[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 113 (Wednesday, June 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35310-35312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13974]



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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5693-N-03]


Implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; Privacy 
Act System of Records, Family Self-Sufficiency Program Demonstration 
Data

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)), as 
amended, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Circular No. A-130, 
notice is hereby given that the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research provides 
public notice regarding its Family Self-Sufficiency Program 
Demonstration Data. This study will allow the Department, and other 
participating agencies to evaluate the benefits and impacts gained from 
families participating in the Family Self Sufficiency program. The data 
sources evaluated under this program are gathered from Federal, state, 
and local agencies' databases. A more detailed description of the 
proposed system is contained in the purpose section of this notice.

DATES: Effective Date: This notice shall become effective, without 
further notice July 12, 2013, unless comments are received during or 
before this period which would result in a contrary determination.
    Comments Due Date: July 12, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Robinson-Staton, Chief Privacy 
Officer, 451 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20410 (Attention: 
Capitol View Building, 4th Floor), telephone number: (202) 402-8073. 
[The above telephone number is not a toll free number.] A 
telecommunications device for hearing- and speech-impaired persons 
(TTY) is available by calling the Federal Information Relay Service's 
toll-free telephone number (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a), Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as 
amended, notice is given that HUD proposes to establish a new system of 
records. The system report was submitted to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB), the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs, and the House Committee on Government Reform 
pursuant to Paragraph 4c of Appendix l to OMB Circular No. A-130, 
``Federal Agencies Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About 
Individuals,'' July 25, 1994 (59 FR 37914).

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 552a; 88 Stat. 1896; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).

    Dated: May 31, 2013.
Barbara Elliott,
Acting Chief Information Officer.
SYSTEM OF RECORDS NO.: PD&R/RRE.02

SYSTEM NAME:
    Family Self-Sufficiency Program Demonstration Data.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    MDRC 16 East 34th Street, New York, NY 10016-4326; Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th St. SW., Washington DC 20410; 
Iron Mountain, 1101 Enterprise Drive, Royersford, PA 19468.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THIS SYSTEM:
    Participants in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program Demonstration.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The dataset will contain the following categories of records:
    1. Output of random assignment process: Identify treatment group 
status, sample ID and research ID.
    2. Responses to baseline information form: This initial survey 
collects PII, including social security number, full name, date of 
birth, public housing authority household ID number, address, phone 
numbers, email addresses, and contact information of family or friends. 
In addition, it will collect demographic data, family status, household 
composition, employment status, and income.
    3. Responses to follow-up survey: Respondents' subjective 
assessments of FSS; respondents' experiences with other public housing 
programs; respondents' earning of degrees and credentials; involvement 
in education, training, and employment services; respondent and 
household income; material hardship; family well-being; savings, debt, 
and financial behaviors; household demographics; housing circumstances 
and conditions.
    4. Administrative data: Data on households available through HUD 
administrative data collections will be brought into the dataset 
directly from participating public housing authorities and extracted 
from HUD's Inventory Management System, including information 
pertaining to family structure, household size, household assets, 
household income, total tenant payment and subsidy amount, FSS escrow 
account eligibility, timing and amount of FSS escrow account 
contributions, withdrawals from FSS escrow account, eligibility for 
Section 8 housing, residence status in public housing, and 
participation in other HUD programs.
    5. Management information system data: When necessary, each study 
site will include information about FSS pre-employment, education, and 
training services providers will be collected, including service type, 
service referral, start and end dates, end reason, degree/credential 
receipt, and supportive services payment types.
    6. Data from State Unemployment Insurance systems and other 
administrative systems outside of HUD: In addition to the data 
collected through the follow-up survey, the FSS Demonstration Data will 
also include quarterly data drawn from the Unemployment Insurance (UI) 
system on employment, earnings, and UI benefit receipt. It may also 
include data on receipt of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
(SNAP) benefits and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) 
benefits collected from the responsible entities in each study site.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Section 502(g) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 
(Public Law 91-609) (12 U.S.C. 1701z-1; 1701z-2(d) and (g)).

PURPOSE(s):
    The purpose of the FSS Demonstration is to evaluate the impact of 
the FSS program. The FSS Demonstration is a random-assignment study to 
evaluate the effectiveness of the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) 
Program. FSS has operated since 1992 and serves voucher holders and 
residents of public housing. The FSS program offers participants case 
management plus an escrow account in which they must deposit a 
proportion of any increased earnings during the time they stay in the 
program. The FSS program aims to help participants increase their 
earnings. To date, HUD previously funded two studies of the FSS 
program, but neither can tell us how well families would have done in 
the absence of the program. The FSS Demonstration will compare FSS 
participants to nonparticipants in terms of employment, earnings and 
housing stability over several years. Because participants and non-
participants will be randomly assigned instead of self-selected, the 
FSS Demonstration findings will allow us to attribute participant gains 
to the impact of the program. This study will provide

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critical information for developing policies that truly support 
families toward self-sufficiency. The findings of the FSS Demonstration 
can inform decisions about the modification or expansion of the FSS 
program. Furthermore, the FSS Demonstration is in direct service of the 
mission of HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research, which is to 
``inform policy development and implementation to improve life in 
American communities through conducting, supporting, and sharing 
research, surveys, demonstrations, program evaluations, and best 
practices.'' In sum, the purposes of the FSS Demonstration are (1) to 
find out if the FSS program helps families achieve self-sufficiency and 
(2) to provide policy makers with insight into how policy can best help 
families achieve self-sufficiency.

ROUTINE USE 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, HUD may disclose information contained in 
this system of records without the consent of the subject individual in 
accordance with the following discretionary disclosures set forth by 
the Federal Register Notice ``HUD's Routine Use Inventory'' [Docket No. 
FR-5613-N-07] published on 7/17/2012 \1\ when such disclosure is 
compatible with the purpose for which the record was collected, 
providing that approval is obtained from the system manager. Routine 
uses applicable to the FSS Demonstration Data System include:
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    \1\ http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=append1.pdf.
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    (1) To a recipient who has provided the agency with advance 
adequate written assurance that the record will be used solely as a 
statistical research or reporting record, and the record is to be 
transferred in a form that is not individually identifiable;
    (2) To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and 
the General Services Administration (GSA) for records having sufficient 
historical or other value to warrant its continued preservation by the 
United States Government, or for inspection under authority of Title 
44, Chapter 29, of the United States;
    (3) To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at the 
request of that individual;
    (4) To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, Federal 
agencies, and non-Federal entities including but not limited to state 
and local governments, and other research institutions or their 
parties, other entities and their agents with whom HUD has a contract, 
service agreement, grant, or cooperative agreement, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to a system of records for the 
purposes of statistical analysis and research in support of program 
operations, management, performance monitoring, evaluation, risk 
management, and policy development, or otherwise to support the 
Department's mission. Records under this routine use may not be used in 
whole or in part to make decisions that affect the rights, benefits or 
privileges of specific individuals. The results of matched information 
may not be disclosed in identifiable form;
    (5) To the Department of Justice (DOJ) when seeking legal advice 
for a HUD initiative or in response to DOJ's request for the 
information, after either HUD or DOJ determine that such information is 
relevant to DOJ's representatives of the United States or any other 
components in legal proceedings before a court or adjudicative body, 
provided that, in each case, the agency also determines prior to 
disclosure that disclosure of the records to the DOJ is a use of the 
information contained in the records that is compatible with the 
purpose for which HUD collected the records;
    (6) HUD on its own may disclose records in this system of records 
in legal proceeding before a court or administrative body after 
determining that the disclosure of the records to the court or 
administrative body is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which HUD collected the 
records;
    (7) To another agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental 
jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States for a 
civil or criminal law enforcement activity if the activity is 
authorized by law, and if the head of the agency or instrumentality has 
made a written request to the agency which maintains the record 
specifying the particular portion desired and the law enforcement 
activity for which the record is sought; and
    (8) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (a) HUD 
suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of 
information in a system of records has been compromised; (b) HUD has 
determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise 
there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, identity 
theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of systems or 
programs (whether maintained by HUD or another agency or entity) that 
rely upon the compromised information; and (c) the disclosure made to 
such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist 
in connection with HUD's efforts to respond to the suspected or 
confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm for 
purposes of facilitating responses and remediation efforts in the event 
of a data breach.

STORAGE:
    Records are stored on secure servers. System users are not allowed 
to download, keep, or process individual-level data on the hard drives 
of their MDRC work stations. Archived study data will be stored on 
secure servers, and the IRON Mountain Storage facility.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records will be retrieved by social security number and/or unique 
study identifier.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to any server, security, storage, backup, and infrastructure 
equipment is monitored, restricted to only those with a need-to-have 
system access, including being secured by administrative password and 
authentication methods. All system users are required to sign a 
confidentiality pledge to abide by corporate policies and by HUD 
policies. There are no paper-based records associated with this study.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records (electronic data) files are maintained in accordance with 
HUD Records Disposition Schedule 67.9.b and 67.9.f;\2\ this schedule 
requires that records be retained or archived for 6 years. As such, 
when projects are satisfactorily closed and records are no longer 
needed for administrative purposes, the records can be destroyed when 
the destruction date is reached. Manual records are destroyed by 
shredding or burning; electronic records are destroyed in accordance 
with HUD's IT Security Handbook 2400.25, Section 4.7.6.\3\
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    \2\ http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=22256x67ADMH.pdf.
    \3\ http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=240025CIOH.pdf.
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SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Director, Division of Program Evaluation, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 451 
Seventh Street SW., Room 8120, Washington, DC 20410.

NOTIFICATION AND RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:
    For information, assistance, or inquiry about the existence of 
records, contact

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the Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 Seventh Street SW., Room 4156, Washington, DC 20410. (Attention: 
Capitol View Building, 4th Floor). Provide verification of your 
identity by providing two proofs of official identification. Your 
verification of identity must include your original signature and must 
be notarized. The Department's rules for providing access to records to 
the individual concerned appear in 24 CFR part 16.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    The procedures for requesting amendment or correction of records 
appear in 24 CFR part 16. If additional information is needed, contact:
    (i) In relation to contesting contents of records, the Privacy Act 
Officer at HUD, 451 Seventh Street SW., Room 4178 (Attention: Capitol 
View Building, 4th Floor), Washington, DC 20410;
    (ii) In relation to appeals of initial denials, HUD, Departmental 
Privacy Appeals Officer, Office of General Counsel, 451 Seventh Street 
SW., Washington, DC 20410.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    (1) Output of random assignment process, (2) Responses to baseline 
information form, (3) Responses to follow-up survey, (4) Administrative 
data, (5) Management information system data from public housing 
agencies, and (6) Data from administrative systems, including State 
Unemployment Insurance and entities responsible for Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and Temporary Assistance 
to Needy Families (TANF) in each study site.

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2013-13974 Filed 6-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P