[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 72 (Friday, April 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19145-19146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-9142]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, DOD.

ACTION: Notice to Add a System of Records.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Air Force proposes to add a system of 
records to this inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act 
of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

DATES: This action will be effective without further notice on May 14, 
2001 unless comments are received that would result in a contrary 
determination.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Air Force Access Programs Manager, 
Headquarters, Air Force Communications and Information Center/ITC, 1250 
Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330-1250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Anne Rollins at (703) 588-6187.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of the Air Force notices for 
systems of records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), 
as amended, have been published in the Federal Register and are 
available from the address above.
    The proposed system report, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) of the 
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, was submitted on April 3, 2001, to the 
House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate Committee on 
Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
pursuant to paragraph 4c of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130, 
``Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About 
Individuals,'' dated February 8, 1996 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427).

    Dated: April 6, 2001.
L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
F044 AF SG T

System name:
    Suicide Event Surveillance System (SESS).

System location:
    Defense Enterprise Computing Center, Defense Information Systems 
Agency Detachment San Antonio, Building 200, 450 Duncan Drive, San 
Antonio, TX 78241-5940, on behalf of the Air Force Medical Support 
Agency (AFMSA/SGMID), 2510 Kennedy Circle, Suite 208, Brooks Air Force 
Base, TX 78235-5123.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Air Force active duty, retired, reserve and guard personnel; Air 
Force civilians; dependents; and any DoD military or civilian personnel 
that are treated at an Air Force medical treatment facility.

Categories of records in the system:
    Type of suicide event (completed and nonfatal suicide events), 
event details, psychological, social, behavioral, relationship, 
economic and other information, including name, Social Security Number, 
date of birth, gender, race/ethnic group, marital status, rank, 
military service, military status, job title, duty Air Force specialty 
code, permanent duty station, the major command of the permanent duty 
station, temporary duty station (if applicable), use of military 
helping services.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    10 U.S.C. 55, Medical and Dental Care; 10 U.S.C. 8013, Secretary of 
the Air Force; 29 CFR part 1960, Occupational Illness/Injury Reporting 
Guidelines for Federal Agencies; Air Force Instruction 48-105, 
Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of Diseases and Conditions of 
Public Health or Military Significance; and E.O. 9397 (SSN).

Purpose(s):
    Records from this data system will be used for direct reporting of 
suicide events and ongoing public health surveillance, which is the 
systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of outcome-specific 
data for use in the planning, implementation, evaluation and prevention 
within the Air Force. Primary users include authorized Air Force 
activity/installation mental health personnel, their major command and 
Air Force counterparts, and Headquarters Air Force Office of Special 
Investigations (AFOSI), Death Investigations Section personnel. Records 
are created and revised by mental health and AFOSI personnel in the 
performance of their duties.
    Mental health personnel include military and/or civilian staff 
assigned to the mental health department of the Air Force medical 
treatment facility where the medical and/or mental health records are 
maintained.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records, or information contained 
therein, may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    Statistical summary data with no identifiers may be provided to 
federal, state and local governments for public health surveillance and 
research.
    The DoD ``Blanket Routine Uses'' published at the beginning of the 
Air Force's compilation of record system notices apply to this system, 
except as stipulated in ``Note'' below.

    Note: Records of identity, diagnosis, prognosis or treatment of 
any client/patient, irrespective of whether or when he/she ceases to 
be a client/patient, maintained in connection with the performance 
of any alcohol/drug abuse treatment function conducted, requested, 
or directly or indirectly assisted by any department or agency of 
the United States, shall, except as provided herein, be confidential 
and be disclosed only for the purposes and under the circumstances 
expressly authorized in 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2. This statute takes 
precedence over the Privacy Act of 1974 in regard to accessibility 
of such records except to the individual to whom the record 
pertains. The ``Blanket Routine Uses'' do not apply to these types 
of records.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Maintained on computer and computer output products.

Retrievability:
    Authorized users retrieve records by case identification number 
which is Social Security Number, plus year, month, day of event date.

Safeguards:
    Records are accessed by custodians of the record system and by 
person(s)

[[Page 19146]]

responsible for servicing the record system in performance of their 
official duties who are properly authorized. When under direct physical 
control by authorized individuals, records will be electronically 
stored in computer storage devices protected by computer system 
software. Computer terminals are located in supervised areas with 
terminal access controlled by password or other user code systems.

Retention and disposal:
    Disposition pending (until NARA disposition is approved, treat as 
permanent).

System manager(s) and address:
    Chief, Force Health Protection and Surveillance Branch, Air Force 
Institute for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health Risk 
Analysis, 2513 Kennedy Circle, Brooks Air Force Base, TX 78235-5123.

Notification procedure:
    Individuals seeking to determine whether this system or records 
contains information on themselves should address written inquiries to 
Chief, Force Health Protection and Surveillance Branch, Air Force 
Institute for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health Risk 
Analysis, 2513 Kennedy Circle, Brooks Air Force Base, TX 78235-5123.
    Written requests should contain the full name, Social Security 
Number, and signature of the requester.

Record access procedures:
    Individuals seeking to access records about themselves contained in 
this system should address written requests to the Chief, Force Health 
Protection and Surveillance Branch, Air Force Institute for 
Environment, Safety and Occupational Health Risk Analysis, 2513 Kennedy 
Circle, Brooks Air Force Base, TX 78235-5123.
    Written requests should contain the full name, Social Security 
Number, and signature of the requester.

Contesting record procedures:
    The Air Force rules for accessing records, and for contesting 
contents and appealing initial agency determinations are published in 
Air Force Instruction 37-132; 32 CFR part 806b; or may be obtained from 
the system manager.

Record source categories:
    Records in this system are obtained from DOD and Air Force 
employees and compiled using information from personnel, medical, and 
casualty records, investigative reports, and environmental sampling 
data.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.
[FR Doc. 01-9142 Filed 4-12-01; 8:45 am]
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