82 FR 60612 - Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 244 (December 21, 2017)

In accordance with subsection (e)(12) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement (HHS/ACF/OCSE), is providing notice of a re-established matching program between OCSE and state workforce agencies (SWAs) administering the Unemployment Compensation (UC) Program. The matching program will provide SWAs with new hire (i.e., employment status) and quarterly wage information from OCSE's National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) system of records, for the purpose of assisting SWAs in preventing, detecting, and addressing program violations and errors, and for related secondary purposes.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 244 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60612-60613]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27486]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health 
and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with subsection (e)(12) of the Privacy Act of 
1974, as amended, the Department of Health and Human Services, 
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support 
Enforcement (HHS/ACF/OCSE), is providing notice of a re-established 
matching program between OCSE and state workforce agencies (SWAs) 
administering the Unemployment Compensation (UC) Program. The matching 
program will provide SWAs with new hire (i.e., employment status) and 
quarterly wage information from OCSE's National Directory of New Hires 
(NDNH) system of records, for the purpose of assisting SWAs in 
preventing, detecting, and addressing program violations and errors, 
and for related secondary purposes.

DATES: The deadline for comments on this notice is January 22, 2018. 
The re-established matching program will commence not sooner than 30 
days after publication of this notice, provided no comments are 
received that warrant a change to this notice. The matching program 
will be conducted for an initial term of 18 months (approximately 
January 13, 2018 through July 13, 2019) and within 3 months of 
expiration may be renewed for up to 12 additional months if the parties 
make no change to the matching program and certify that the program has 
been conducted in compliance with the matching agreement.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit written comments on this 
notice, by mail or email, to Linda Boyer, Director, Division of Federal 
Systems, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for 
Children and Families, by email at [email protected], or by mail 
at Mary E. Switzer Building, 330 C Street SW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 
20201. Comments received will be available for public inspection at 
this address from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General questions about the matching 
program may be submitted to Linda Boyer, Director, Division of Federal 
Systems, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for 
Children and Families, by email at [email protected], by mail at 
Mary E. Switzer Building, 330 C Street SW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 
20201, or by telephone at 202-401-5410.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 
U.S.C. 552a), provides for certain protections for individuals applying 
for and receiving federal benefits. The law governs the use of computer 
matching by federal agencies when records in a system of records 
(meaning, records about individual retrieved by personal identifier) 
are matched with other federal or state agency records. The Privacy Act 
requires agencies involved in a matching program to:
    1. Enter into a written agreement, which must be prepared in 
accordance with the Privacy Act, approved by the Data Integrity Board 
of each participating federal agency, provided to Congress and the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and made available to the 
public, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(o), (u)(3)(A), and (u)(4).
    2. Notify the individuals whose information will be used in the 
matching program that the information they provide is subject to 
verification through matching, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(1)(D).
    3. Verify match findings before suspending, terminating, reducing, 
or making a final denial of an individual's benefits or payments or 
taking other adverse action against the individual, as required by 5 
U.S.C. 552a(p).
    4. Report the matching program to Congress and the OMB, in advance 
and annually, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) (2)(A)(i), (r), and 
(u)(3)(D).
    5. Publish advance notice of the matching program in the Federal 
Register as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(12).
    This matching program meets these requirements.

Participating Agencies

    Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is the source agency, 
and state workforce agencies (SWAs) administering the Unemployment 
Compensation (UC) Program are the recipient agencies.

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    42 U.S.C. 653(j)(8).

Purpose(s)

    The matching program provides each SWA with new hire and quarterly 
wage information from OCSE's National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) 
system of records, pertaining to adult UC applicants and recipients, 
resulting from comparing client name and Social Security number 
combinations in the SWA's files to data in NDNH. The match results 
assist the SWAs in establishing or verifying eligibility for 
assistance, reducing payment errors, and maintaining program integrity, 
including determining whether duplicate participation exists or if the 
client resides in another state. The SWAs may also use the NDNH 
information for secondary purposes, such as updating UC recipients' 
reported participation in work activities, updating recipients' and 
their employers' contact information, and administering the SWAs' tax 
compliance function.

Categories of Individuals

    The categories of individuals whose information is involved in the 
matching program are adult members of households who receive or have 
applied for UC benefits.

Categories of Records

    The categories of records involved in the matching program are new 
hire and quarterly wage information. The specific data elements that 
will be provided to OCSE in a SWA input file are:

 Submitting state code (2-digit FIPS code)
 Date stamp (input file transmission date)

[[Page 60613]]

 UC benefit applicant/recipient's Social Security number
 UC benefit applicant/recipient's first, middle, and last name
 Same state data indicator (indicates whether the SWA requests 
NDNH new hire and quarterly wage information was provided to the NDNH 
by that same state)
 Passback data (SWA information used to identify individuals 
within the input file to be returned on the output file)
 Name/Social Security number verification request

    OCSE will compare the Social Security numbers in the SWA input file 
to the Social Security numbers in the NDNH, and will provide the SWA 
with any available new hire and quarterly wage information in NDNH 
(including names, Social Security numbers, home addresses, and 
employment information) pertaining to the individuals whose records are 
contained in the SWA input file.

System(s) of Records

    The OCSE records disclosed to SWAs will be disclosed from OCSE's 
National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) system of records, No. 09-80-
0381, last published at 80 FR 17906 on April 2, 2015. The disclosures 
are authorized by routine use 13 in that system of records.

Scott M. Lekan,
Commissioner, Office of Child Support Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2017-27486 Filed 12-20-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-42-P