of the noncustodial parents from any State or Federal government
department, agency or instrumentality which might have such information
in its records; (2) Provide the most recent home and employment
addresses and SSN to State CSE agencies (including the FBI and the
Center for Missing and Exploited Children) for the purpose of locating
noncustodial parents in connection with establishing or enforcing child
support obligations; (3) Provide the most recent home and employment
addresses and SSN to State CSE agencies under agreements covered by
section 463 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 663) for the purpose
of locating noncustodial parents or children in connection with
activities by State courts and Federal attorneys and agents charged
with making or enforcing child custody determinations or conducting
investigations, enforcement proceedings or prosecutions concerning the
unlawful taking or restraint of children; (4) Provide the most recent
home and employment addresses and SSN to agents and attorneys of the
United States, involved in activities in States which do not have
agreements under section 463 of the Act for purposes of locating
noncustodial parents or children in connection with Federal
investigations, enforcement proceedings or prosecutions involving the
unlawful taking or restraint of children; and (5) provide to the State
Department the name and SSN of noncustodial parents in international
child support cases, and in cases inolving The Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The PRWORA amends Federal law and authorizes new uses and
disclosures for the expanded FPLS. The new routine uses proposed for
this system are compatible with the stated purposes of the system and
include the following:
(1) Pursuant to section 453(j) (2)&(3) of the Social Security Act,
State agencies may access data in the NDNH for the purpose of
administering the Child Support Enforcement Program and the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program; (2) Pursuant to section
453(j)(4) of the Act, the Commissioner of Social Security may access
information in the NDNH for the purpose of verifying reported SSNs and
other purposes; (3) Pursuant to section 453(i)(3) of the Act, the
Secretary of the Treasury may access information in the NDNH for
purposes of administering advance payment of the earned income tax
credit and verifying a claim with respect to employment in a tax
return; (4) Pursuant to section 453(j)(5) of the Act, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services may provide researchers with access to the
new hire data for research efforts that would contribute to the TANF
and CSE programs.
Information disclosed may not contain personal identifiers; (5)
Under section 6103(el)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, records
may be disclosed to any agent of an agency that is under contract with
the State CSE
[[Page 51667]]
agency to assist in locating individuals for the purposes of
establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support obligations; (6)
Under section 453(j) of the Act, records in the NDNH may be disclosed
to State CSE agencies in order to locate individuals for the purpose of
establishing paternity and for establishment, modification, or
enforcement of a support order; (7) Pursuant to section 453(a) of the
Act, records may be disclosed to State CSE agencies for the purpose of
locating individuals for the purpose of enforcing child custody and
visitation orders; (8) Pursuant to section 453(j) of the Act, new hire
information may also be disclosed to the State agency administering the
Medicaid, Unemployment Compensation, Food Stamp, SSI, and territorial
cash assistance programs for income eligibility verification, and to
State agencies administering unemployment and workers' compensation
programs to assist determinations of the allowability of claims; (9)
OCSE will disclose information to the Treasury Department for the
offset of certain Federal payments in order to collect past due child
support obligations. The Federal payments included in the
Administrative Offset System are: Federal salary, wage and retirement
payments; vendor payments; expense reimbursement payments; and travel
payments; and (10) Pursuant to section 452(k) of the Act, information
from the FPLS may be disclosed to the Secretary of State to revoke,
restrict, or deny a passport to any person certified by State CSE
agencies as owing a child support arrearage greater than $5,000.
Dated: September 26, 1997.
Anne F. Donovan,
Acting Deputy Director.
09-90-0074
SYSTEM NAME:
Federal Parent Locator and Federal Tax Refund/Administrative Offset
System (FPLS), HHS, OCSE.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Office of Child Support Enforcement, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, 4th
Floor East, Washington, DC 20447;
Social Security Administration, 6200 Security Boulevard, Baltimore,
Maryland 21235.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Records will be maintained to locate individuals for the purpose of
establishing parentage, establishing, setting the amount of, modifying,
or enforcing child support obligations, or enforcing chid custody or
visitation orders: (1) Information on, or facilitating the discovery
of, or the location of any individual: (A) Who are under an obligation
to pay child support or provide child custody or visitation rights; (B)
against whom such an obligation is sought; and (C) to whom such an
obligation is owed including the individual's social security number
(or numbers), most recent address, and the name, address, and employer
identification number of the individual's employer; and (2) information
on the individual's wages (or other income) from, and benefits of,
employment (including rights to enrollment in group health care
coverage); and (3) information on certain Federal disbursements payable
to a delinquent obligor which may be offset for the purpose of
collecting past-due child support.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The system will comprise records that contain the name of
noncustodial or custodial parent or child, Social Security number (when
available), date of birth, place of birth, sex code, State case
identification number, local identification number (State use only),
State or locality originating request, date of origination, type of
case (TANF, non-TANF full-service, non-TANF locate only, parental
kidnapping), home address, mailing address, type of employment, work
location, annual salary, pay rate, quarterly wages, medical coverage,
benefit amounts, type of military service (Army, Navy, Marines, Air
Force, not in service), retired military (yes or no), Federal employee
(yes or no), recent employer's address, known alias (last name only),
offset amount, date requests sent to Federal agencies or departments
(SSA, IRS, DoD/OPM, VA, USPS, FBI, and SESAs), dates of Federal
agencies' or departments' responses, date of death, record identifier,
employee date of hire, employee State of hire, Federal EIN, State EIN,
employer name, employer address, employer foreign address, employer
optional address, and employer optional foreign address; employee SSN,
employee name, employee wage amount, reporting period, claimant SSN,
claimant name, claimant address, SSA/VA benefit amount, reporting
period, State code, local code, case number, arrearage amount,
collection amount, adjustment amount, return indicator, transfer State,
street address, city and State, zip code, zip code 4, total debt,
number of adjustments, number of collections, net amount, adjustment
year, tax period for offset, type of offset, State code, submitting
State FIPS, locate code, case ID number, case type, and court/
administrative order indicator.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Sections 452 and 453 of the Social Security Act required the
Secretary of HHS to establishment and conduct the Federal Parent
Locator Service, a computerized national location network whch provides
address and SSN information to State and local Child Support
Enforcement Agencies (CSE).
Section 124(a) of the Family Support Act of 1988 authorized the
Secretary of HHS to obtain access to wage and unemployment compensation
claims information maintained for or by the Department of Labor (DOL)
or the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs).
The FPLS is being expanded pursuant to: Social Security Act
amendments promulgated as section 316 of the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA); the Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA); and Executive Order 13019.
These provisions give the Secretary of Health and Human Services the
authority to expand the Federal Parent Locator Service to improve the
States' ability to locate and collect child support.
PURPOSE(S):
The purpose of the system is to expand the Federal Parent Locator
Service (FPLS) to improve States' ability to locate parents and collect
child support. A large database, the National Directory of New Hires,
will be established. Through this database, the interstate matching of
child support obligors and employment, earnings, and benefit data will
flow more efficiently and quickly between States. The National
Directory of New Hires (NDNH) will contain the following:
(1) New hire information on employees commencing employment in
either the public or private sector;
(2) Quarterly wage data on private and public sector employees; and
(3) Information on unemployment compensation benefits. Federal
agencies are also required to submit both new hire and quarterly wage
information. Names and social security numbers submitted for both new
hire and quarterly wage information will be verified by the Social
Security Administration to ensure that the social security number
provided is correct.
In October of 1998, a second database will be established, the
Federal Case
[[Page 51668]]
Register (FCR), which will be derived from State level case registry
information and will contain abstracts on all participants involved in
child support enforcement cases. The NDNH and the FCR will be matched
against each other on an on-going basis to determine if an employee is
a participant in a child support case anywhere in the country. If the
FPLS identifies a person as being a participant in a State child
support case, that State will be notified of the participant's current
employer.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSE OF SUCH USES
The current routine uses in this system of records are maintained
to: (1) Request the most recent home and employment addresses and SSN
of the noncustodial or custodial parents from any State or Federal
government department, agency or instrumentality which might have such
information in its records; (2) Provide the most recent home and
employment addresses and SSN to State CSE agencies for the purpose of
locating noncustodial parents in connection with establishing or
enforcing child support obligations; (3) Provide the most recent home
and employment addresses and SSN to State CSE agencies under agreements
covered by Section 463 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 663) for
the purpose of locating noncustodial parents or children in connection
with activities by State courts and Federal attorneys and agents
charged with making or enforcing child custody determinations or
conducting investigations, enforcement proceedings or prosecutions
concerning the unlawful taking or restraint of children; and (4)
Provide the most recent home and employment addresses and SSN to agents
and attorneys of the United States, involved in activities in States
which do not have agreements under section 463 of the Act for purposes
of locating noncustodial parents or children in connection with Federal
investigations, enforcement proceedings or prosecutions involving the
unlawful taking or restraint of children; and (5) provide to the State
Department the name and SSN of noncustodial parents in international
child support cases, and in cases inolving he Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International child Abduction.
The PRWORA amends Federal law and authorizes new uses and
disclosures for the expanded FPLS. The new routine uses for this system
are compatible with the stated purposes of the system and include the
following: (1) State agencies may access data in the NDNH for the
purpose of administering the Child Support Enforcement Program and the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program; (2) The
Commissioner of Social Security may access information in the NDNH for
the purpose of verifying reported SSNs and other purposes; (3) The
Secretary of the Treasury may access information in the NDNH for
purposes of administering advance payment of the earned income tax
credit and verifying a claim with respect to employment in a tax
return; (4) The Secretary of Health and Human Services may provide
researchers with access to the new hire data for research efforts that
would contribute to the TANF and CSE programs. Information disclosed
may not contain personal identifiers; (5) Records may be disclosed to
any agent of an agency that is under contract with the State CSE agency
to assist in locating individuals for the purposes of establishing
paternity and for establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support
obligations; (6) Records in the NDNH may be disclosed to State CSE
agencies in order to locate individuals for the purpose of establishing
paternity and for establishment, modification, or enforcement of a
support order; (7) Records may be disclosed to State CSE agencies for
the purpose of locating individuals for the purpose of enforcing child
custody and visitation orders; (8) New hire information may be
disclosed to the State agency administering the Medicaid, Unemployment
Compensation, Food Stamp, SSI, and territorial cash assistance programs
for income eligibility verification, and to State agencies
administering unemployment and workers' compensation programs to assist
determinations of the allowability of claims; (9) OCSE will disclose
information to the Treasury Department for the offset of certain
Federal payments in order to collect past due child support
obligations. The Federal payments included in the Administrative Offset
System are: Federal salary, wage and retirement payments; vendor
payments; expense reimbursement payments; and travel payments; and (10)
Pursuant to section 452(k) of the Act, information from the FPLS may be
disclosed to the Secretary of State to revoke, restrict, or deny a
passport to any person certified by State CSE agencies as owing a child
support arrearage greater than $5,000.
DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
None.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
FPLS records are maintained on disc and computer tape, and hard
copy.
RETRIEVABILITY:
System records can be accessed by either a State assigned case
identification number or Social Security Number.
SAFEGUARDS:
1. Authorized Users: All requests from the State IV-D Agency must
certify that: (1) They are being made to locate non-custodial and
custodial parents for the purpose of establishing paternity or securing
child support, or in cases involving parental kidnapping or child
custody and visitation determinations and for no other purpose; (2) the
State IV-D agency has in effect protective measures to safeguard the
personal information being transferred and received from the Federal
Parent Locator Service; and (3) the State IV-D Agency will use or
disclose this information for the purposes prescribed in 45 CFR 302.70.
2. Physical Safeguards: For computerized records electronically
transmitted between Central Office and field office locations
(including organizations administering HHS programs under contractual
agreements), safeguards include a lock/unlock password system. All
input documents will be inventoried and accounted for. All inputs and
outputs will be stored in a locked receptacle in a locked room. All
outputs will be labeled ``For Official Use Only'' and treated
accordingly.
3. Procedural and Technical Safeguards: All Federal and State
personnel and contractors, are required to take a nondisclosure oath. A
password is required to access the terminal. All microfilm and paper
files are accessible only by authorized personnel who have a need for
the information in the performance of their official duties.
These practices are in compliance with the standards of Chapter 45-
13 of the HHS General Administration Manual, ``Safeguarding Records
Contained in Systems of Records,'' and the Department's Automated
Information System Security Program Handbook.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Quarterly wage data supplied to the FPLS will be retained for eight
calendar quarters and then destroyed. New hire information supplied to
the FPLS will
[[Page 51669]]
be kept in an active file for two years. New hire information will then
be stored for an additional three years before being destroyed.
Tax refund and administrative offset information will be maintained
for six years in an active master file for purposes of collection and
adjustment. After this time, records of cases for which there was no
collection will be destroyed. Records of cases with a collection will
be stored on-line in an inactive master file.
Records pertaining to passport denial will be updated and/or
deleted as obligors meet satisfactory restitution or other State
approved arrangements.
Records of information provided by the FPLS to authorized users
will be maintained only long enough to communicate the information to
the appropriate State or Federal agent. Thereafter, the information
provided will be destroyed. However, records pertaining to the
disclosures, which include information provided by States, Federal
agencies contacted, and an indication of the type(s) of information
returned, will be stored on a history tape and in hard copy for five
years and then destroyed.
SYSTEM MANAGER(s) AND ADDRESS:
Director, Division of 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 System Manager listed
above. The requester must provide his or her full name and address.
Additional information, such as your Social Security Number, date of
birth or mother's maiden name, may be requested by the system manager
in order to distinguish between individuals having the same or similar
names.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Write to the System Manager specified above to attain access to
records. Requesters should also reasonably specify the record contents
they are seeking.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:
Contact the official at the address specified under system manager
above, and reasonably 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:
Information is obtained from departments, agencies, or
instrumentalities of the United States or any State.
SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
None.
[FR Doc. 97-26049 Filed 10-1-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
