Notice2021-28211
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
Primary source
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Published
December 28, 2021
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentChildren and Families Administration
Abstract
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is providing notice of a re-established matching program between HHS/ACF/OCSE and state agencies administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The matching program compares state SNAP agency records with new hire, quarterly wage, and unemployment insurance information maintained in the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). The outcomes of the comparisons help state agencies with establishing or verifying eligibility for applicants and recipients of SNAP benefits, reducing SNAP benefit errors, and maintaining program integrity.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 246 (Tuesday, December 28, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73788-73789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-28211]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for
Children and Families, HHS.
ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Support
Enforcement (OCSE) is providing notice of a re-established matching
program between HHS/ACF/OCSE and state agencies administering the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The matching program
compares state SNAP agency records with new hire, quarterly wage, and
unemployment insurance information maintained in the National Directory
of New Hires (NDNH). The outcomes of the comparisons help state
agencies with establishing or verifying eligibility for applicants and
recipients of SNAP benefits, reducing SNAP benefit errors, and
maintaining program integrity.
DATES: The deadline for comments on this notice is January 27, 2022.
The re-established matching program will commence no 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 (from approximately
February 16, 2022, through August 15, 2023), and within 3 months of
expiration, may be renewed for one additional year if the parties make
no change to the matching program and certify that the program has been
conducted in compliance with the agreement.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit written comments on this
notice to Venkata Kondapolu, Acting Director, Division of Federal
Systems, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for
Children and Families, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cfb9aaa1a4aebbaee1a4a0a1abaebfa0a3ba8faeaca9e1a7a7bce1a8a0b9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="91e7f4fffaf0e5f0bffafefff5f0e1fefde4d1f0f2f7bff9f9e2bff6fee7">[email protected]</span></a>, or by
mail at Mary E. Switzer Building, 330 C St. 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 Venkata Kondapolu, Acting Director,
Division of Federal Systems, Office of Child Support Enforcement,
Administration for Children and Families, by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2f594a41444e5b4e014440414b4e5f40435a6f4e4c490147475c01484059"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7006151e1b1104115e1b1f1e1411001f1c05301113165e1818035e171f06">[email protected]</span></a>, or by mail at Mary E. Switzer Building,
330 C St. SW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20201, or by telephone at 202-
260-4712.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5
U.S.C. 552a), provides 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, which
contains information about individuals that are retrieved by name or
other personal identifier, are matched with records of other federal,
state, or local government records. The Privacy Act requires agencies
involved in a matching program to:
1. Obtain approval of a Computer Matching Agreement, prepared in
accordance with the Privacy Act, by the Data Integrity Board of any
federal agency participating in a matching program.
2. Enter into a written Computer Matching Agreement.
3. Provide a report of the matching program to Congress and the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and make it available to the
public, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(o), (u)(3)(A), and (u)(4).
4. Publish a notice of the matching program in the Federal Register
as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(12) after OMB and Congress complete
their review of the report, as provided by OMB Circular A-108.
5. 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).
6. 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).
This matching program complies with these requirements.
Linda Boyer,
Deputy Commissioner, OCSE.
Participating Agencies
The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is the source
agency, and state agencies administering the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) are non-federal (recipient) agencies.
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
The authority for conducting the matching program is contained in
section 453(j)(10) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)(10)).
The Agriculture Act of 2014, Public Law 113-079, amended section 11(e)
of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(24)) by adding
the requirement that the state agency shall request wage data directly
from the NDNH, established under section 453(i) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 653(i)), relevant to determining eligibility to receive
supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits and determining the
correct amount of those benefits at the time of certification.
Purpose(s)
The purpose of the matching program is to provide each
participating state agency administering SNAP with new hire, quarterly
wage, and unemployment insurance information from OCSE's NDNH system of
records to assist them in establishing or verifying SNAP applicants'
and recipients' eligibility for assistance, reducing payment errors,
and maintaining program integrity, including determining whether
duplicate participation exists or if the applicant or recipient resides
in another state. The state SNAP agencies may also use the NDNH
information for the secondary purpose of updating the recipients'
reported participation in work activities and updating recipients' and
their employers' contact information maintained by the state SNAP
agencies.
Categories of Individuals
The categories of individuals involved in the matching program are
adult members of households who have applied for or receive SNAP
benefits.
Categories of Records
The categories of records involved in the matching program, which
may include personal identifiers, are new hire, quarterly wage, and
unemployment insurance information.
[[Page 73789]]
The specific data elements that will be provided to HHS/ACF/OCSE in a
state agency input file are:
<bullet> Submitting state code (two-digit Federal Information
Processing Standard code);
<bullet> Date stamp (input file transmission date);
<bullet> Adult SNAP caseload month and year of adult SNAP
applicants and recipients;
<bullet> Adult SNAP applicant/recipient Social Security number;
<bullet> Adult SNAP applicant/recipient's first, middle, and last
name; and
<bullet> Name/Social Security number verification request.
Optional:
<bullet> Passback data (state agency information used to identify
individuals within the input file to be returned on the output file);
and
<bullet> Same state data indicator (indicates whether the state
agency requests NDNH new hire, quarterly wage, or unemployment
insurance even if the information was provided by that same state).
HHS/ACF/OCSE will compare the Social Security numbers in the state
agency input file to the Social Security numbers in the NDNH, and will
provide the state agency with any available new hire, quarterly wage,
and available unemployment insurance information in NDNH pertaining to
the individuals whose records are contained in the state agency input
file. The NDNH data elements that HHS/ACF/OCSE will return to the state
agency are as follows:
a. New Hire File
<bullet> New hire processed date
<bullet> Employee name and address
<bullet> Employee date and state of hire
<bullet> Federal and state employer identification numbers
<bullet> Department of Defense code
<bullet> Employer name and address
<bullet> Transmitter agency code
<bullet> Transmitter state code
<bullet> Transmitter state or agency name
b. Quarterly Wage File
<bullet> Quarterly wage processed date
<bullet> Employee name
<bullet> Federal and state employer identification numbers
<bullet> Department of Defense code
<bullet> Employer name and address
<bullet> Employee wage amount
<bullet> Quarterly wage reporting period
<bullet> Transmitter agency code
<bullet> Transmitter state code
<bullet> Transmitter state or agency name
c. Unemployment Insurance File
<bullet> Unemployment insurance processed date
<bullet> Claimant name and address
<bullet> Claimant benefit amount
<bullet> Unemployment insurance reporting period
<bullet> Transmitter state code
<bullet> Transmitter state or agency name
System(s) of Records
The NDNH data used in this matching program will be disclosed from
the following OCSE system of records, as authorized by routine use 15:
``OCSE National Directory of New Hires,'' System No. 09-80-0381; 80 FR
17906 (Apr. 2, 2015), updated at 83 FR 6591 (Feb. 14, 2018).
[FR Doc. 2021-28211 Filed 12-27-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-42-P
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