Notice2023-24681
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 8, 2023
Issuing agencies
Veterans Affairs Department
Abstract
Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, notice is hereby given that the VA is modifying the system of records entitled, "Veteran Child Care Programs--VA" (169VA10NC). This system is used to assist VA in assessing whether it should and can feasibly assist qualified Veterans who need childcare to receive health care services.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 215 (Wednesday, November 8, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77145-77147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24681]
[[Page 77145]]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health
Administration (VHA).
ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, notice is hereby given
that the VA is modifying the system of records entitled, ``Veteran
Child Care Programs--VA'' (169VA10NC). This system is used to assist VA
in assessing whether it should and can feasibly assist qualified
Veterans who need childcare to receive health care services.
DATES: Comments on this amended system of records must be received no
later than 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.
If no public comment is received during the period allowed for comment
or unless otherwise published in the Federal Register by the VA, the
modified system of records will become effective a minimum of 30 days
after date of publication in the Federal Register. If VA receives
public comments, VA shall review the comments to determine whether any
changes to the notice are necessary.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through <a href="http://www.Regulations.gov">www.Regulations.gov</a> or
mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, (005X6F),
Washington, DC 20420. Comments should indicate that they are submitted
in response to ``Veteran Child Care Programs--VA'' (169VA10NC).
Comments received will be available at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> for public
viewing, inspection or copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephania Griffin, VHA Chief Privacy
Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20420; telephone (704) 245-2492 (Note: this is not a
toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA is amending the system of records by
revising the System Number, System Location, System Manager, Purpose,
Categories of Records, Records Source Categories, Routine Uses of
Records Maintained in the System, Policies and Practices for Retention
and Disposal of Records, and Policies and Practices for Retrieval of
Records. VA is republishing the system notice in its entirety.
The System Number is being updated from 169VA10NC to 169VA10 to
reflect the current VHA organizational routing symbol. The System
Location is being updated to include information on where to find
address locations for VA facilities.
The Purpose is being updated to reflect that the records are used
to provide appropriate childcare services to children in the program
and to clarify that research includes quality improvement activities.
The Purpose is also being updated to remove reference to ordering and
delivery of equipment.
The System Manager is being updated to replace ADUSH for Clinical
Operations, with Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for
Operations.
The Categories of Records in the System is being updated to delete
reference to the collection of Social Security Numbers as this
information is not being captured.
The Records Source Categories is being updated to include parent/
guardian. Routine use number 13 is being added to state, ``Data Breach
Response and Remediation, for VA: To appropriate agencies, entities and
persons when (1) VA suspects or has confirmed that there has been a
breach of the system of records; (2) VA has determined that as a result
of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk to individuals, VA
(including its information systems, programs and operations), the
Federal Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure made
to such agencies, entities or persons is reasonably necessary to assist
in connection with VA efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed
breach or to prevent, minimize or remedy such harm.''
Policies and Practices for Retrieval of Records is being updated to
remove the Social Security Number.
Policies and Practices for Retention and Disposal of Records is
being updated to include VA Records Control Schedule (RCS) 10-1, Item
Numbers 3075.1 and 3075.12.
The Report of Intent to Amend a System of Records Notice and an
advance copy of the system notice have been sent to the appropriate
Congressional committees and to the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) (Privacy
Act) and guidelines issued by OMB (65 FR 77677), December 12, 2000.
Signing Authority
The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Kurt D.
DelBene, Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief
Information Officer, approved this document on September 28, 2023 for
publication.
Dated: November 3, 2023
Amy L. Rose,
Government Information Specialist, VA Privacy Service, Office of
Compliance, Risk and Remediation, Office of Information and Technology,
Department of Veterans Affairs.
SYSTEM NAME:
``Veteran Child Care Programs--VA'' (169VA10).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Records are located at each Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
health care facility where the childcare program is in place (in most
cases, backup information is stored at off-site locations). Address
locations for VA facilities are listed in Appendix 1 of the biennial
publication of the VA Privacy Act Issuances. Subsidiary record
information is maintained by individuals, organizations and/or agencies
with whom VA has a contract or agreement to perform such services, as
VA may deem practicable.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Official responsible for policies and procedures: Deputy Assistant
Under Secretary for Health for Operations, Department of Veterans
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420. Telephone 202-
461-7064 (this is not a toll-free number).
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
38 U.S.C. 501.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
These records are used to provide appropriate childcare services to
the children in the program; for statistical analysis to produce
various management, workload tracking, and follow-up reports; for
determining entitlement and eligibility for VA benefits; for quality
assurance audits and reviews; to track and evaluate services for the
planning, distribution and utilization of resources; and personnel
management and evaluation. The data may be used for VA's extensive
research programs, including quality improvement activities, in
accordance with VA policy.
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CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
These records include information on children who receive childcare
and the children's parents and/or guardians who are receiving treatment
at VA.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The category of records in the system include: (1) Identifying
information for child (e.g., name, birth date, age, telephone number);
(2) child's primary care physician name and contact information; and
(3) emergency contact information for parent/guardian (e.g., name of
parent/guardian, address, relationship, telephone number, alternate
contact person).
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information in this system of records may be provided by the
Veteran, parent/guardian of the child or family members.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
1. Law Enforcement: To a Federal, state, local, territorial, tribal
or foreign law enforcement authority or other appropriate entity
charged with the responsibility of investigating or prosecuting a
violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal or
regulatory in nature, or charged with enforcing or implementing such
law, provided that the disclosure is limited to information that,
either alone or in conjunction with other information, indicates such a
violation or potential violation. The disclosure of the names and
addresses of Veterans and their dependents from VA records under this
routine use must also comply with the provisions of 38 U.S.C. 5701.
2. Disease Tracking, Patient Outcomes, Other Health Information
Required for Program Accountability: To another Federal agency or the
District of Columbia's government in response to its request or at the
initiation of VA, in connection with disease tracking, patient outcomes
or other health information required for program accountability.
3. Congress: To a Member of Congress or staff acting upon the
Member's behalf when the Member or staff requests the information on
behalf of, and at the request of, the parent/guardian of the child who
is the subject of the record.
4. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): To the NARA
in records management inspections conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and
2906, or other functions authorized by laws and policies governing NARA
operations and VA records management responsibilities.
5. Department of Justice (DoJ), Litigation, Administrative
Proceeding: To the DoJ, or in a proceeding before a court, adjudicative
body or other administrative body before which VA is authorized to
appear, when:
(a) VA or any component thereof;
(b) Any VA employee in his or her official capacity;
(c) Any VA employee in his or her individual capacity where DoJ has
agreed to represent the employee; or
(d) The United States, where VA determines that litigation is
likely to affect the agency or any of its components, is a party to
such proceedings or has an interest in such proceedings, and VA
determines that use of such records is relevant and necessary to the
proceedings.
6. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): To the EEOC in
connection with investigations of alleged or possible discriminatory
practices, examination of Federal affirmative employment programs, or
other functions of the Commission as authorized by law.
7. Contractors: To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants,
students, and others performing or working on a contract, service,
grant, cooperative agreement, or other assignment for VA, when
reasonably necessary to accomplish an agency function related to the
records.
8. Federal Agencies, Fraud and Abuse: To other Federal agencies to
assist such agencies in preventing and detecting possible fraud or
abuse by individuals in their operations and programs.
9. Data Breach Response and Remediation, for Another Federal
Agency: To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when VA determines
that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to
assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected
or confirmed breach or (2) preventing, minimizing or remedying the risk
of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its
information systems, programs and operations), the Federal Government,
or national security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.
10. Family, Partner, for Notification of a Child's Status: To the
extent necessary, on a need-to-know basis, and consistent with good
ethical practices, to family members or persons with whom the child has
a meaningful relationship.
11. Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA): To the FLRA in
connection with the investigation and resolution of allegations of
unfair labor practices, the resolution of exceptions to arbitration
awards when a question of material fact is raised, matters before the
Federal Service Impasses Panel, and the investigation of representation
petitions and the conduct or supervision of representation elections.
12. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB): To the MSPB in
connection with appeals, special studies of the civil service and other
merit systems, review of rules and regulations, investigation of
alleged or possible prohibited personnel practices, and such other
functions promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206, or as otherwise
authorized by law.
13. Data Breach Response and Remediation, for VA: To appropriate
agencies, entities and persons when (1) VA suspects or has confirmed
that there has been a breach of the system of records; (2) VA has
determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there
is a risk to individuals, VA (including its information systems,
programs and operations), the Federal Government, or national security;
and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities or persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with VA efforts to respond
to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize or remedy
such harm.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
Records are currently maintained on paper, microfilm, electronic
media including images and scanned documents, or laser optical media in
the consolidated health record at the health care facility where care
was rendered.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Records are retrieved by name or other assigned identifiers of the
Veteran receiving VA services associated with the childcare episode.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
Records in this system are retained and disposed of in accordance
with the schedule approved by the Archivist, VA Records Control
Schedule (RCS) 10-1, Item Numbers 3075.1 and 3075.12.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
1. Access to and use of national administrative databases,
warehouses and data marts are limited to those
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persons whose official duties require such access, and VA has
established security procedures to ensure that access is appropriately
limited. Information security officers and system data stewards review
and authorize data access requests. VA regulates data access with
security software that authenticates users and requires individually
unique codes and passwords. VA provides information security training
to all staff and instructs staff on the responsibility each person has
for safeguarding data confidentiality.
2. Physical access to computer rooms housing national
administrative databases, warehouses and data marts is restricted to
authorized staff and protected by a variety of security devices.
Unauthorized employees, contractors and other staff are not allowed in
computer rooms. The Federal Protective Service or other security
personnel provide physical security for the buildings housing computer
rooms and data centers.
3. Data transmissions between operational systems and national
administrative databases, warehouses and data marts maintained by this
system of record are protected by state-of-the-art telecommunication
software and hardware. This may include firewalls, intrusion detection
devices, encryption and other security measures necessary to safeguard
data as it travels across the VA Wide Area Network.
4. In most cases, copies of back-up computer files are maintained
at off-site locations.
5. VA maintains Business Associate Agreements and Non-Disclosure
Agreements where appropriate with contracted resources in order to
maintain confidentiality of the information.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:
Individuals seeking information on the existence and content of
records in this system pertaining to where the child participated in
the childcare program should contact the system manager in writing as
indicated above. A request for access to records must contain the
Veteran or primary caretaker's full name, address, telephone number, be
signed by the requester, and describe the records sought in sufficient
detail to enable VA personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount
of effort.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking to contest or amend records in this system
pertaining to them or their children should contact the system manager
in writing as indicated above. A request to contest or amend records
must state clearly and concisely what record is being contested, the
reasons for contesting it, and the proposed amendment to the record.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
Generalized notice is provided by the publication of this notice.
For specific notice, see Record Access Procedure, above.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
77 FR 56914 (September 14, 2012).
[FR Doc. 2023-24681 Filed 11-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 8, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.