[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 88 (Monday, May 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26767-26769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6809]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2006-0017]


Privacy Act of 1974: System of Records

AGENCY: Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of 
Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to add a new system 
of records to its inventory of record systems for Department of 
Homeland Security General Training Records.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 7, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2006-0017, by one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: (571) 227-4171 (This is not a toll-free number).
Mail: Maureen Cooney, Acting Chief Privacy Officer, DHS Privacy Office, 
Mail Stop C-3, 601 S. 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-4220.

    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this notice. All comments received will be posted 
without change and may be read at http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maureen Cooney, Acting Chief Privacy 
Officer, Department of Homeland Security, by telephone (571) 227-3813 
or facsimile (571) 227-4171.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the savings clause in the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, section 1512, 116 
Stat. 2310 (Nov. 25, 2002), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
and its components and offices have relied on preexisting Privacy Act 
systems of records notices for the maintenance of records that concern 
training of current and former Departmental employees, contractors, and 
other individuals. See, e.g., CS.238, Customs Service Training and 
Career Individual Development Plans and C.239, Customs Service Training 
Records, last published on October 18, 2001 at 66 FR 2984.
    As part of its efforts to streamline and consolidate its record 
systems, DHS is establishing a new agency-wide system of records under 
the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) for the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) General Training Records. This record system will allow all 
component parts of DHS to collect and preserve training records under 
one centralized system. The system will consist of both electronic and 
paper records and will be used by DHS and its components and offices to 
maintain records about individual training, including enrollment and 
participation information, information pertaining to class schedules, 
programs, and instructors, training trends and needs, testing and 
examination materials, and assessments of training efficacy. The data 
will be collected by employee name or other unique personal identifier. 
The collection and maintenance of this information will assist DHS in 
meeting its obligation to train its personnel, contractors, and others 
in order to ensure that the agency mission can be successfully 
accomplished.
    The Privacy Act embodies Fair Information principles in a statutory 
framework governing the means by which the United States Government 
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates personally identifiable 
information. The Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained 
in a ``system of records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any 
records under the control of an agency from which information is 
retrieved by the name of an individual or by some identifying number, 
symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. 
Individuals may request their own records that are maintained in a 
system of records in the possession or under the control of DHS by 
complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR 5.21.
    The Privacy Act requires that each agency publish in the Federal 
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system 
of records in order to make agency recordkeeping practices transparent, 
to notify individuals about the use to which personally identifiable 
information is put, and to assist the individual to more easily find 
files within the agency.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this revised system of records to the Office of Management and Budget 
and to the Congress.

System of Records

DHS/All-003

System Name:
    Department of Homeland Security General Training Records.

Security Classification:
    Unclassified; sensitive.

System Location:
    Records are maintained at several Headquarters locations and in 
component offices of the Department of Homeland Security, in both 
Washington, DC and field locations.
    This system of records will cover:
    1. Any individual who is or has been an employee of DHS and who has 
applied for, participated in or assisted with a training program;
    2. Any other Federal employee or private individual, including 
contractors and others, who has participated in or assisted with 
training programs recommended, sponsored or operated by the Department 
of Homeland Security.

Authority for Maintenance of the System:
    The Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, 6 U.S.C. 
121; Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; 6 CFR Part 5; 5 U.S.C. app. 
3; 5 U.S.C. 301 and Ch. 41; Executive Order 11348, as amended by 
Executive Order 12107; and Executive Order 9397 (SSN).

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    Current and former employees of DHS, volunteers and contractors; 
other participants in training programs, including instructors, course 
developers, observers, and interpreters.

Categories of Records in the System:
    The system includes all records pertaining to training, including 
nomination forms; registration forms; course rosters and sign-in 
sheets; instructor lists; schedules; payment records, including 
financial, travel and related expenditures; examination and testing 
materials; grades and student evaluations; course and instructor 
critiques; equipment issued to trainees and other training 
participants; and other reports pertaining to training. Names and 
social security numbers are included in these records. Records of 
individuals who apply for but are not

[[Page 26768]]

accepted for training may also be included in this system.

Purpose:
    This record system will collect and document training given to DHS 
employees, contractors and others. It will provide DHS with a means to 
track the particular training that is provided, identify training 
trends and needs, monitor and track the expenditure of training and 
related travel funds, schedule training classes and programs, schedule 
instructors, track training items issued to students, assess the 
effectiveness of training, identify patterns, respond to requests for 
information related to the training of DHS personnel and other 
individuals, and facilitate the compilation of statistical information 
about training.

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, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. When a record, either on its face on in conjunction with other 
information, indicates a violation or potential violation of law, 
whether criminal, civil or administrative, the relevant records may be 
referred to an appropriate Federal, State, territorial, tribal, local, 
international, or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate 
authority charged with investigating or prosecuting such a violation or 
enforcing or implementing such law.
    B. To a Federal, State, tribal, local or foreign government agency 
or professional licensing authority in response to its request, in 
connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of 
a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, 
the letting of a contract, or the issuance or status of a license, 
grant, or other benefit by the requesting entity, to the extent that 
the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting entity's 
decision on the matter.
    C. To the news media and the public where there exists a legitimate 
public interest in the disclosure of the information or when disclosure 
is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of the Department 
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of the Department's 
officers, employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to 
the extent it is determined that release of the specific information in 
the context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted 
invasion of personal privacy.
    D. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other 
federal government agencies in records management inspections conducted 
under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    E. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and 
others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative 
agreement, or other assignment for the Federal Government, when 
necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of 
records.
    F. To the Department of Justice or other Federal agency conducting 
litigation or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or 
administrative body, when: (a) DHS, or (b) any employee of DHS in his/
her official capacity, or (c) any employee of DHS in his/her individual 
capacity where DOJ or DHS has agreed to represent the employee, or (d) 
the United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the litigation 
or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines that 
disclosure is relevant and necessary to the litigation.
    G. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    H. To educational institutions or training facilities for purposes 
of enrollment and verification of employee attendance and performance.
    I. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purposes of 
performing authorized audit or oversight operations.
    J. To the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Merit Systems 
Protection Board, Office of the Special Counsel, Federal Labor 
Relations Authority, or Office of Personnel Management or to 
arbitrators and other parties responsible for processing any personnel 
actions or conducting administrative hearings or appeals, or if needed 
in the performance of authorized duties.
    K. To the Department of Justice or a consumer reporting agency for 
further action on a delinquent debt when circumstances warrant.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in 
secure facilities. The records are stored on magnetic disc, tape, 
digital media, and CD-ROM, and may also be retained in hard copy format 
in secure folders.

Retrievability:
    Data may be retrieved by the individual's name, Social Security 
Number, other personal identifier.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being 
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this 
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the 
information for the performance of their official duties and who have 
appropriate clearances or permissions. The system maintains a real-time 
auditing function of individuals who access the system.

Retention and Disposal:
    Records are maintained and disposed in accordance with National 
Archives and Records Administration General Records Schedule, No. 1.

System Manager(s) and Address:
    The records are maintained at the Headquarters offices of the 
Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC and in component 
offices located in Washington and elsewhere.

Notification Procedure:
    Individuals seeking notification and access to any record contained 
in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, may 
inquire in writing to the DHS Privacy Officer at the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, Privacy Office, Arlington, Virginia 22202 or to the 
respective DHS component or office where the records are maintained.

Record Access Procedure:
    See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

Contesting Record Procedures:
    See ``Notification Procedure'' above.
    Information contained in the records is obtained from employees, 
contractors, volunteers and others and from government and non-
government organizations and individuals that provide training to 
agency employees.

Exemptions Claimed for the System:
    Certain records in this system may be exempt on the basis of 5 
U.S.C. 552a(k)(6) in order to preserve the

[[Page 26769]]

objectivity and fairness of testing and examination material.

    Dated: April 28, 2006.
Maureen Cooney,
Acting Chief Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-6809 Filed 5-5-06; 8:45 am]
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