09/07/00: Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program; Notice of computer matching between the U.S. Department of Education and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) [OSFAP]



[Federal Register: September 7, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 174)]
[Notices]               
[Page 54244-54245]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07se00-58]                         


[[Page 54244]]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of computer matching between the U.S. Department of 
Education and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Child Support 
Enforcement (OCSE).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act 
of 1988 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines on the 
Conduct of Matching Programs, this document gives notice of a computer 
matching program between the U.S. Department of Education (ED), and the 
Administration for Children and Families/Department of Health and Human 
Services/Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE).

Background

    The Data Integrity Boards of OCSE and ED will approve a new 
computer matching agreement between the two agencies, effective as 
indicated in paragraph six of this notice. In accordance with the 
Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended by the Computer 
Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-503), the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Final Guidelines on the Conduct 
of Matching Programs (see 54 FR 25818, June 19, 1989), and OMB Circular 
A-130, we provide the following information:
    1. Participating Agencies.
    U.S. Department of Education (ED), recipient agency.
    Administration for Children and Families/Department of Health and 
Human Services/Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), source 
agency.
    2. Purpose of Match.
    The purpose of the match is to obtain address information on 
individuals who owe funds to the Federal Government under defaulted 
student loans or grant overpayments. ED will use this information to 
initiate independent collection of these debts under the provisions of 
the Debt Collection Act of 1982 when voluntary payment is not 
forthcoming. For individuals whose annual salary exceeds $16,000, these 
collection efforts will include requests by ED of the employing entity 
to apply administrative and/or salary offset procedures until such time 
as the obligation is paid in full.
    3. Authority for Conducting the Match.
    The legal authority for conducting this match is contained in the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)) as amended (Pub.L. 106-113).
    4. Records and Individuals Covered by the Match.
    The systems of records maintained by the respective agencies under 
the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a, from which records 
will be disclosed for the purpose of this computer match are as 
follows:
    ED: 18-11-07 Student Financial Assistance Collection Files.
    OCSE: 09-90-0074 the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH).
    5. Description of computer matching program.
    ED administers student financial assistance programs under the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). OCSE maintains a database that 
consists of three separate components. The first component, the W4 
table, contains all newly hired employees as reported from the State 
Directory of New Hires (SDNH) and directly from federal agencies. 
Component two, the QW table, contains quarterly wage information on 
individual employees, as received from federal agencies and states. The 
final component, the UI table, contains, unemployment insurance 
information of individuals who have received, or made application for, 
unemployment benefits, as reported by State Employment Security Agency 
or other State agencies responsible for the implementation of the 
Unemployment Insurance Program.
    This matching agreement between ED and OCSE will assist ED in 
locating and collecting funds from delinquent debtors. The identifying 
elements that the two agencies will match are as follows:
    ED: Names and SSNs of delinquent debtors.
    OCSE: Names and SSNs of all newly hired employees and individuals 
who have received, or made application for, unemployment benefits.
    OCSE will perform the computer match using all nine digits of the 
social security number (SSN) of the ED file against the OCSE computer 
database. OCSE will produce a file containing the name, SSN, current 
home address, employer and employer's address for each individual 
identified, based on the match. The file of matches will be returned to 
ED.
    ED is responsible for verifying and determining that the data on 
the NDNH reply file is consistent with ED's source file and for 
resolving any discrepancies or inconsistencies on an individual basis. 
ED will also be responsible for making final determinations as to 
positive identification, amount of indebtedness and recovery efforts, 
as a result of the match.
    6. Inclusive Dates of the Matching Program.
    The matching program will become effective 40 days after a copy of 
the agreement, as approved by the Data Integrity Board of each agency, 
is sent to Congress and OMB (or later if OMB objects to some or all of 
the agreement), or October 10, 2000, whichever date is later. The 
matching program will continue for 18 months after the effective date 
and may be extended for an additional 12 months thereafter, if the 
conditions specified in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.
    7. Address for Receipt of Comments or Inquiries.
    If you wish to comment on this matching program or obtain 
additional information about the program including a copy of the 
computer matching agreement between ED and OCSE, contact Marian Currie, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5614, ROB-
3, Washington, DC 20202-5400, telephone: (202) 708-4766; or, as a 
secondary contact: Adara L. Walton, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 
5614, ROB-3, Washington, DC 20202-5420, telephone: (202) 260-1852. If 
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this matching program in room 5614, Regional Office 
Building 3, Seventh and D Streets, SW., Washington, DC, between the 
hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday 
of each week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Comments

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
record for this notice. If you want to schedule an appointment for this 
type of aid, you may call (202) 205-8113 or (202) 260-9895. If you use 
a TDD, you may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-
8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

[[Page 54245]]

Electronic Access to This Document

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1530.
    You may also view this document in text or PDF at the following 
site: http://ifap.ed.gov/csb_html/fedlreg.htm.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: August 31, 2000.
Greg Woods,
Chief Operating Officer, Student Financial Assistance.
[FR Doc. 00-22952 Filed 9-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U