FR Doc E7-4561
[Federal Register: March 13, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 11340-11342]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr07-29]
Download: 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records--Study of Former
Vocational Rehabilitation Consumers' Post-Program Experiences
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
(Privacy Act), 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) 552a, the Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of
Education (Department) publishes this notice of a new system of records
entitled ``Study of Former Vocational Rehabilitation Consumers' Post-
Program Experiences'' (18-16-03).
The system of records will be maintained for program research and
evaluation purposes. The system will contain information on a sample of
former vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers whose cases were closed
in fiscal year (FY) 2006. The system will include demographic
information, including financial information and responses to a survey
about post-VR experiences, particularly related to employment outcomes
and post-closure services.
DATES: The Department seeks comments on the new system of records
described in this notice, in accordance with the requirements of the
Privacy Act. We must receive your comments on or before April 12, 2007.
The Department filed a report describing the new system of records
covered by this notice with the Chair of the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Chair of the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Acting
Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on March 8, 2007. This system of
records will become effective at the later date of--(1) the expiration
of the 40-day period for OMB review on April 17, 2007 or (2) April 12,
2007, unless the system of records needs to be changed as a result of
public comment or OMB review.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this new system of records to Joe
Pepin, Rehabilitation Services Administration, Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5052, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington,
DC 20202-2800. If you
[[Page 11341]]
prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the following
address: comments@ed.gov.
You must include the term ``Post-Vocational Rehabilitation
Experiences Study'' in the subject line of the electronic message.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this notice in room 5155, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th
Street, SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,
Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking
Record
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Pepin. Telephone: (202) 245-7598.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call
the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in this section.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)) requires the Department to
publish in the Federal Register this notice of a new system of records
maintained by the Department. The Department's regulations implementing
the Privacy Act are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
in 34 CFR part 5b.
The Privacy Act applies to a record about an individual that is
maintained in a system of records from which information is retrieved
by a unique identifier associated with each individual, such as a name
or social security number. The information about each individual is
called a ``record,'' and the system, whether manual or computer-based,
is called a ``system of records.'' The Privacy Act requires each agency
to publish a notice of a system of records in the Federal Register and
to prepare a report for the Administrator of the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, whenever the agency publishes a new or
altered system of records. Each agency is also required to send copies
of the report to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs and the Chair of the House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform.
Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Registerand the CFR is available on
GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Dated: March 8, 2007.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Assistant Secretary
for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the
U.S. Department of Education (Department) publishes a notice of a new
system of records to read as follows:
18-16-03
SYSTEM NAME:
Study of Former Vocational Rehabilitation Consumers' Post-Program
Experiences (Post-Vocational Rehabilitation Experiences Study).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATIONS:
(1) Rehabilitation Services Administration, Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, 20202-2800.
(2) Westat, 1650 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD, 20850-3195.
(3) InfoUse, 2560 Ninth Street, Suite 320, Berkeley, CA, 94710-
2566.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
This system contains records on former vocational rehabilitation
(VR) consumers whose VR service cases were closed in fiscal year (FY)
2006 (as determined from the RSA-911 Case Service Report). The sample
of former VR consumers includes those who achieved an employment
outcome as well as those who did not at the time of case closure. Four
subgroups of interest considered in the sample selection include
transitioning youth and young adults under 22 years of age, consumers
with mental retardation, consumers with psychiatric disabilities, and
Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance
beneficiaries.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The system contains information on a sample of former VR consumers
whose cases were closed in FY 2006. The system includes records from
the RSA-911 Case Service Report containing employment data about the
consumers, Social Security Administration data on receipt and amount of
social security benefits, Unemployment Insurance wage records data, and
information from baseline and follow-up surveys about post-VR
experiences, particularly related to employment outcomes and post-
closure services.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Section 14(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29
U.S.C. 711(a)).
PURPOSE(S):
This system of records is maintained for program research and
evaluation purposes. The Rehabilitation Services Administration
commissioned this evaluation, which is also called the Post-Vocational
Rehabilitation Experiences Study. The Department's contractor, Westat,
is conducting the evaluation in collaboration with Westat's
subcontractor, InfoUse.
The goal of this study is to examine the post-VR experiences of
former VR consumers, considering their labor market progression,
receipt of other services and resources from the community, non-
economic outcomes, and receipt of Social Security Administration and
other benefits. The study will further consider changes over time, the
relationship between individual characteristics and outcomes, and how
outcomes vary by specific subgroups of former consumers.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
The Department may disclose information contained in a record in
this system of records under the routine uses listed in this system of
records without the consent of the individual if
[[Page 11342]]
the disclosure is compatible with the purposes for which the record was
collected. The Department may make these disclosures on a case-by-case
basis or, if the Department has complied with the computer matching
requirements of the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of
1988, under a computer matching agreement.
(1) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advice Disclosure. The
Department may disclose records to the U.S. Department of Justice and
the Office of Management and Budget if the Department concludes that
disclosure is desirable or necessary in determining whether particular
records are required to be disclosed under the FOIA.
(2) Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity
for the purposes of performing any function that requires disclosure of
records in this system to employees of the contractor, the Department
may disclose the records to those employees. Before entering into such
a contract, the Department shall require the contractor to maintain
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act) safeguards as required
under 5 U.S.C. 552a(m) with respect to the records in the system.
(3) Research Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to a
researcher if an appropriate official of the Department determines that
the individual or organization to which the disclosure would be made is
qualified to carry out specific research related to functions or
purposes of this system of records. The official may disclose records
from this system of records to that researcher solely for the purpose
of carrying out that research related to the functions or purposes of
this system of records. The researcher shall be required to maintain
Privacy Act safeguards with respect to the disclosed records.
(4) Disclosure to Other Federal Agencies, Including the Social
Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The
Department may disclose records to other Federal agencies, including
the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans
Affairs, for program research and evaluation purposes.
DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
Not applicable to this system notice.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
The Department maintains records on CD-ROM, and the contractor and
subcontractor maintain data for this system on computers and in hard
copy.
RETRIEVABILITY:
Records in this system are indexed by a number assigned to each
individual that is cross-referenced by the individual's name on a
separate list.
SAFEGUARDS:
All physical access to the Department's site and to the sites of
the Department's contractor and subcontractor, where this system of
records is maintained, is controlled and monitored by security
personnel. The computer system employed by the Department offers a high
degree of resistance to tampering and circumvention. This security
system limits data access to Department and contract staff on a ``need
to know'' basis and controls individual users'' ability to access and
alter records within the system. The contractor, Westat, and its
subcontractor, InfoUse, have established similar sets of procedures at
their sites to ensure confidentiality of data. Their systems ensure
that information identifying individuals is in files physically
separated from other research data. They will maintain security of the
complete set of all master data files and documentation. Access to
individually identifiable data will be strictly controlled. At each
site, all data will be kept in locked file cabinets during nonworking
hours, and work on hardcopy data will take place in a single room,
except for data entry. Physical security of electronic data will also
be maintained. Security features that protect project data include
password-protected accounts that authorize users to use the Westat or
InfoUse system but to access only specific network directories and
network software; user rights and directory and file attributes that
limit those who can use particular directories and files and determine
how they can use them; and additional security features that the
network administrators establish for projects as needed.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with the
Department's Records Disposition Schedules, Part 3, Items 2b, 4a, and
5a.
SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
Joe Pepin, Unit Leader, Data Collection and Analysis Unit,
Rehabilitation Services Administration, Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., room 5057, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-
2800.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
If you wish to determine whether a record exists regarding you in
the system of records, contact the system manager. Your request for
information must meet the requirements of the regulations in 34 CFR
5b.5, including proof of identity.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
If you wish to gain access to your record in the system of records,
contact the system manager. Your request must meet the requirements of
the regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
If you wish to contest the content of a record regarding you in the
system of records, contact the system manager. Your request must meet
the requirements of the regulations in 34 CFR 5b.7, including proof of
identity.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
This system consists of information about former VR consumers and
includes information taken directly from former consumers. It also
includes data taken from the RSA-911 Case Service Report of former
consumers, Social Security Administration records, Unemployment
Insurance wage records data, and baseline and follow-up surveys about
post-VR experiences, particularly related to employment outcomes and
post-closure services.
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
[FR Doc. E7-4561 Filed 3-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P