Effective 09/08/94 (59 FR 46439)

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
60-0212

System name: Supplemental Security Income Quality Initial Claims Review Process System, SSA/OAPQ.

Security classification:

None.

System location:

Assistant Regional Commissioners, Program and Integrity Review (see Appendix C for address information).

Categories of individuals covered by the system:

Applicants for and recipients of SSI payments.

Categories of records in the system:

Information consists of the applicant's or recipient's name, SSN, date application or action is processed, payment status, type of case, and, if a deficiency is found, the type and source of the error.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

Sections 702 and 1631 of the Act.

Purpose(s):

SSA regional management uses data derived from this system to measure and rank the quality of their field offices' performance, to identify policies and procedures that are being improperly interpreted and to identify training needs. These purposes are served on a national basis.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:

Disclosure may be made for routine uses as indicated below:

To a congressional office in response to an inquiry from office made at the request of the subject of a record.
Information may be disclosed to contractors and other Federal agencies, as necessary, for the purpose of assisting SSA in the efficient administration of its programs. We contemplate disclosing information under this routine use only in situations in which SSA may enter a contractual or similar agreement with a third party to assist in accomplishing an agency function relating to this system of records.
Nontax return information which is not restricted from disclosure by Federal law may be disclosed to GSA and NARA for the purpose of conducting records management studies with respect to their duties and responsibilities under 44 U.S.C 2904 and 2906, as amended by NARA Act of 1984.
To DOJ, a court or other tribunal, or another party before such tribunal when:
- SSA, any component thereof; or
- any SSA employee in his/her official capacity; or
- any SSA employee in his/her individual capacity where DOJ (or SSA where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the employee; or
- the United States or any agency thereof where SSA determines that the litigation is likely to affect the operations of SSA or any of its components,
is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and SSA determines that the use of such records by DOJ, the court or other tribunal is relevant and necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, SSA determines that such disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
Wage and other information which are subject to the disclosure provisions of the IRC (26 U.S.C. 6103) will not be disclosed under this routine use unless disclosure is expressly permitted by the IRC.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:

Records are stored in paper form (e.g., case or file folders), in magnetic media (e.g., disc cartridges) and on cassette tapes.

Retrievability:

Records are indexed and retrieved by the SSN.

Safeguards:

Claims review data input forms (paper) are stored in locked file cabinets. Automated records are maintained in accordance with the Systems Security Handbook. This includes maintaining the records in an enclosure attended by security guards and limiting access to the records to authorized personnel who have a need for them in the performance of their official duties. (See Appendix G to this publication for additional information relating to safeguards SSA employs to protect personal information.)

Retention and disposal:

Paper records are retained for 6 months and then destroyed by shredding. Disc cartridges and cassette tapes are for 12 months and then erased.

System manager(s) and address:

Director, Office of Assistance Program Quality
Office of Finance Assessment and Management
Social Security Administration
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21235

Notification procedure:

An individual can determine if this system contains a record about him/her by writing to the system manager at the above address or writing to the ARC, PIR listed in Appendix C.

When requesting notification, individuals should provide their names and SSN. (Furnishing the SSN is voluntary, but it will make searching for an individual's record easier and avoid delay.)

An individual requesting notification of records in person need not furnish any special documents of identity. Documents he/she would normally carry on his/her person would be sufficient (e.g., credit cards, driver's license, or voter registration card). An individual requesting notification via mail or telephone must furnish a minimum of his/her name, date of birth, and address in order to establish identity, plus any additional information specified in this section. These procedures are in accordance with HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Record access procedures:

Same as notification procedures. Also, the individual should reasonably specify the information he/she is accessing. These procedures are in accordance with HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Contesting record procedures:

Same as notification procedures. Also, the individual should reasonably identify the record, specify the information he/she is contesting and state the corrective action sought and the reasons for the correction with supporting justification showing how the record is incomplete, untimely, inaccurate or irrelevant. These procedures are in accordance with HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Record source categories:

Information in this system is derived from an existing system maintained by SSA, the Claims Folder System, 60-0089, and from review findings and analyses.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act: