Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices 23543 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice of Amendment of System 

of Records Notice ‘‘Veterans Tracking 

Application (VTA).’’(163VA 005Q3). 

SUMMARY: As required by the Privacy 

Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4), (11)), 

notice is hereby given that the 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is 

amending the system of records entitled 

‘‘Veterans Tracking Application (VTA).’’ 

VA is amending the system of records 

by revising the System Name to 

‘‘Veterans Tracking Application (VTA)/ 

Federal Case Management Tool 

(FCMT)’’ and System Location to 

include the ‘‘Federal Case Management 

Tool (FCMT).’’ The VTA data will also 

be accessed using the FCMT. Further, 

the Routine Uses have been updated in 

conjunction with VA’s Virtual Lifetime 

Electronic Record (VLER), to reflect the 

nature of electronic coordination that 

will fully support the users of this 

application. VA is republishing the 

system notice in its entirety. 

DATES: Comments on this amended 

system of records must be received no 

later than May 21, 2012. If no public 

comment is received during the period 

allowed for comment or unless 

otherwise published in the Federal 

Register by VA, the amended system 

will become effective May 21, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

concerning the proposed amended 

system of records may be submitted 

through www.Regulations.gov; by mail 

or hand-delivery to Director, 

Regulations Management (02REG), 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue NW., Room 1068, 

Washington, DC 20420; by fax to (202) 

273–9026. All comments received will 

be available for public inspection in the 

Office of Regulation Policy and 

Management, Room 1063B, between the 

hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday (except holidays). Please 

call (202) 273–9515 for an appointment. 

In addition, during the comment period, 

comments may be viewed online 

through the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) at www.Regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dick 

Rickard, Program Manager VTA/FCMT, 

Office of Information & Technology, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Ave. NW., Washington, DC 

20420, (352) 686–3227. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The VTA/ 

FCMT and associated databases support 

VA enterprise wide. The VTA/FCMT 

provides the VA tracking information on 

members of the armed forces who are 

receiving care from a Department of 

Defense (DoD) Military Treatment 

Facility (MTF), a VA health care facility, 

or who already have Veteran status. The 

VTA/FCMT provides tracking of the 

Veteran/Servicemember’s arrival at the 

initial VA health care facility and 

provides date and location information 

for subsequent transfers to other health 

facilities. In addition, VTA/FCMT 

obtains data about patient history from 

the imported DoD Theater Medical Data 

Store (TMDS). In addition to the Veteran 

patient population, VTA/FCMT records 

benefit tracking information for all 

severely injured Veterans requesting 

benefits. This history includes all 

benefit award details to include 

application dates, award decisions, 

dates and amounts. VTA/FCMT also 

tracks Servicemembers and Veterans 

disability claims through the Integrated 

Disability Eligibility System (IDES) 

module. The purpose of the VTA/FCMT 

is to track the initial arrival of a 

Servicemember into the VA health 

system and their subsequent movement 

among VA health facilities, as well as 

monitor benefits application and 

administration details. 

In this system of records the System 

Name is amended to reflect the 

integration of VTA and FCMT. The 

Purpose in this system of records is 

being amended to reflect the additional 

System Location of the FCMT primary 

and secondary database locations. The 

routine uses added with this 

amendment to the system of records 

notice are: Routine use (5): VA may 

disclose identifying information, 

including Social Security number, 

concerning Veterans, spouses of 

Veterans, and the beneficiaries of 

Veterans to other Federal agencies for 

the purpose of conducting computer 

matches to obtain information to 

determine or verify eligibility of 

Veterans receiving VA medical care 

under Title 38, United States Code 

(U.S.C.), (6) VA may disclose relevant 

health care information regarding 

individuals treated under 38 U.S.C. 

8111A to the DoD, or its components, 

for the purpose deemed necessary by 

appropriate military command 

authorities to assure proper execution of 

the military mission, and (7) VA may 

disclose health care information as 

deemed necessary and proper to 

Federal, state, and local government 

agencies and national health 

organizations in order to assist in the 

development of programs that will be 

beneficial to claimants, to protect their 

rights under law, and assure that they 

are receiving all benefits to which they 

are entitled. 

The notice of amendment and an 

advance copy of the system notice have 

been sent to the appropriate 

Congressional committees and to the 

Director of Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) as required by 5 U.S.C. 

552a(r) (Privacy Act) and guidelines 

issued by OMB (65 FR 77677), 

December 12, 2000. 

Approved: March 26, 2012. 

John R. Gingrich, 

Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

(163VA005Q3) 

SYSTEM NAME: 

‘‘Veterans Tracking Application 

(VTA)/Federal Case Management Tool 

(FCMT).’’ 

SYSTEM LOCATION: 

The VTA system containing its 

associated records is maintained at the 

Austin Information Technology Center 

(AITC) at 1615 East Woodward Street, 

Austin, Texas 78772. The FCMT system 

containing its associated records is 

maintained at the Terremark Worldwide 

computing facility located at 18155 

Technology Blvd., Culpeper, VA 22701– 

3805. A second VTA database with an 

identical set of records is being 

established at a disaster recovery site at 

the Hines Information Technology 

Center (Hines ITC) at Hines, Illinois. All 

records are maintained electronically. A 

second FCMT application and database 

is being established at a disaster 

recovery site at Terremark’s backup site 

in Miami, Florida. 

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE

SYSTEM: 

The category of the individuals 

covered by the VTA/FCMT database 

encompasses Veterans, Servicemembers, 

civilians working in combat zones and 

their dependents. This would include 

current Servicemembers, separated 

Servicemembers, and their dependents; 

as well as Veterans whose Veterans 

Affairs (VA) military service benefits 

have been sought by others (e.g., burial 

benefits). 

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

The record, or information contained 

in the record, may include identifying 

information (e.g., name, contact 

information, Social Security number), 

association to dependents, cross 

reference to other names used, military 

service participation and status 

information (branch of service, rank, 

enter on duty date, release from active 

duty date, military occupations, type of 

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23544 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices 

duty), reason and nature of active duty 

separation (completion of commitment, 

disability, hardship, etc.), combat/ 

environmental exposures (combat pay, 

combat awards, theater location), 

combat deployments (period of 

deployment, location/country), Guard/ 

Reserve activations (type of activation), 

military casualty/disabilities (line of 

duty death, physical examination board 

status, serious/very serious injury 

status, recovery plans, DoD rated 

disabilities), benefit participation, 

eligibility and usage, and VA 

compensation (rating, award amount). 

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM: 

The authority for maintaining this 

system is Title 38 U.S.C., 5106. 

PURPOSE: 

With our Nation’s Veterans returning 

from long wartime engagements, it is of 

utmost importance that VA implements 

a streamlined care management 

solution. VTA/FCMT will work to 

replace manual processes that result in 

delays in coordinating or managing care 

for our Veterans. VTA/FCMT and the 

associated database support programs 

throughout the VA. The VTA/FCMT 

provides the VA tracking information on 

members of the armed forces who are 

receiving care from a DoD MTF, a VA 

health care facility, or who already have 

Veteran status. The VTA/FCMT 

provides tracking of the Veteran/Service 

member’s arrival at the initial VA health 

care facility and provides date and 

location information for subsequent 

transfers to other health facilities. In 

addition, VTA/FCMT obtains data about 

patient history from the imported DoD 

Theater Medical Data Store (TMDS). In 

addition to the Veteran patient 

population, VTA/FCMT records benefit 

tracking information for all severely 

injured Veterans requesting benefits. 

This history includes all benefit award 

details to include application dates, 

award decisions, dates and amounts. 

VTA/FCMT also tracks Servicemembers 

and Veterans disability claims through 

the Integrated Disability Eligibility 

System (IDES) module. The purpose of 

the VTA/FCMT is to track the initial 

arrival of a Servicemember into the VA 

and DoD health care systems and their 

subsequent movement among VA health 

facilities, as well as monitor benefits 

application and administration details. 

The records and information may be 

used for analysis to produce various 

management, workload tracking, and 

follow-up reports for our Veterans; to 

track and evaluate the ordering and 

delivery of services and patient care; for 

the planning, distribution and 

utilization of resources; and to allocate 

clinical and administrative support to 

patient medical care. 

In addition, the data may be used to 

assist in workload allocation for patient 

treatment services including provider 

panel management, nursing care, clinic 

appointments, surgery, prescription 

processing, diagnostic and therapeutic 

procedures; to plan and schedule 

training activities for employees; for 

audits, reviews and investigations 

conducted by the network directors 

office and VA Central Office; for quality 

assurance audits, reviews and 

investigations; for law enforcement 

investigations; and for personnel 

management, evaluation and employee 

ratings, and performance evaluations. 

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE

SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND

THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES: 

The record of an individual included 

in this system may be provided to DoD 

systems or offices for use in connection 

with matters relating to one of DoD’s 

programs to enable delivery of 

healthcare or other DoD benefits to 

eligible beneficiaries. 

The name, address, VA file number, 

effective date of compensation or 

pension, current and historical benefit 

pay amounts for compensation or 

pension, service information, date of 

birth, competency payment status, 

incarceration status, and Social Security 

number of Veterans and their surviving 

spouses or dependents may be disclosed 

to the approved VA and DoD office/ 

systems to reconcile the disability 

claims, benefits awards, and patient 

data. 

The name(s) and address(es) of a 

Veteran may be disclosed to another 

Federal agency or to a contractor of that 

agency, at the written request of the 

head of that agency or designee of the 

head of that agency for the purpose of 

conducting government research 

necessary to accomplish a statutory 

purpose of that agency. 

VA may disclose on its own initiative 

any information in this system, except 

the names and addresses of Veterans 

and their dependents, that is relevant to 

a suspected or reasonably imminent 

violation of law, whether civil, criminal, 

or regulatory in nature and whether 

arising by general or program statute or 

by regulation, rule, or order issued 

pursuant thereto, a Federal, state, local, 

tribal, or foreign agency charged with 

the responsibility of investigating or 

prosecuting such violation, or charged 

with enforcing or implementing the 

statute, regulation, rule, or order. VA 

may also disclose on its own initiative 

the names and addresses of Veterans 

and their dependents to a Federal 

agency charged with the responsibility 

of investigating or prosecuting civil, 

criminal, or regulatory violations of law, 

or charged with enforcing or 

implementing the statute, regulation, 

rule, or order issued pursuant thereto. 

VA may disclose identifying 

information, including Social Security 

number, concerning Veterans, spouses 

of Veterans, and the beneficiaries of 

Veterans to other Federal agencies for 

the purpose of conducting computer 

matches to obtain information to 

determine or verify eligibility of 

Veterans receiving VA medical care 

under Title 38, U.S.C. 

VA may disclose relevant health care 

information regarding individuals 

treated under 38 U.S.C. 8111A to DoD, 

or its components, for the purpose 

deemed necessary by appropriate 

military command authorities to assure 

proper execution of the military 

mission. 

VA may disclose health care 

information as deemed necessary and 

proper to Federal, state, and local 

government agencies and national 

health organizations in order to assist in 

the development of programs that will 

be beneficial to claimants, to protect 

their rights under law, and assure that 

they are receiving all benefits to which 

they are entitled. 

VA may disclose information in the 

system of records to the Department of 

Justice (DOJ), either on VA’s initiative or 

in response to DOJ’s request for the 

information, after either VA or DOJ 

determines that such information is 

relevant to DOJ’s representation of the 

United States or any of its components 

in legal proceeding before a court or 

adjudicative body, provided that, in 

each case, the agency also determines 

prior to disclosure that release of 

records to the DOJ is a use of 

information contained in the records 

that is compatible with the purpose for 

which VA collected the records. VA, on 

its own initiative, may disclose records 

in this system of records in legal 

proceedings before a court or 

administrative body after determining 

that the disclosure of the records to the 

court or administrative body is a use of 

the information contained in the records 

that is compatible with the purpose for 

which VA collected the records. 

VA may disclose information to assist 

a person or entity responsible for the 

licensing, supervision, or professional 

discipline of the person or organization 

acting as representative. Names and 

home addresses of Veterans and their 

dependents will be released on VA’s 

initiative under this routine use only to 

Federal entities when VA believes that 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices 23545 

the names and addresses are required by 

the Federal department or agency. 

Disclosure of relevant information 

may be made to individuals, 

organizations, private or public 

agencies, or other entities or individuals 

with whom VA has a contract or 

agreement to perform such services as 

VA may deem practicable for the 

purposes of laws administered by VA, 

in order for the contractor, 

subcontractor or entity or individual 

with whom VA has an agreement or 

contract to perform the services of the 

contract or agreement. 

VA may on its own initiative disclose 

information or records to appropriate 

agencies, entities, and persons when (1) 

VA suspects or confirmed that the 

integrity or confidentiality of 

information in the system of records has 

been compromised; (2) VA has 

determined that as a result of the 

suspected or confirmed compromise 

there is a risk embarrassment or harm to 

the reputations of the records subjects, 

harm to economic or property interest, 

identity theft or fraud, or harm to the 

security, confidentiality or integrity of 

this system or other systems or 

programs (whether maintained by VA or 

another agency or entity) that rely upon 

the potentially compromised 

information; and (3) the disclosure is 

made to such agencies, entities, and 

persons whom VA determines are 

reasonably necessary to assist in or carry 

out VA’s efforts to respond to the 

suspected or confirmed compromise 

and prevent, minimize, or remedy such 

harm. This routine use permits 

disclosures by VA to respond to a 

suspected or confirmed data breach, 

including the conduct of any risk 

analysis or provision of credit 

protection services as provided in 38. 

U.S.C. 5724, as the terms are defined in 

38 U.S.C. 5727. 

Disclosure to other Federal agencies 

may be made to assist such agencies in 

preventing and detecting possible fraud 

or abuse by individuals in their 

operations and programs. 

The record of an individual who is 

covered by a system of records may be 

disclosed to a Member of Congress, or 

a staff person acting for the member, 

when the member or staff person 

requests the record on behalf of and at 

the written request of the individual. 

Disclosure may be made to the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration or the General Services 

Administration in records management 

inspections conducted under authority 

of Chapter 29 of Title 44 U.S.C. 

Any information in this system of 

records may be disclosed, in the course 

of presenting evidence in or to a court, 

magistrate, administrative tribunal, or 

grand jury, including disclosures to 

opposing counsel in the course of such 

proceedings or in settlement 

negotiations. 

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, 

RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND

DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM

STORAGE: 

STORAGE: 

Records are transmitted between 

approved VA and DoD office/systems 

and VTA/FCMT over secure 

telecommunications (i.e. SFTP, secure 

web services) using approved 

encryption technologies. Records (or 

information contained in records) are 

maintained in electronic format in the 

VTA/FCMT database. Information from 

VTA/FCMT is disseminated in three 

ways: (1) Approved VA and DoD 

systems electronically request and 

receive data from VTA/FCMT over the 

internal VA and DoD network; (2) data 

is provided over the secure 

telecommunications between VTA/ 

FCMT and approved VA and DoD 

office/systems for reconciliation of 

records; (3) periodic electronic data 

extracts of subsets of information 

contained in VTA/FCMT are provided 

to approved VA and DoD offices/ 

systems over the internal VA network 

and DoD network. Backups of VTA/ 

FCMT data are created regularly and 

stored in a secure off-site facility. 

RETRIEVABILITY: 

Electronic files are retrieved using 

various unique identifiers belonging to 

the individual to whom the information 

pertains to include such identifiers as 

name, claim file number, Social 

Security number and date of birth. 

SAFEGUARDS: 

1. Physical Security: The primary 

VTA system is located in the AITC and 

the backup disaster recovery system is 

located in the Hines ITC. The primary 

FCMT system is located at Terremark 

Worldwide facility located in Culpeper, 

Virginia and the backup disaster 

recovery system is located at 

Terremark’s backup site in Miami, 

Florida. Access to data processing 

centers is generally restricted to center 

employees, custodial personnel, Federal 

Protective Service and other security 

personnel. Access to computer rooms is 

restricted to authorized operational 

personnel through electronic passage 

technology. All other persons needing 

access to computer rooms are escorted. 

2. System Security: Access to the VA 

network is protected by the usage of 

‘‘logon’’ identifications and passwords. 

Once on the VA network, separate ID 

and password credentials are required 

to gain access to the VTA/FCMT server 

and/or database. Access to the server 

and/or database is granted to only a 

limited number of system 

administrators and database 

administrators. In addition VTA/FCMT 

has undergone certification and 

accreditation. Users of VTA access the 

system via the approved Veterans 

Information Portal (VIP). Users must 

register first through the VIP Portal and 

obtain a username and password. Upon 

approval of a VIP account, they may 

request access to VTA through an 

electronic form accessible via VIP. Users 

of FCMT access the system via the 

approved VA Trusted Internet 

Connection or through the VA’s Virtual 

Private Network. Users must have 

accounts in the VA’s Active Directory 

(AD) system. Upon approval of a VA AD 

account, they may request access to 

FCMT. Within the VTA/FCMT system, 

users are designated a role which 

determines their access to specific data. 

Based on a risk assessment that 

followed National Institute of Standards 

and Technology Vulnerability and 

Threat Guidelines, the system is 

considered stable and operational. VTA 

has received a final Authority to 

Operate (ATO) and FCMT currently 

holds a temporary ATO which is 

currently in process to become 

permanent. The system was found to be 

operationally secure, with very few 

exceptions or recommendations for 

change. 

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL: 

VA retains selected information for 

purposes of making eligibility 

determinations for VA benefits. The 

information retained may be included in 

the VA records that are maintained and 

disposed of in accordance with the 

appropriate record disposition authority 

approved by the Archivist of the United 

States. 

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESSES: 

Program Manager, Office of 

Information & Technology, Department 

of Veterans Affairs (005), 810 Vermont 

Avenue NW., VA Central Office, 

Washington, DC 20420. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES: 

Individuals seeking information on 

the existence and content of a record 

pertaining to them should contact the 

system manager, in writing, at the above 

address. Requests should contain the 

full name, address and telephone 

number of the individual making the 

inquiry. 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE: 

(See notification procedure above.) 

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23546 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 

(See notification procedure above.) 

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: 

Information in this system of records 

is provided by components of the 

Department of Defense and Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9421 Filed 4–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

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