[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9844-9845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03927]
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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.
ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, OMB Final
Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of the Computer Matching and
Privacy Protection Act of 1988, and OMB Circular No. A-130,
``Management of Federal Information Resources,'' the Corporation for
National and Community Service (operating as AmeriCorps) is issuing a
public notice of the computer matching program with the Social Security
Administration (SSA). The program will enable AmeriCorps to verify the
Social Security numbers of individuals who are applying to serve in
approved national service positions and those designated to receive
national service education awards, to confirm that applicants meet
eligibility requirements and to verify their statements regarding their
citizenship status.
DATES: Comments must be received by March 30, 2026. If AmeriCorps
determines that significant changes to the matching agreement are
necessary, it will publish a revised notice with an additional 30-day
public comment period. The matching program will begin April 1, 2026,
and will continue for 18 months after the effective date. It may be
extended for an additional 12 months thereafter, if the conditions
specified in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the title of the
information collection activity, by any of the following methods.
(1) Electronically through www.regulations.gov (preferred method).
(2) By mail sent to: AmeriCorps, Attention Bilal Razzaq, 250 E
Street SW, Washington, DC 20525.
(3) By hand delivery or by courier to the AmeriCorps mailroom at
the mail address given in paragraph (2) above, between 9 a.m. and 4
p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available
to the public through regulations.gov. For this reason, please do not
include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such as
sensitive personal information or proprietary information. If you send
an email comment, your email address will be automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the internet. Please note that responses to this
public comment request containing any routine notice about the
confidentiality of the communication will be treated as public comment
that may be made available to the public, notwithstanding the inclusion
of the routine notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bilal Razzaq, Chief Information
Security and Privacy Officer, 202-606-3254, or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as
amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988
(Pub. L. 100-503), regulates the use of computer matching agreements by
Federal agencies when records in a system of records are matched with
other Federal, State, or local government records. Among other things,
it requires Federal agencies involved in computer matching agreements
to publish a notice
[[Page 9845]]
in the Federal Register regarding the establishment of the matching
program.
AmeriCorps has entered into a computer matching agreement with the
Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide AmeriCorps with Social
Security number verifications to ensure individuals meet the
eligibility requirement for an education award in section 146(a)(3) of
the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C.
12602(a)(3)). The agreement will be in effect for a period of 18
months, with a provision for a one-time extension for a period not to
exceed 12 months. To renew the agreement, both AmeriCorps and SSA must
certify to their respective Data Integrity Boards that: (1) the
matching program will be conducted without change; and (2) the matching
program has been conducted in compliance with the original agreement.
AmeriCorps will provide SSA with a data file including each
applicant's and potential education award recipient's Social Security
number, first and last names, and date of birth. SSA will conduct a
match on the identifying information. If the match does not return a
result verifying the individual's citizenship status, AmeriCorps will
contact the individual or the grant recipient program that selected the
individual to verify the results in accordance with the requirements of
5 U.S.C. 552a(p) and applicable OMB guidelines. The affected individual
will have an opportunity to contest the accuracy of the information
provided by SSA. The applicant will have at least 30 days from the date
the notice is mailed or otherwise provided to the applicant to provide
clear and convincing evidence of the accuracy of the Social Security
number, proof of U.S. citizenship, or both.
Applicants will be informed at the time of application that
information provided on the application is subject to verification
through the Privacy Act Statement in the Member Portal. All members
read and acknowledge the Privacy Act Statement when registering an
account in the Member Portal, which is required as a part of the
application process.
Section 148(f) of the NCSA authorizes recipients of education
awards to a designated individual--the transferee. For transferees of
education awards, at the time an award is transferred, AmeriCorps will
provide the individual notice that the SSN is subject to verification
through a computer matching program. AmeriCorps will send a privacy
notice to the transferee, and in the case of a minor, to the parent or
legal guardian. The transferee, parent, or legal guardian must sign the
privacy certification authorizing AmeriCorps to verify the information
provided.
AmeriCorps has furnished a copy of this notice to both Houses of
Congress and the Office of Management and Budget.
Participating Agencies
Participants in this computer matching program are the Social
Security Administration (source agency) and the Corporation for
National and Community Service (recipient agency).
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
This agreement is executed in compliance with the Privacy Act of
1974, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of
1988 (5 U.S.C. 552a), and the regulations and guidance promulgated
under the Act.
SSA's legal authority to enter into this agreement is pursuant to
section 1106 of the Social Security Act (Act) (42 U.S.C. 1306); the
Privacy Act and the regulations and guidance promulgated thereunder;
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA)
(Pub. L. 108-458 Sec. 7213); and SSA's disclosure regulations at 20
CFR part 401.
Section 146(a)(3) of the National and Community Service Act of
1990, as amended (NCSA) (42 U.S.C. 12602(a)), sets forth the
eligibility requirements for an individual to receive a national
service educational award from the National Service Trust upon
successful completion of a term of service in an approved national
service position. Section 1711 of the Serve America Act (Pub. L. 111-
13) directs AmeriCorps to enter into a data matching agreement to
verify statements made by an individual declaring that such individual
is in compliance with section 146(a)(3) of the NCSA shall be verified
by comparing information provided by the individual with information
relevant to such a declaration in the possession of another Federal
agency. In accordance with the study AmeriCorps completed pursuant to
section 1711 of the Serve America Act, AmeriCorps determined that a
data matching program with SSA is the most effective means to verify an
individual's statement that they are in compliance with section
146(a)(3) of the NCSA.
Purpose(s)
The computer match between AmeriCorps and SSA will enable
AmeriCorps to verify the Social Security numbers of individuals who are
applying to serve in approved national service positions and those
designated to receive national service education awards under the NCSA
to confirm that applicants meet the eligibility requirements in section
146(a)(3), that is that they are a citizen or national of the United
States or a lawful permanent resident alien of the United States and
verify statements made by those individuals regarding their citizenship
status.
Categories of Individuals
Each individual who is eligible to receive an education award or
applies to serve in an approved national service position, including
positions in AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps VISTA,
AmeriCorps NCCC, and Serve America Fellows, must, at the time of
acceptance of an education award or application to serve, certify that
they meet the citizenship eligibility criteria to serve in the
position--that is, that they are a citizen, national, or lawful
permanent resident of the United States.
Categories of Records
The categories of records involved in the matching program are the
applicants' Social Security Number, date of birth, and first and last
name. AmeriCorps will provide SSA with the records and SSA will match
the records and provide verification status.
System(s) of Records
SSA will match the data elements AmeriCorps transmits in its
verification requests against SSA's records, as authorized by the
Systems of Records (SOR) 60-0058, Master Files of Social Security
Number (SSN) Holders and SSN Applications (Enumeration System). (90 FR
10025). The information AmeriCorps provides from the AmeriCorps Member
Management Files, CNCS-04-CPO-MPMF, published August 13, 2024 (89 FR
65866) will be matched against this system of records and verification
results will be disclosed under the applicable routine use.
Charndrea Leonard,
Senior Agency Official for Privacy.
[FR Doc. 2026-03927 Filed 2-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-P