Comment on FR Doc # E9-14468

According to the FR notice issued in Vol. 74, No. 117, on June 19, 2009, child care workers will be required to submit the proposed GSA Form 176 and “Two sets of fingerprints on FBI Fingerprint Cards, for FD-258.” Also, the form itself indicates that the “Package set” must contain “(2) FD253 Fingerprint cards”. However, according to OPM’s “Requesting OPM Personnel Investigations”, only “one chart should accompany each request for investigation…” So is GSA maintaining the extra fingerprint chart/card on file? And, if so, for what purpose? If maintained on file, is there a System of Records Notice (SORN) and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) published for maintaining this personally identifiable information (PII)? There should be some explanation/notice provided to Child Care Workers as to the reason for providing an extra set of fingerprints. According to the "Note:" on the top of the GSA 176C form, to be renamed the GSA Form 176, Child Care Workers must also submit a “Pre-employment Background Check Certification” and “Name Check Information Sheet” as part of the "package set". Are these additional collections of information required beyond what is contained in the GSA Form 176? Do these forms have assigned numbers such that they can be downloaded online? Have both of these forms also been approved by OMB and have an assigned Control Number? And is the creation of a separate form by GSA for Child Care Workers really necessary? And, if so, isn’t it possible that it could apply to other agencies, like BIA or HHS’s Indian Health Svs. (IHS)? For consistency purposes, it would appear in the best interest of the Government to create a Standard Form (SF) that could apply to all federal agencies. It’s my understanding that agencies are suppose to avoid duplication under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Most, if not all the information being asked for on the GSA 176 form is already being provided on the FD-258 fingerprint card/chart. The only items not available on the card/chart, to my knowledge, are the following: 11. Marital Status 15. Employer Telephone Number 17. Employer E-mail Address There is even a “Miscellaneous Number” block available to insert any other citizenship/alien number if necessary. I have to question the need for GSA to know a person’s ‘marital status’, an employer’s telephone number or e-mail address when those items are not even required on an SF 85 or SF 85P. Why does GSA feel a need to collect information of Child Care Workers above and beyond what is collected by contractors and federal employees for background investigations? And is there any reason why GSA can’t simply collect this information using already approved forms like the OF306, SF85 or SF85P? Another concern I have is with the question under item 20. of the “Criminal History” check 176 form. According to 42 U.S.C. 13041, the requirement to ask this “question” falls under paragraph (d) of Employment applications, NOT (b) Criminal history checks. It states, “(1) Employment applications for individuals who are seeking work for an agency of the Federal Government, or for a facility or program operated by (or through contract with) the Federal Government…shall contain a question asking whether the individual has ever been arrested for or charged with a crime involving a child, and if so requiring a description of the disposition of the arrest or charge.” Asking it during the criminal history check appears to be in violation of the Crime Control Act. The question should have been asked much earlier during the “employment application” process like HHS does via its “Addendum to Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306)” form approved by OMB under No. 0917-0028. As indicated above, it would appear to be in the best interest of the Government for OMB to implement some consistency in how information is collected for Child Care Workers to mitigate violations. Additionally, the Crime Control Act specifically asks about crimes “involving a child”. It does not extend to “sexual offender/registry” or “domestic violence”. Unlike the 176 form, HHS’s form limits the question to crimes “involving a child” in compliance with the Crime Control Act. GSA appears, on the other hand, to have exceeded its jurisdiction by expanding the question to include other crimes not authorized under the Crime Control Act. If GSA feels the legislation does not go far enough to protect children, then it would seem prudent for GSA to seek a Congressional amendment to the Crime Control Act rather than arbitrarily inventing legal implications without authority. I also question whether or not it is wise for GSA to number the form 176 since the previous 176 form, issued under OMB # 3090-0006, was "disapproved" by OMB on 02.07.1989. OMB indicated that the disapproval was based on the fact that the SF85 (non-Sensitive position) "provides all necessary information including arrest information and citizenship certification." That disapproval went on to direct GSA to send OMB, by 04.01.89, “a copy of its memorandum directing regions to discontinue using this form GSA 176, and to substitute the SF 85.” Therefore the use of the same 176 number could create a great deal of confusion among GSA employees as well as the public. I would recommend that, should this form be approved for collection of information, that GSA consider using a number other than 176 for the form title.