[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68501-68503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24771]


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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, Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice of a re-established matching program.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 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 Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families (TANF) program. The matching program compares state TANF 
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 to 
establish and verify eligibility for applicants and recipients of TANF 
benefits, reduce TANF benefit errors, and maintain program integrity.

DATES: The deadline for comments on this notice is December 15, 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 
January 19, 2023, through July 18, 2024) 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.

[[Page 68502]]


ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit written comments on this 
notice to Venkata Kondapolu, 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 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General questions about the matching 
program may be submitted to Venkata Kondapolu, Director, Division of 
Federal Systems, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration 
for Children and Families, by email at [email protected], 
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 
contains information about individuals that are retrieved by name or 
other personal identifier or 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.

Tanguler Gray,
Commissioner, OCSE.

Participating Agencies

    The agencies participating in the matching program are OCSE (source 
agency) and state agencies administering the Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families (TANF) program (non-federal agencies).

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    The authority for conducting the matching program is contained in 
section 453(j)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)(3)).

Purpose(s)

    The purpose of the matching program is to provide each 
participating state agency administering TANF with new hire, quarterly 
wage, and unemployment insurance information from OCSE's NDNH system of 
records to assist them in establishing or verifying TANF 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 TANF agencies may also use the NDNH 
information to update the recipients' reported participation in work 
activities and recipients' and their employers' contact information 
maintained by the state TANF agencies.

Categories of Individuals

    The categories of individuals involved in the matching program are 
adult members of households who have applied for or receive TANF 
benefits.

Categories of Records

    The categories of records involved in the matching program that may 
include personal identifiers are new hire, quarterly wage, and 
unemployment insurance information. The specific data elements that 
will be provided to OCSE in a state agency input file are:

[squ] Submitting state code (two-digit Federal Information Processing 
Standard code)
[squ] Date stamp (input file transmission date)
[squ] TANF caseload month and year of adult TANF applicants and 
recipients
[squ] Adult TANF applicant/recipient's Social Security number
[squ] Adult TANF applicant/recipient's first, middle (optional), and 
last name
[squ] 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)
    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)
    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 the NDNH pertaining to 
the individuals whose records are contained in the state agency input 
file. The NDNH data elements that 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 8: 
``OCSE National Directory of New Hires,''

[[Page 68503]]

System No. 09-80-0381; 87 FR 3553 (January 24, 2022).

[FR Doc. 2022-24771 Filed 11-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-42-P