[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73788-73789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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 [email protected], 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 
[email protected], 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:
     Submitting state code (two-digit Federal Information 
Processing Standard code);
     Date stamp (input file transmission date);
     Adult SNAP caseload month and year of adult SNAP 
applicants and recipients;
     Adult SNAP applicant/recipient Social Security number;
     Adult SNAP applicant/recipient's first, middle, and last 
name; and
     Name/Social Security number verification request.
    Optional:
     Passback data (state agency information used to identify 
individuals within the input file to be returned on the output file); 
and
     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

 New hire processed date
 Employee name and address
 Employee date and state of hire
 Federal and state employer identification numbers
 Department of Defense code
 Employer name and address
 Transmitter agency code
 Transmitter state code
 Transmitter state or agency name

b. Quarterly Wage File

 Quarterly wage processed date
 Employee name
 Federal and state employer identification numbers
 Department of Defense code
 Employer name and address
 Employee wage amount
 Quarterly wage reporting period
 Transmitter agency code
 Transmitter state code
 Transmitter state or agency name

c. Unemployment Insurance File

 Unemployment insurance processed date
 Claimant name and address
 Claimant benefit amount
 Unemployment insurance reporting period
 Transmitter state code
 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