Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact Assessment 

for the 

Community Investment Impact System (CIIS) 

November 30, 2017 

Reviewing Official 

Ryan Law 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records 

Department of the Treasury 

Bureau Certifying Official 

Timothy H. Skinner 

Director, Privacy and Civil Liberties 

Department of the Treasury 
Section 1: Introduction 

It is the policy of the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury” or “Department”) and its Bureaus 

to conduct a Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact Assessment (“PCLIA”) when personally 

identifiable information (“PII”) is maintained in a system or by a project. PCLIAs are required 

for all systems and projects that collect, maintain, or disseminate PII, regardless of the manner in 

which the information is retrieved. 

This assessment is being completed pursuant to Section 208 of the E-Government Act of 2002

(“E-Gov Act”), 44 U.S.C. § 3501, Office of the Management and Budget (“OMB”) 

Memorandum 03-22, “OMB Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the EGovernment Act of 2002,” and Treasury Directive 25-07, “Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact 

Assessment (PCLIA),” which requires Treasury Offices and Bureaus to conduct a PCLIA before: 

1. developing or procuring information technology (“IT”) systems or projects that collect, 

maintain, or disseminate PII from or about members of the public, or

2. initiating a new collection of information that: a) will be collected, maintained, or 

disseminated using IT; and b) includes any PII permitting the physical or online 

contacting of a specific individual, if identical questions have been posed to, or identical 

reporting requirements imposed on, 10 or more persons. Agencies, instrumentalities, or 

employees of the federal government are not included.

This PCLIA provides the following information regarding the system or project: 

(1) an overview of its purpose and functions; 

(2) a description of the information collected; 

(3) a description of the how information is maintained, used, and shared; 

(4) an assessment of whether the system or project is in compliance with federal 

requirements that support information privacy; and 

(5) an overview of the redress/complaint procedures available to individuals who may be 

affected by the use or sharing of information by the system or project. 

This is the first PCLIA for the Community Investment Impact System (CIIS). 

Section 2: Definitions 

Agency – means any entity that falls within the definition of the term “executive agency”' as 

defined in 31 U.S.C. § 102. 

Certifying Official – The Bureau Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer(s) who certify that all 

requirements in TD and TD P 25-07 have been completed so a PCLIA can be reviewed and 

approved by the Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records. 

Collect (including “collection”) – means the retrieval, receipt, gathering, or acquisition of any 

PII and its storage or presence in a Treasury system. This term should be given its broadest 

possible meaning. 
Contractors and service providers – are private companies that provide goods or services 

under a contract with the Department of the Treasury or one of its bureaus. This includes, but is 

not limited to, information providers, information processors, and other organizations providing 

information system development, information technology services, and other outsourced 

applications. 

Data mining – means a program involving pattern-based queries, searches, or other analyses of 

1 or more electronic databases, where – (a) a department or agency of the federal government, 

or a non-federal entity acting on behalf of the federal government, is conducting the queries, 

searches, or other analyses to discover or locate a predictive pattern or anomaly indicative of 

terrorist or criminal activity on the part of any individual or individuals; (b) the queries, searches, 

or other analyses are not subject-based and do not use personal identifiers of a specific 

individual, or inputs associated with a specific individual or group of individuals, to retrieve 

information from the database or databases; and (c) the purpose of the queries, searches, or other 

analyses is not solely – (i) the detection of fraud, waste, or abuse in a government agency or 

program; or (ii) the security of a government computer system. 

Disclosure – When it is clear from its usage that the term “disclosure” refers to records provided 

to the public in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552, 

“FOIA”) or the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a), its application should be limited in that manner. 

Otherwise, the term should be interpreted as synonymous with the terms “sharing” and 

“dissemination” as defined in this manual. 

Dissemination – as used in this manual, is synonymous with the terms “sharing” and 

“disclosure” (unless it is clear from the context that the use of the term “disclosure” refers to a 

FOIA/Privacy Act disclosure). 

E-Government – means the use of digital technologies to transform government operations to 

improve effectiveness, efficiency, and service delivery. 

Federal information system – means a discrete set of information resources organized for the 

collection, processing, maintenance, transmission, and dissemination of information owned or 

under the control of a federal agency, whether automated or manual. 

Final Rule – After the NPRM comment period closes, the agency reviews and analyzes the 

comments received (if any). The agency has the option to proceed with the rulemaking as 

proposed, issue a new or modified proposal, or withdraw the proposal before reaching its final 

decision. The agency can also revise the supporting analyses contained in the NPRM (e.g., to 

address a concern raised by a member of the public in response to the NPRM).

Government information – means information created, collected, used, maintained, processed, 

disseminated, or disposed of by or for the federal government. 

Individual – means a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 

residence. If a question does not specifically inquire about or an issue does not clearly involve a 
Privacy Act system of records, the term should be given its common, everyday meaning. In 

certain contexts, the term individual may also include citizens of other countries who are covered 

by the terms of an international or other agreement that involves information stored in the system 

or used by the project. 

Information – means any representation of knowledge such as facts, data, or opinions in any 

medium or form, regardless of its physical form or characteristics. This term should be given the 

broadest possible meaning. This term includes, but is not limit to, information contained in a 

Privacy Act system of records. 

Information technology (IT) – means any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of 

equipment, used in the automatic acquisition, storage, analysis, evaluation, manipulation, 

management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of 

data or information by the executive agency, if the equipment is used by the executive agency 

directly or is used by a contractor under a contract with the executive agency that requires the 

use: (i) of that equipment; or (ii) of that equipment to a significant extent in the performance of a 

service or the furnishing of a product. It includes computers, ancillary equipment (including 

imaging peripherals, input, output, and storage devices necessary for security and surveillance), 

peripheral equipment designed to be controlled by the central processing unit of a computer, 

software, firmware and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related 

resources; but does not include any equipment acquired by a federal contractor incidental to a 

federal contract. Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, 40 U.S.C. § 11101(6). 

Major Information system – embraces “large” and “sensitive” information systems and means 

“a system or project that requires special management attention because of its importance to an 

agency mission; its high development, operating, or maintenance costs; or its significant role in 

the administration of agency programs, finances, property, or other resources.” OMB Circular A130, § 6.u. This definition includes all systems that contain PII and are rated as “MODERATE 

or HIGH impact” under Federal Information Processing Standard 199. 

National Security systems – a telecommunications or information system operated by the 

federal government, the function, operation or use of which involves: (1) intelligence activities, 

(2) cryptologic activities related to national security, (3) command and control of military forces, 

(4) equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons systems, or (5) systems critical to 

the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions, but does not include systems used for 

routine administrative and business applications, such as payroll, finance, logistics, and 

personnel management. Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, 40 U.S.C. § 11103. 

Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) – the Privacy Act (Section (J) and (k)) allow 

agencies to use the rulemaking process to exempt particular systems of records from some of the 

requirements in the Act. This process is often referred to as “notice-and-comment rulemaking.” 

The agency publishes an NPRM to notify the public that the agency is proposing a rule and 

provides an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposal before the agency can issue a 

final rule. 
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) –any information that can be used to distinguish or 

trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying 

information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. 

Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact Assessment (PCLIA) – a PCLIA is: 

(1) a process conducted to: (a) identify privacy and civil liberties risks in systems, 

programs, and other activities that maintain PII; (b) ensure that information systems, 

programs, and other activities comply with legal, regulatory, and policy requirements; 

(c) analyze the privacy and civil liberties risks identified; (d) identify remedies, 

protections, and alternative or additional privacy controls necessary to mitigate those 

risks; and (e) provide notice to the public of privacy and civil liberties protection 

practices. 

(2) a document that catalogues the outcome of that privacy and civil liberties risk 

assessment process. 

Protected Information – as the term is used in this PCLIA, has the same definition given to that 

term in TD 25-10, Section 4. 

Privacy Act Record – any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that 

is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, the individual’s education, financial 

transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains the 

individual’s name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to 

the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph. 5 U.S.C. § 552a (a)(4). 

Reviewing Official – The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records 

who reviews and approves all PCLIAs as part of her/his duties as a direct report to the Treasury 

Senior Agency Official for Privacy. 

Routine Use – with respect to the disclosure of a record outside of Treasury (i.e., external 

sharing), the sharing of such record for a purpose which is compatible with the purpose for 

which it was collected 5 U.S.C. § 552a(a)(7). 

Sharing – any Treasury initiated distribution of information to government employees or agency 

contractors or grantees, including intra- or inter-agency transfers or exchanges of Treasury 

information, regardless of whether it is covered by the Privacy Act. It does not include responses 

to requests for agency records under FOIA or the Privacy Act. It is synonymous with the term 

“dissemination” as used in this assessment. It is also synonymous with the term “disclosure” as 

used in this assessment unless it is clear from the context in which the term is used that it refers 

to disclosure to the public in response to a request for agency records under FOIA or the Privacy 

Act. 

System – as the term used in this manual, includes both federal information systems and 

information technology. 
System of Records – a group of any records under the control of Treasury from which 

information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or 

other identifying particular assigned to the individual. 5 U.S.C. § 552a (a)(5). 

System of Records Notice – Each agency that maintains a system of records shall publish in the 

Federal Register upon establishment or revision a notice of the existence and character of the 

system of records, which notice shall include: (A) the name and location of the system; (B) the 

categories of individuals on whom records are maintained in the system; (C) the categories of 

records maintained in the system; (D) each routine use of the records contained in the system, 

including the categories of users and the purpose of such use; (E) the policies and practices of the 

agency regarding storage, retrievability, access controls, retention, and disposal of the records; 

(F) the title and business address of the agency official who is responsible for the system of 

records; (G) the agency procedures whereby an individual can be notified at her/his request if the 

system of records contains a record pertaining to him; (H) the agency procedures whereby an 

individual can be notified at her/his request how she/he can gain access to any record pertaining 

to him contained in the system of records, and how she/he can contest its content; and (I) the 

categories of sources of records in the system. 5 U.S.C. § 552a (e)(4). 

System Owner – Official responsible for the overall procurement, development, integration, 

modification, or operation and maintenance of a system. 

Section 3: System Overview 

Section 3.1: System/Project Description and Purpose 

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund was established by the Riegle 

Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994, as amended (Pub. L. No. 

103-325) (“Riegle Act”). The CDFI Fund’s purpose is to promote economic revitalization and 

community development through investment in and assistance to CDFIs. The CDFI Fund 

achieves its purpose through its CDFI program by investing in, supporting, and training CDFIs 

and through its New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program by providing an allocation of tax 

credits to Community Development Entities (CDEs). 

CDFIs are financial institutions that specialize in serving individuals and communities that are 

underserved by traditional financial institutions. CDEs are financial intermediaries (a domestic 

corporation or partnership) through which private capital flows from an investor to a qualified 

business located in a low-income community. 

CDFIs and CDEs use the Community Investment Impact System (CIIS), a web-based data 

collection system, to submit their Institution Level Reports (ILRs) and Transaction Level 

Reports (TLRs) to the CDFI Fund. The CIIS uses the ILRs and TLRs to collect key performance 

and financial data for the CDFI Fund’s major programs (details about the data collected is in 

Section 5.1). The purpose of the CIIS data collection is to monitor the compliance of 

organizations and financial institutions that are recipients of financial and technical assistance or 

tax credit allocations to help ensure that they are abiding by the terms of the organization’s 

assistance or allocation agreements and meeting the prescribed performance goals and measures. 
To complete and submit the required reports, CDFIs and CDEs must enter CIIS through the 

Awards Management Information System (AMIS). AMIS is an enterprise-wide business system, 

built on a commercial off-the-shelf product called Salesforce that has been customized to meet 

the CDFI Fund’s specific needs. An authorized representative of the recipient of an award or 

allocation enters PII so that the authorized representative can be authenticated to access the CIIS 

reporting system used to report on awardee and allocatee compliance with the CDFI Fund’s 

assistance and allocation agreements. 

“Awardees” are financial institutions that are recipients of financial or technical assistance 

awards from the CDFI Program. Awardees coordinate with community organizations and 

financial institutions, which will provide equity investments, loans, secondary markets, or other 

services to investment areas or targeted populations. “Allocatees” are organizations that are 

certified CDEs that receive a tax credit allocation from the NMTC program. 

The CIIS data collection provides the CDFI Fund with performance and compliance data on 

awardees and allocatees to achieve the CDFI Fund’s mission to expand economic opportunity for 

underserved people and communities by supporting the growth and capacity of community 

development lenders, investors, and financial service providers. The Riegle Act states that CDFI 

awardees may be required by the CDFI Fund to compile data on race, ethnicity, gender, national 

origin, or other pertinent information concerning individuals using their services to the extent 

necessary to “ensure that targeted populations and low-income residents of investment areas are 

adequately served.” (12 U.S.C. § 4714(b)). To ensure that CDFIs are effective in serving 

underserved populations, CIIS collects loan level data on transactions through the TLR on some 

demographic fields including race, gender, or ethnicity data, but no particular individual is 

identifiable from these data fields alone and the likelihood of using these data fields to reidentify 

individuals in a particular census tract is remote. The CDFI Fund mitigates re-identification 

potential by using census tract identifiers, which, coupled with the Census Bureau’s data 

suppression procedures, prevents the identification of particular individuals or households (see 

detailed discussion in Section 5.1 for more information on Census Bureau procedures). 

Estimated Number of Individuals Whose Personally Identifiable Information is 

Maintained in the System or by the Project 

☒ 0 – 999 ☐ 1,000 – 9,999 ☐ 10,000 – 99,999 

☐ 100,000 – 499,999 ☐ 500,000 – 999,999 ☐ 1,000,000+ 

Section 3.2: Authority to Collect 

The authorities for operating this system or performing this project are: 

(1) the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994, as amended (Pub. L. 

No. 103-325), and; 

(2) 26 U.S.C. § 45D (New markets tax credit). 
Section 4: Information Collection 

Section 4.1: Relevant and Necessary 

The Privacy Act requires “each agency that maintains a system of records [to] maintain in its 

records only such information about an individual as is relevant and necessary to accomplish a 

purpose of the agency required to be fulfilled by statute or by executive order of the President.” 5 

U.S.C. § 552a (e)(1). It allows federal agencies to exempt records from certain requirements 

(including the relevant and necessary requirement) under certain conditions. 5 U.S.C. § 552a 

(k). The proposed exemption must be described in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”). 

In the context of the Privacy Act, the purpose of the NPRM is to give the public notice of a 

Privacy Act exemption claimed for a system of records and solicit public opinion on the 

proposed exemption. After addressing any public concerns raised in response to the NPRM, the 

agency must issue a Final Rule. It is possible for some, but not all, of the records maintained in 

the system or by the project to be exempted from the Privacy Act through the NPRM/Final Rule

process. 

Section 4.1(a) Please check all of the following that are true: 

1. ☒ None of the PII maintained in the system or by the project is part of a Privacy Act system of records; 

2. ☐ All of the PII maintained in the system or by the project is part of a system of records and none of it is 

exempt from the Privacy Act relevant and necessary requirement; 

3. ☐ All of the PII maintained in the system or by the project is part of a system of records and all of it is exempt 

from the Privacy Act relevant and necessary requirement; 

4. ☐ Some, but not all, of the PII maintained in the system or by the project is part of a system of records and the 

records to which the Privacy Act applies are exempt from the relevant and necessary requirement; and 

5. ☐ Some, but not all, of the PII maintained in the system or by the project is part of a system of records and 

none of the records to which the Privacy Act applies are exempt from the relevant and necessary requirement. 

Section 4.1(b) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A With respect to PII maintained in the system or by the project that is subject 

to the Privacy Act’s relevant and necessary requirement, was an assessment conducted prior to collection (e.g., 

during Paperwork Reduction Act analysis) to determine which PII types (see Section 4.2 below) were relevant and 

necessary to meet the system’s or project’s mission requirements? 

Section 4.1(c) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A With respect to PII currently maintained in the system or by the project that is 

subject to the Privacy Act’s relevant and necessary requirement, is the PII limited to only that which is relevant and 

necessary to meet the system’s or project’s mission requirements? 

Section 4.1(d) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A With respect to PII maintained in the system or by the project that is subject to 

the Privacy Act’s relevant and necessary requirement, is there a process to continuously reevaluate and ensure that 

the PII remains relevant and necessary? 

The CIIS records for both the ILR and TLR are organized and retrieved by the organizational ID of awardees or 

allocates, which are financial institutions that report their institutional and transactional information. The data 

system is not organized to gather or retrieve information on individuals or households. Therefore, CIIS does not 

maintain a system of records. No privacy and civil liberties risks were identified. 

Section 4.2: PII and/or information types or groupings 

To perform their missions, federal agencies must necessarily collect various types of 

information. The checked boxes below represent the types of information maintained in the 
system or by the project. Information identified below is used by the system or project to fulfill 

the purpose stated in Section 3.3 – Authority to Collect. 

Biographical/General Information 

☒ Name (authorized business 

representative only) 

☒ Gender (census tract 

identification only) 

☐ Group/Organization 

Membership 

☐ Date of Birth ☒ Race (census tract 

identification only) 

☐ Military Service Information 

☐ Home Physical/Postal 

Mailing Address 

☒ Ethnicity (census tract 

identification only) 

☐ Personal Home Phone or Fax 

Number 

☐ Zip Code ☐ Personal Cell Number ☐ Alias (including nickname) 

☒ Business Physical/Postal 

Mailing Address 

☐ Business Cell Number ☒ Business Phone or Fax Number 

☐ Personal e-mail address ☐ Nationality ☐ Mother’s Maiden Name 

☒ Business e-mail address ☐ Country of Birth ☐ Spouse Information 

☐ Personal Financial 

Information (including loan 

information) 

☐ City or County of Birth ☐ Children Information 

☐ Business Financial 

Information (including loan 

information) 

☐ Immigration Status ☐ Information about other 

relatives. 

☐ Marital Status ☐ Citizenship ☐ Professional/personal references 

or other information about an 

individual’s friends, associates or 

acquaintances. 

☐ Religion/Religious 

Preference 

☐ Device settings or preferences 

(e.g., security level, sharing 

options, ringtones). 

☐ Global Positioning System 

(GPS)/Location Data 

☐ Sexual Orientation ☐ User names, avatars, etc. ☐ Secure Digital (SD) Card or 

Other Data stored on a card or other 

technology 

☐ Cell tower records (e.g., logs. 

user location, time etc.) 

☐ Network communications data ☐ Cubical or office number 

☐ Contact lists and directories 

(known to contain personal 

information) 

☐ Contact lists and directories 

(not known to contain personal 

information, but uncertain) 

☐ Contact lists and directories 

(known to contain only business 

information) 

☐ Education Information ☐ Resume or curriculum vitae ☐ Other (please describe): 

☐ ☐ Other (please describe): ☐ Other (please describe): 

______________________ 

☐ Other (please describe): 

 ______________________ 

Identifying Numbers 

☐ Full Social Security number ☐ Health Plan Beneficiary Number 

☐ Truncated/Partial Social Security number (e.g., 

last 4 digits) 

☐ Alien Registration Number 

☐ Personal Taxpayer Identification Number ☒ Business Taxpayer Identification Number (If 

known: ☐ sole proprietor; ☐ non-sole proprietor) 

☐ Personal Credit Card Number ☐ Business Credit Card Number (If known: ☐ sole 

proprietor; ☐ non-sole proprietor) 

☐ Personal Vehicle Identification Number ☐ Business Vehicle Identification Number (If 

known: ☐ sole proprietor; ☐ non-sole proprietor) 
☐ Personal License Plate Number ☐ Business License Plate Number (If known: ☐ 

sole proprietor; ☐ non-sole proprietor) 

☐ File/Case ID Number (individual) ☐ File/Case ID Number (business) (If known: ☐ 

sole proprietor; ☐ non-sole proprietor) 

☐ Personal Professional License Number ☐ Business Professional License Number (If 

known: ☐ sole proprietor; ☐ non-sole proprietor) 

☐ Employee Identification Number ☐ Patient ID Number 

☐ Business Bank Account Number ☐ Personal Bank Account Number 

☐ Commercially obtained internet 

navigation/purchasing habits of individuals 

☐ Government obtained internet 

navigation/purchasing habits of individuals 

☐ Business License Plate Number (non-soleproprietor) ☐ Driver’s License Number 

☐ Personal device identifiers or serial numbers ☒ Other Identifying Numbers (please describe):_ A 

unique alphanumeric or numeric identifier is defined 

by the reporting organization for each of its 

transactions (i.e. loans or investments).___________ 

☐ Passport Number and Passport information 

(including full name, passport number, DOB, POB, 

sex, nationality, issuing country photograph and 

signature) (use “Other” if some but not all elements are 

collected) 

☐ Other Identifying Numbers (please 

describe):____________________________ 

Medical/Emergency Information Regarding Individuals 

☐ Medical/Health Information ☐ Worker’s Compensation Act 

Information 

☐ Patient ID Number 

☐ Mental Health Information ☐ Disability Information ☐ Emergency Contact Information 

(e.g., a third party to contact in case 

of emergency) 

☐ Other (please describe): ____________________________________________________ 

Biometrics/Distinguishing Features/Characteristics of Individuals 

☐ Physical description/ 

characteristics (e.g., hair, eye 

color, weight, height, sex, 

gender) 

☐ Signatures ☐ Vascular scans 

☐ Fingerprints ☐ Photos ☐ Retina/Iris Scans 

☐ Palm prints ☐ Video ☐ Dental Profile 

☐ Voice audio recording ☐ Scars, marks, tattoos ☐ DNA Sample or Profile 

☐ Other (please describe): 

______________________ 

☐ Other (please describe): 

_______________________ 

☐ Other (please describe): 

_______________________ 

Specific Information/File Types 

☐ Taxpayer Information/Tax 

Return Information 

☐ Law Enforcement Information ☐ Security Clearance/Background 

Check Information 

☐ Civil/Criminal History 

Information/Police Records 

(government source) 

☐ Credit History Information 

(government source) 

☐ Bank Secrecy Act Information 

☐ Civil/Criminal History 

Information/Police Records 

(commercial source) 

☐ Credit History Information 

(commercial source) 

☐ National Security/Classified 

Information 

☐ Protected Information (as ☐ Case files ☐ Personnel Files 
defined in Treasury Directive 25-

10) 

☐ Information provided under a 

confidentiality agreement 

☐ Information subject to the 

terms of an international or other 

agreement 

☐ Other (please describe): 

______________________ 

Audit Log and Security Monitoring Information 

☒ User ID assigned to or 

generated by a user of Treasury IT 

☒ Date and time an individual 

accesses a facility, system, or 

other IT 

☐ Files accessed by a user of 

Treasury IT (e.g., web navigation 

habits) 

☐ Passwords generated by or 

assigned to a user of Treasury IT 

☒ Internet or other queries run 

by a user of Treasury IT 

☐ Contents of files accessed by a 

user of Treasury IT 

☒ Biometric information used to 

access Treasury facilities or IT 

☐ Video of individuals derived 

from security cameras 

☐ Public Key Information (PKI). 

☐ Information revealing an 

individual’s presence in a 

particular location as derived from 

security token/key fob, employee 

identification card scanners or 

other IT or devices 

☐ Still photos of individuals 

derived from security cameras. 

☒ Internet Protocol (IP) Address 

☐ Other (please describe): ☐ Other (please describe): ☐ Other (please describe): 

_____________________ 

Other 

☐ Other (please describe: ______________ ☐ Other (please describe: _______________ 

☐ Other (please describe: ______________ ☐ Other (please describe: _______________ 

Section 4.3: Sources of information and the method and manner of collection

CIIS CDFI ILR CIIS CDFI TLR CIIS CDE ILR CIIS CDE TLR 

Specific PII

identified in 

Section 4.2 that 

was acquired from 

this source: Name, 

business address, 

business phone 

number, business 

email, unique 

alphanumeric or 

numeric identifier.

Specific PII

identified in 

Section 4.2 that 

was acquired from 

this source: Name, 

business address, 

business phone 

number, business 

email, gender, race 

ethnicity, unique 

alphanumeric or 

numeric identifier.

Specific PII

identified in 

Section 4.2 that 

was acquired from 

this source: Name, 

business address, 

business phone 

number, business 

email, unique 

alphanumeric or 

numeric identifier.

Specific PII

identified in 

Section 4.2 that 

was acquired from 

this source: Name, 

business address, 

business phone 

number, business 

email, gender, race 

ethnicity, 

unique 

alphanumeric or 

numeric identifier.

Manner in which 

information is acquired 

from source by the 

Treasury 

project/system: (select 

Manner in which 

information is acquired 

from source by the 

Treasury project/system: 

(select all that apply):

Manner in which 

information is acquired 

from source by the 

Treasury project/system: 

(select all that apply):

Manner in which 

information is acquired 

from source by the 

Treasury 

project/system: (select 
all that apply): all that apply):

☒ From a paper or 

electronic form provided 

to individuals, the public 

or members of a 

particular group 

☒ From a paper or 

electronic form provided 

to individuals, the public 

or members of a particular 

group 

☒ From a paper or 

electronic form provided 

to individuals, the public 

or members of a particular 

group 

☒ From a paper or 

electronic form provided 

to individuals, the public 

or members of a 

particular group 

Please identify the form 

name (or description) 

and/or number (e.g., 

OMB Control Number): 

_1559-0027__________ 

Please identify the form 

name (or description) 

and/or number (e.g., OMB 

Control Number): _1559-

0027___ 

Please identify the form 

name (or description) 

and/or number (e.g., OMB 

Control Number): __1559-

0027________________ 

Please identify the form 

name (or description) 

and/or number (e.g., 

OMB Control Number): 

__1559-0027__________ 

☐ Received in paper 

format other than a form. 

☐ Received in paper 

format other than a form. 

☐ Received in paper 

format other than a form. 

☐ Received in paper 

format other than a form. 

☐ Delivered to the 

project on disk or other 

portable device and 

uploaded to the system. 

☐ Delivered to the project 

on disk or other portable 

device and uploaded to the 

system. 

☐ Delivered to the project 

on disk or other portable 

device and uploaded to the 

system. 

☐ Delivered to the 

project on disk or other 

portable device and 

uploaded to the system. 

☒ Accessed and 

downloaded or otherwise 

acquired via the internet 

☒ Accessed and 

downloaded or otherwise 

acquired via the internet 

☒ Accessed and 

downloaded or otherwise 

acquired via the internet 

☒ Accessed and 

downloaded or otherwise 

acquired via the internet 

☐ Email ☐ Email ☐ Email ☐ Email 

☐ Scanned documents 

uploaded to the system. 

☐ Scanned documents 

uploaded to the system. 

☐ Scanned documents 

uploaded to the system. 

☐ Scanned documents 

uploaded to the system. 

☐ Bulk transfer ☐ Bulk transfer ☐ Bulk transfer ☐ Bulk transfer 

☐ Extracted from 

particular technology 

(e.g., radio frequency 

identification data 

(RFID) devices, video or 

photographic cameras, 

biometric collection 

devices). 

☐ Extracted from 

particular technology (e.g., 

radio frequency 

identification data (RFID) 

devices, video or 

photographic cameras, 

biometric collection 

devices). 

☐ Extracted from 

particular technology (e.g., 

radio frequency 

identification data (RFID) 

devices, video or 

photographic cameras, 

biometric collection 

devices). 

☐ Extracted from 

particular technology 

(e.g., radio frequency 

identification data 

(RFID) devices, video or 

photographic cameras, 

biometric collection 

devices). 

☐ Fax ☐ Fax ☐ Fax ☐ Fax 

☐ Extracted from notes 

of a phone interview or 

face to face contact 

☐ Extracted from notes of 

a phone interview or face 

to face contact 

☐ Extracted from notes of 

a phone interview or face 

to face contact 

☐ Extracted from notes 

of a phone interview or 

face to face contact 

☐ Other: Please 

describe: 

_________________ 

☐ Other: Please describe: 

_________________ 

☐ Other: Please describe: 

_________________ 

☐ Other: Please 

describe: 

_________________ 

☐ Other: Please 

describe: 

_________________ 

☐ Other: Please describe: 

_________________ 

☐ Other: Please describe: 

_________________ 

☐ Other: Please 

describe: 

_________________ 
Section 4.4: Privacy and/or civil liberties risks related to collection

Notice of Authority, Principal Uses, Routine Uses, and Effect of not Providing 

Information 

When federal agencies use a form to obtain information from an individual that will be 

maintained in a system of records, they must inform the individual of the following: “(A) the 

authority (whether granted by statute, or by executive order of the President) which authorizes 

the solicitation of the information and whether disclosure of such information is mandatory or 

voluntary; (B) the principal purpose or purposes for which the information is intended to be 

used; (C) the routine uses which may be made of the information as published pursuant to 

paragraph (4)(D) of this subsection; and (D) the effects on her/him, if any, of not providing all or 

any part of the requested information.” 5 U.S.C § 522a(e)(3). 

Section 4.4(a) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is any of the PII maintained in the system or by the project collected directly from 

an individual? 

Section 4.4(b) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Was the information collected from the individual using a form (paper or 

electronic)? 

Section 4.4(c) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A If the answer to Section 4.4(b) was “yes,” was the individual notified (on the 

form in which the PII was collected or on a separate form that can be retained by the individual) about the 

following at the point where the information was collected (e.g., in a form; on a website). 

☐ The authority (whether granted by statute, or by Executive order of the President) which authorizes 

the solicitation of the information. 

☐ Whether disclosure of such information is mandatory or voluntary. 

☐ The principal purpose or purposes for which the information is intended to be used. 

☐ The individuals or organizations outside of Treasury with whom the information may be/ will be 

shared. 

☐ The effects on the individual, if any, if they decide not to provide all or any part of the requested 

information.

The CDFI Fund does not collect the PII directly from individuals. Because the PII maintained in the system does 

not directly (i.e., on its face) identify the individuals and is only associated with census tracts (consisting of 2500-

8000 individuals), the likelihood that individuals could be reidentified is remote. Therefore, no privacy or civil 

liberties issues were identified. CDFI Fund uses appropriate safeguards to protect the PII maintained in the 

system. For example, CDFI Fund does not include any of the PII in its external reports. This greatly reduces the 

likelihood that someone could match the indirect CDFI PII (which cannot identify particular individuals by itself) 

with other PII from other sources to “reverse-engineer” the protections in place to identify particular 

individuals.

Use of Social Security Numbers 

Social Security numbers (“SSNs”) are commonly used by identity thieves to commit fraudulent 

acts against individuals. The SSN is one data element that has a heightened ability to harm the 

individual and requires more protection when used. Therefore, in an effort to reduce risk to 

individuals and federal agencies, government-wide initiatives aimed at eliminating unnecessary 

collection, use, and display of SSN have been underway since OMB required agencies to review 

their SSN practices in 2007. 
In addition, the Privacy Act provides that: “It shall be unlawful for any Federal, State or local 

government agency to deny to any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law 

because of such individual’s refusal to disclose his social security account number.” Pub. L. No. 

93–579, § 7. This provision does not apply to: (1) any disclosure which is required by federal 

statute; or (2) any disclosure of an SSN to any federal, state, or local agency maintaining a 

system of records in existence and operating before January 1, 1975, if such disclosure was 

required under statute or regulation adopted prior to such date to verify the identity of an 

individual. Id. at § 7(a)(2)(A)-(B). 

Section 4.4(d) ☐ Yes ☒ No ☐ N/A Does the system or project maintain SSNs? 

Section 4.4(e) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Are there any alternatives to the SSNs as a personal identifier? If yes, 

please provide a narrative below explaining why other alternatives to identify individuals will not be used. 

Section 4.4(f) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Will an individual be denied any right, benefit, or privilege provided by 

law if the individual refuses to disclose their SSN? If yes, please check the applicable box:: 

☐ SSN disclosure is required by Federal statute or Executive Order. ; or 

☐ the SSN is disclosed to any Federal, state, or local agency maintaining a system of records in 

existence and operating before January 1, 1975, and disclosure was required under statute or regulation 

adopted prior to such date to verify the identity of an individual. If checked, please provide the name of 

the system of records below. 

Section 4.4(g) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A When the SSN is collected, are individuals given notice whether disclosure 

is mandatory or voluntary, the legal authority such number is solicited, and what uses will be made of it? If yes, 

please explain below how the notice is provided. 

No SSNs are collected or maintained in CIIS. Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks were identified. 

First Amendment Activities 

The Privacy Act provides that federal agencies “maintain no record describing how any 

individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by 

statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained or unless pertinent to and within 

the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity.” 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(7). 

Section 4.4(g) ☐ Yes ☒ No Does the system or project maintain any information describing how an individual 

exercises their rights guaranteed by the First Amendment? 

Section 4.4(h) If the system or project maintains information describing how an individual exercises their 

rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, do any of the following exceptions apply (the information may be 

maintained if any of the exceptions apply)? 

☒ N/A (system or project does not maintain any information describing how an individual exercises their rights 

guaranteed by the First Amendment so no exceptions are needed) 

☐ The individual about whom the information was collected or maintained expressly authorizes its 

collection/maintenance. 

☐ The information maintained is pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement 

activity. 

☐ There is a statute that expressly authorizes its collection. 
CIIS does not maintain any information describing how individuals exercise their rights guaranteed by the First 

Amendment. Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks were identified.

Section 5: Maintenance, use, and sharing of the information 

The following sections require a clear description of the system’s or project’s use of information. 

Section 5.1: Describe how and why the system or project uses the information it 

collects and maintains 

Please describe all of the uses of the information types and groupings collected and maintained 

by the system or project (see Section 4.2), including a discussion of why the information is used 

for this purpose and how it relates to the mission of the bureau or office that owns the system. 

 

The CDFI program provides financial and technical assistance to organizations certified by the CDFI Fund 

as CDFIs, or entities that propose to become CDFIs, and that have been selected through an annual award 

competition for financial or technical assistance to enhance the organization’s ability to make loans and 

investments and provide services for the benefit of designated investment areas and targeted populations. The 

NMTC provides tax credit allocations to CDEs that are certified by the CDFI Fund and have been selected 

for tax credit allocations to make investments in qualified low-income communities to promote community 

development. The recipients of financial assistance and tax credit allocations report electronically through 

the CIIS. 

CIIS collects key performance and financial data for the CDFI Fund’s major programs through two 

instruments: an ILR and a TLR. CIIS is a 15-year-old web-based internet custom software application that 

conforms to the Department of the Treasury’s security requirements and which is designed to collect data 

from CDFI Fund program awardees/allocatees. “Awardees” are certified as CDFIs by the CDFI Fund and 

are recipients of financial assistance awards from the CDFI Program. “Allocatees” are certified CDEs that 

receive a tax credit allocation from the NMTC program. The data collection system uses a set of award 

program specific surveys and data tables based on standard reporting requirements defined in awardees’ 

assistance or allocation agreements with the CDFI Fund. 

The ILR captures key metrics to monitor the financial health of awardees, and the populations and 

communities that they serve, including the reporting organization’s: financial position (e.g., current assets 

and liabilities, summary income and expenses), which are validated through audited financial reports; 

portfolio summary of lending and financing activities; development services (e.g., financial education, 

technical assistance); target markets served (both geographies and populations), which are validated through 

geocoded transactions submitted through the transactional reporting (see below). 

The TLR captures more granular data on an awardee’s financing activities, with loan or investment 

characteristics and locational information including: amounts, rates, and terms of each loan/investment 

financed. Specific census tract location of each loan or investment are geocoded to ensure that the awardee 

is serving targeted low-income communities and underserved populations, but which precludes the 

identification of household or individual data or any address location. Geocoding is the process of converting 

addresses into geographic coordinates or census tract codes. The geocoded addresses are business 

addresses. 

The CDFI Fund uses this data to monitor awardee and allocatee compliance and performance and to analyze 

the overall trends within each program. 

Awardees and Allocatees must geocode consumer borrower and mortgage loan information so that only a 
census tract identifier is submitted with the record. A census tract code is an eleven-digit Federal Information 

Processing Standards (FIPS) code which uniquely identifies a census tract as a subset of a county and county 

equivalent in the United States, certain U.S. possessions, and certain freely associated states. A census tract 

is an area roughly equivalent to a neighborhood established by the Census Bureau for analyzing populations. 

A census tract generally encompasses a population between 2,500 to 8,000 people. The Census Bureau’s 5-

Year American Community Survey implements a data suppression process for census tract demographic data 

that have small population counts for a given demographic or socioeconomic characteristic to avoid 

disclosure of respondent’s identity within a census tract (see https://www2.census.gov/programssurveys/acs/tech_docs/data_suppression/ACSO_Data_Suppression.pdf, U.S. Census Bureau’s American 

Community Survey Data Suppression, U.S. Department of Commerce, September 27, 2016). The Census 

Bureau’s data suppression procedures for census tract demographics together with the CDFI Fund’s 

procedure for the location of consumer transactions with a census tract identifier make it improbable to use 

computer matching of CIIS transactional records with Census data or other data on individuals or 

households financing activities. Furthermore, addresses are collected only for business loans including real 

estate investments and operating businesses. 

The CDFI Fund's mission is to expand economic opportunity for underserved people and communities by 

supporting the growth and capacity of community development lenders, investors, and financial service 

providers. To help ensure that CDFIs are effective in serving underserved populations, through the TLR the 

CIIS system collects loan level data on transactions related to race, gender, and ethnicity data, but no 

individual personally identifiable information is collected as part of this record. Moreover, Census Bureau 

data suppression procedures detailed above coupled with the CDFI Fund procedures prevent identifying 

individuals or households. The race, gender, and ethnicity data and whether a business is minority-owned 

are collected as means of validating that awardees/allocatees are lending to underserved populations as 

defined by their assistance agreement and approved target markets or services areas. Additionally, the data 

on each transaction indicate a yes/no response about whether a given characteristic applies to the 

transaction. For example, the transaction includes a census tract number, gender, race, and ethnicity, but the 

record does not include any data regarding an address, name, or other information that could directly 

associate it with a particular individual. To mitigate comparison of a record to the overall demographic 

distribution of a census tract, the Census Bureau implements a data suppression process to small population 

counts within the American Community Survey data collection to avoid disclosure of respondent’s identity 

within a census tract. 

To complete the survey, the authorized business representative responsible provides their name, business 

address, business telephone number, and business email address. This information is suppressed in the CDFI 

Fund’s reports that are made public.

Collecting Information Directly from the Individual When Using it to Make Adverse 

Determinations About Them 

The Privacy Act requires that federal agencies “collect information to the greatest extent 

practicable directly from the subject individual when the information may result in adverse 

determinations about an individual’s rights, benefits, and privileges under Federal programs.” 5 

U.S.C. § 552a(e)(2). 

Section 5.1(a) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is it possible that the information maintained in the system or by the project may 

be used by Treasury to make an adverse determination about an individual’s rights, benefits, and privileges 

under federal programs (e.g., decisions about whether the individual will receive a financial benefit, get a 

clearance or access to a Treasury facility, obtain employment with Treasury)? 

Section 5.1(b) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is it possible that Treasury will share information maintained in the system or by 

the project with a third party external to the Department that will use the information to make an adverse 

determination about an individual’s rights, benefits, and privileges under federal programs? 
Section 5.1(c) ☐ Yes ☒ No ☐ N/A If information could potentially be used to make an adverse determination 

about an individual’s rights, benefits, and privileges under federal programs, does the system or project collect 

information (to the greatest extent practicable) directly from the individual? 

Data collected through the CIIS system are not used by Treasury or other parties to make an adverse 

determination about an individual’s rights, benefits, or privileges under federal programs. The data only report 

on where the awardee or allocatee made loans or investments and certain characteristics of the loan or 

investment. The data are not collected directly from an individual but rather are collected by the awardee or 

allocatee that gathers information from the borrower or investee to report to the CDFI Fund. 

Data Mining 

As required by Section 804 of the Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 

2007 (“9-11 Commission Act”), Treasury reports annually to Congress on its data mining 

activities. For a comprehensive overview of Treasury’s data mining activities, please review the 

Department’s Annual Privacy reports available at: http://www.treasury.gov/privacy/annualreports. 

Section 5.1(d) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is information maintained in the system or by the project used to conduct “datamining” activities as that term is defined in the Implementing the 9-11 Commission Act? 

The information maintained in CIIS is not used to conduct data mining. Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties 

risks were identified. 

Section 5.2: Ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of information 

collected, maintained, and shared 

 

Exemption from Accuracy, Relevance, Timeliness, and Completeness Requirements 

The Privacy Act requires that federal agencies “maintain all records which are used by the 

agency in making any determination about any individual with such accuracy, relevance, 

timeliness, and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual in the 

determination.” 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(5). If a particular system of records meets certain 

requirements (including the NPRM process defined in Section 2 above), an agency may exempt 

the system of records (or a portion of the records) from this requirement. 

Section 5.2(a) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Is all or any portion of the information maintained in the system or by the 

project: (a) part of a system of records and (b) exempt from the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and 

completeness requirements in sections (e)(5) of the Privacy Act? 

CIIS does not maintain a Privacy Act system of records. The system does not collect or retrieve the records by 

personal identifiers. The records are structured as transactions of the recipient organization (i.e., awardees or 

allocatees) and the locations of the transactions are anonymized as described above.

Computer Matching

The Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 amended the Privacy Act, imposing 

additional requirements when Privacy Act systems of records are used in computer matching 

programs. 
Pursuant to the Privacy Act, as amended, there are two distinct types of matching programs. The 

first type of matching program involves the computerized comparison of two or more automated 

federal personnel or payroll systems of records or a system of federal personnel or payroll 

records with non-federal records. This type of matching program may be conducted for any 

purpose. The second type of matching program involves the computerized comparison of two or 

more automated systems of records or a system of records with non-federal records. The 

purpose of this type of matching program must be for the purpose of eligibility determinations or 

compliance requirements for applicants, recipients, beneficiaries, participants, or providers of 

services for payments or in-kind assistance under federal benefit programs, or recouping 

payments or delinquent debts under such federal benefit programs. See 5 U.S.C. § 522a(a)(8). 

Matching programs must be conducted pursuant to a matching agreement between the source 

and recipient agencies. The matching agreement describes the purpose and procedures of the 

matching and establishes protections for matching records. 

Section 5.2(b) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is any of the information maintained in the system or by the project (a) part of a 

system of records and (b) used as part of a matching program? 

Section 5.2(c) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Is there a matching agreement in place that contains the information 

required by Section (o) of the Privacy Act? 

Section 5.2(d) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Are assessments made regarding the accuracy of the records that will be 

used in the matching program? 

Section 5.2(e) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Does the bureau or office that owns the system or project independently 

verify the information, provide the individual notice and an opportunity to contest the findings, or obtain Data 

Integrity Board approval in accordance with Section (p) of the Privacy Act before taking adverse action against 

the individual? 

CIIS does not maintain records in a Privacy Act system of records and, therefore, cannot be part of a Computer 

Matching Program. Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks were identified.

Ensuring Fairness in Making Adverse Determinations About Individuals 

Federal agencies are required to “maintain all records which are used by the agency in making 

any determination about any individual with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and 

completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual in the 

determination.” 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(5). This requirement also applies when merging records 

from two or more sources where the merged records are used by the agency to make any 

determination about any individual. 

Section 5.2(f) ☐ Yes ☒ No With respect to the information maintained in the system or by the project, are 

steps taken to ensure all information used to make a determination about an individual is maintained with such 

accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the 

individual in the determination?

CIIS does not maintain information to make any determinations about an individual or households relating to 

financing products or services, or any other determination.
Merging Information About Individuals

Section 5.2(g) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is information maintained in the system or by the project merged with electronic or 

non-electronic information from internal or external sources (e.g., other files or systems)? 

Section 5.2(h) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Once merged, is the information used in making determinations about 

individuals (e.g., decisions about whether the individual will receive a financial benefit or payment, get a 

clearance or access to a Treasury facility, obtain employment with Treasury, etc.)? 

Section 5.2(i) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Are there documented policies or procedures for how information is 

merged? 

Section 5.2(j) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Do the documented policies or procedures address how to proceed when 

partial matches (where some, but not all of the information being merged matches a particular individual) are 

discovered after the information is merged? 

Section 5.2(k) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A If information maintained in the system or by the project is used to make a 

determination about an individual, are steps taken to ensure the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness 

of the information as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual? 

No merging of any of the information in the system is done to identify any individual or household, and the 

records are structured in such a way as to prevent merging of data to identify any individual or household. 

Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks were identified.

Policies and Standard Operating Procedures or Technical Solutions Designed to Ensure 

Information Accuracy, Completeness, and Timeliness 

Section 5.2(l) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A If information maintained in the system or by the project is used to make 

any determination about an individual (even if it is an exempt system of records), are there documented policies 

or standard operating procedures for the system or project that address the accuracy, completeness, and 

timeliness of the information? 

Section 5.2(m) ☐ Yes ☒ No Does the system or project use any software or other technical solutions designed 

to improve the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of the information used to make an adverse determination 

about an individual's rights, benefits, and/or privileges (regardless of if it is an exempt system of records)? 

The information maintained in CIIS is not used to make any determination about an individual; therefore, there is 

no need for documented policies or standard operating procedures for the system or project to address the 

accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information.

Accuracy, Completeness, and Timeliness of Information Received from the Source

Section 5.2(n) ☐ Yes ☒ No Did Treasury or the bureau receive any guarantee, assurance, or other information 

from any information source(s) regarding the accuracy, timeliness and completeness of the information 

maintained in the system or by the project? 

No other information sources are used to verify the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of the information 

maintained in CIIS. However, the CDFIs/CDEs certify that the data they enter are accurate.

Disseminating Notice of Corrections of or Amendments to PII

Section 5.2(o) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Where feasible and appropriate, is there a process in place for 

disseminating corrections of or amendments to the PII maintained in the system or by the project to all internal 

and external information-sharing partners? 
Section 5.2(p) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Where feasible and appropriate, does the process for disseminating 

corrections or amendments include notifying the individual whose information is corrected or amended? 

No individual or household data are released to the public or other government agencies. Therefore, no privacy 

and civil liberties risks were identified.

Section 5.3: Information sharing within the Department of the Treasury

Internal Information Sharing

Section 5.3(a) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is PII maintained in the system or by the project shared with other Treasury 

bureaus? 

Section 5.3(b) ☒ Yes ☐ No Does the Treasury bureau or office that receives the PII limit access to those 

Treasury officers and employees who have a need for the PII in the performance of their official duties (i.e., those 

who have a “need to know”)?

Regarding the limitation of access to the CIIS system, the procedures used are outlined in the answer to Section 

4.2 on Audit Logs and Security Monitoring procedures.

Memorandum of Understanding/Other Agreements Limiting Treasury’s Internal 

Use/Disclosure of PII

Section 5.3(c) ☐ Yes ☒ No ☐ N/A Is any of the PII maintained in the system or by the project subject to the 

requirements of a Memorandum of Understanding or other agreement (e.g., agreement with another federal or 

state agency that provided the information to the Treasury or subject to an international agreement or treaty) that 

limits or places conditions on Treasury’s internal use, maintenance, handling, or disclosure of the PII? 

The CDFI Fund does not have MOUs with other Treasury components to share these data.

Section 5.4: Information sharing with external (i.e., outside Treasury) organizations 

and individuals

External Information Sharing

Section 5.4(a) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is PII maintained in the system or by the project shared with agencies, 

organizations, or individuals external to Treasury? 

No PII maintained in the system or by the project is shared with agencies, organizations, or 

individuals external to Treasury. 

Accounting of Disclosures

Section 5.4(b) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A With respect to records maintained in the system or by the project that are 

subject to the Privacy Act, do you maintain a paper or electronic log or other record of the date, nature, and 

purpose of each disclosure (not including intra-agency disclosures and FOIA disclosures) of a record to any 

person or to another agency (outside of Treasury) and the name and address of the person or agency to whom the 

disclosure is made? See 5 U.S.C § 552a(c). 

Section 5.4(c) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A If you do not keep a running tabulation of every disclosure at the time it is 

made, are you able to reconstruct an accurate and complete accounting of disclosures so as to be able to respond 

to Privacy Act requests in a timely fashion? 

Section 5.4(d) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A With respect to records maintained in the system or by the project that are 
subject to the Privacy Act, do you retain the log or other record of the date, nature, and purpose of each 

disclosure, for at least five years or the life of the record, whichever is longer, after the disclosure for which the 

accounting is made? 

Section 5.4(e) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A With respect to records maintained in the system or by the project that are 

subject to the Privacy Act, does your bureau or office exempt the system of records (as allowed by the Privacy 

Act in certain circumstances) from the requirement to make the accounting available to the individual named in 

the record? 

Section 5.4(f) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A With respect to records maintained in the system or by the project that are 

subject to the Privacy Act, does your bureau or office exempt the system of records (as allowed by the Privacy 

Act in certain circumstances) from the requirement to inform any person or other agency about any correction or 

notation of dispute made by the agency of any record that has been disclosed to the person or agency if an 

accounting of the disclosure was made? 

CIIS is not subject to the Privacy Act. Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks were identified.

Statutory or Regulatory Restrictions on Disclosure

Section 5.4(g) ☐ Yes ☒ No In addition to the Privacy Act, are there any other statutory or regulatory 

restrictions on the sharing of any of the PII maintained in the system or by the project (e.g., 26 U.S.C § 6103 for 

tax returns and return information)? 

There are no specific statutory or regulatory restrictions on sharing the information maintained in CIIS. 

Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks were identified.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Related to External Sharing

Section 5.4(h) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Has Treasury (including bureaus and offices) executed a Memorandum of 

Understanding, or entered into any other type of agreement, with any external agencies, organizations, or 

individuals with which/whom it shares PII maintained in the system or by the project? 

The CDFI Fund has not executed any MOU related to CIIS data with any other Treasury bureaus or offices, 

external agencies, or individuals.

Memorandum of Understanding Limiting Treasury’s Use or Disclosure of PII

Section 5.4(i) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is any of the PII maintained in the system or by the project subject to the 

requirements of a Memorandum of Understanding or other agreement (e.g., agreement with another federal or 

state agency, an international agreement or treaty, or contract with private vendor that provided the information to 

Treasury or one of its bureaus) that limits or places conditions on Treasury’s internal use or external (i.e., outside 

Treasury) sharing of the PII? 

The CDFI Fund has not executed any MOU related to CIIS data with another federal or state agency, an 

international agreement or treaty, or contract with private vendor that provided the information to Treasury or 

one of its bureaus that limits or places conditions on Treasury’s internal use or external (i.e., outside Treasury) 

sharing of the PII in the system.

Memorandum of Understanding Limiting External Party’s Use or Disclosure of PII

Section 5.4(j) ☐ Yes ☒ No Is any of the PII maintained in the system or by the project subject to the 

requirements of a Memorandum of Understanding or other agreement in which Treasury limits or places 

conditions on an external party’s use, maintenance, handling, or disclosure of PII shared by Treasury? 

The CDFI Fund has not executed any MOU related to CIIS data that limits or places conditions on an external 

party’s use, maintenance, handling, or disclosure of PII shared by Treasury.
Obtaining Consent Prior to New Disclosures Not Included in the SORN or Authorized by 

the Privacy Act

Section 5.4(l) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Is the individual’s consent obtained, where feasible and appropriate, prior 

to any new disclosures of previously collected records in a system of records (those not expressly authorized by 

the Privacy Act or contained in the published SORN (e.g., in the routine uses))? 

CIIS does not include any Privacy Act system of records. Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks were 

identified.

Section 6: Compliance with federal information management 

requirements

Responses to the questions below address the practical, policy, and legal consequences of 

failing to comply with one or more of the following federal information management 

requirements (to the extent required) and how those risks were or are being mitigated: (1) the 

Privacy Act System of Records Notice Requirement; (2) the Paperwork Reduction Act; (3) the 

Federal Records Act; (4) the E-Gov Act security requirements; and (5) Section 508 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

Section 6.1: Privacy Act System of Records Notice (SORN)

For collections of PII that meet certain requirements, the Privacy Act requires that the agency 

publish a SORN in the Federal Register. 

System of Records

Section 6.1(a) ☐ Yes ☒ No Does the system or project retrieve records about an individual using an identifying 

number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual? (see items selected in Section 4.2

above) 

Section 6.1(b) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A Was a SORN published in the Federal Register for this system of records? 

CIIS does not retrieve records about an individual using an identifying number, symbol, or other identifying 

particular assigned to the individual and is not a system of records. Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks 

were identified.

Section 6.2: The Paperwork Reduction Act

The PRA requires OMB approval before a federal agency may collect standardized data from 10 

or more respondents within a 12 month period. OMB requires agencies to conduct a PIA (a 

Treasury PCLIA) when initiating, consistent with the PRA, a new electronic collection of PII for 

10 or more persons (excluding agencies, instrumentalities, or employees of the federal 

government). 

Paperwork Reduction Act Compliance

Section 6.2(a) ☒ Yes ☐ No Does the system or project maintain information obtained from individuals and 
organizations who are not federal personnel or an agency of the federal government (i.e., outside the federal 

government)? 

Section 6.2(b) ☐ Yes ☒ No ☐ N/A Does the project or system involve a new collection of information in 

identifiable form for 10 or more persons from outside the federal government? 

Section 6.2(c) ☒ Yes ☐ No ☐ N/A Did the project or system complete an Information Collection Request 

(“ICR”) and receive OMB approval? 

The CIIS has completed an ICR and has received OMB approval. The approval expired on September 30, 2017. A 

new ICR request was submitted in early September, and the new ICR contains revisions which have not been 

approved yet.

Section 6.3: Records Management - NARA/Federal Records Act Requirements

Records retention schedules determine the maximum amount of time necessary to retain 

information in order to meet the needs of the project or system. Information is generally either 

disposed of or sent to the NARA for permanent retention upon expiration of this period. 

NARA Records Retention Requirements

Section 6.3(a) ☐ Yes ☒ No Are the records used in the system or by the project covered by NARA’s General 

Records Schedules (“GRS”) or Treasury/bureau Specific Records Schedule (SRS)? 

Section 6.3(b) ☐ Yes ☒ No Did NARA approved a retention schedule for the records maintained in the 

system or by the project? 

Section 6.3(c) ☐ Yes ☐ No ☒ N/A If NARA did not approve a retention schedule for the records maintained 

in the system or by the project and the records are not covered by NARA’s GRS or Treasury/bureau SRS, has a 

draft retention schedule (approved by all applicable Treasury and/or Bureau officials) been developed for the 

records used in this project or system? 

A revised schedule is being worked on by CDFI to fit the CIIS program. 

Section 6.4: E-Government Act/NIST Compliance 

The completion of Federal Information Security Management Act (“FISMA”) Security 

Assessment & Authorization (SA&A) process is required before a federal information system 

may receive Authority to Operate (“ATO”). Different security requirements apply to National 

Security Systems. 

Federal Information System Subject to FISMA Security Assessment and Authorization

Section 6.4(a) ☒ Yes ☐ No ☐ N/A Is the system a federal information system subject to FISMA requirements?

Section 6.4(b) ☒ Yes ☐ No ☐ N/A Has the system or project undergone a SA&A and received ATO? 

The system was granted an ATO effective November 7, 2015. It expires on November 7, 2018.

Access Controls and Security Requirements

Section 6.4(c) ☒ Yes ☐ No Does the system or project include access controls to ensure limited access to 
information maintained by the system or project? 

The CIIS System Security Plan (SSP) provides an overview of the security requirements for the Treasury use of 

CIIS and describes the controls In-Place or Planned for implementation to provide a level of security 

appropriate for the information processed. The content and format of this SSP complies with National Institute 

of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-18. Proper management of Treasury’s 

information technology systems is essential to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the CIIS 

information. 

Before accreditation can be granted to any system, a series of documents must be developed in accordance with 

the system development life cycle (SDLC) to satisfy the minimum security requirements. The CIIS SSP includes 

user responsibilities, roles and limitations, and general security procedures for users and security personnel, as 

well as management, operational, and technical security controls. 

The security safeguards for the system meets the policy requirements set forth in the CIIS SSP and its 

implementation manual and/or regulation. CIIS is subject to monitoring consistent with applicable laws, 

regulations, and Treasury policies, procedures, and practices.

Security Risks in Manner of Collection

Section 6.4(d) ☐ Yes ☒ No In Section 4.3 above, you identified the sources for information used in the system 

or project and the method and manner of collection. Were any security, privacy, or civil liberties risks identified 

with respect to the manner in which the information is collected from the source(s)? 

The CIIS SSP provides an overview of the security requirements for the Treasury use of CIIS and describes the 

controls In-Place or Planned for implementation to provide a level of security appropriate for the information 

processed. The content and format of this SSP complies with NIST Special Publication 800-18. Proper 

management of Treasury’s information technology systems is essential to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and 

availability of the CIIS information. 

Before accreditation can be granted to any system, a series of documents must be developed in accordance with 

the SDLC to satisfy the minimum security requirements. The CIIS SSP includes user responsibilities, roles and 

limitations, and general security procedures for users and security personnel, as well as management, 

operational, and technical security controls. 

The security safeguards for the system meets the policy requirements set forth in the CIIS SSP and its 

implementation manual and/or regulation. CIIS is subject to monitoring consistent with applicable laws, 

regulations, and Treasury policies, procedures, and practices.

Security Controls When Sharing Internally or Externally

Section 6.4(e) ☒ Yes ☐ No ☐ N/A Are all Treasury/bureau security requirements met in the method of 

transferring information (e.g., bulk transfer, direct access by recipient, portable disk, paper) from the Treasury 

project or system to internal or external parties? 

The CIIS SSP provides an overview of the security requirements for the Treasury use of CIIS and describes the 

controls In-Place or Planned for implementation to provide a level of security appropriate for the information 

processed. The content and format of this SSP complies with NIST Special Publication 800-18. Proper 

management of Treasury’s information technology systems is essential to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and 

availability of the CIIS information. 

Before accreditation can be granted to any system, a series of documents must be developed in accordance with 

the SDLC to satisfy the minimum security requirements. The CIIS SSP includes user responsibilities, roles and 

limitations, and general security procedures for users and security personnel, as well as management, 

operational, and technical security controls. 

The security safeguards for the system meets the policy requirements set forth in the CIIS SSP and its 
implementation manual and/or regulation. CIIS is subject to monitoring consistent with applicable laws, 

regulations, and Treasury policies, procedures, and practices. 

Monitoring of Individuals

Section 6.4(f) ☐ Yes ☒ No Will this system or project have the capability to identify, locate, and monitor 

individuals or groups of people? 

The information collected in the system is limited to reduce the risk that individuals and groups of people can be 

identified. 

Audit Trails

Section 6.4(g) ☐ Yes ☒ No Are audit trails regularly reviewed for appropriate use, handling, and 

disclosure of PII maintained in the system or by the project inside or outside of the Department? 

The security safeguards for the system meets the policy requirements set forth in the CIIS SSP and its 

implementation manual and/or regulation. CIIS is subject to monitoring consistent with applicable 

laws, regulations, and bureau policies, procedures, and practices.

Section 6.5: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

When Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use Electronic and Information 

Technology (“EIT”), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended in 1998) 

requires that individuals with disabilities (including federal employees) must have access and use 

(including privacy policies and directives as well as redress opportunities) that is comparable to 

that which is available to individuals who do not have disabilities. 

Applicability of and Compliance With the Rehabilitation Act

Section 6.5(a) ☒ Yes ☐ No Will the project or system involve the development, procurement, maintenance or 

use of EIT as that term is defined in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended in 1998)? 

Section 6.5(b) ☒ Yes ☐ No ☐ N/A Does the system or project comply with all Section 508 requirements, thus 

ensuring that individuals with disabilities (including federal employees) have access and use (including access to 

privacy and civil liberties policies) that is comparable to that which is available to individuals who do not have 

disabilities? 

For data collection purposes, the system is designed to meet Section 508 requirements so that data entry by an 

awardee organization can be completed by individuals with disabilities.

Section 7: Redress

Access Under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act

Section 7.0(a) ☒ Yes ☐ No Does the agency have a published process in place by which individuals may seek 

records under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act? 

The Treasury FOIA and PA disclosure regulations can be found at 31 C.F.R. Part 1, Subtitle A, Subparts A and 

C. 
Privacy Act Access Exemption

Section 7.0(b) ☐ Yes ☒ No Was any of the information that is maintained in system of records and used in the 

system or project exempted from the access provisions of the Privacy Act? 

CIIS is not a system of records. Therefore, no privacy and civil liberties risks were identified.

Additional Redress Mechanisms

Section 7.0(c) ☒ Yes ☐ No With respect to information maintained by the project or system (whether or not it 

is covered by the Privacy Act), does the bureau or office that owns the project or system have any additional 

mechanisms other than Privacy Act and FOIA remedies (e.g., a customer satisfaction unit; a complaint process) 

by which an individual may request access to and/or amendment of their information and/or contest adverse 

determinations about denial of their rights, benefits, and privileges under federal programs (e.g., decisions about 

whether the individual will receive a financial benefit, get a clearance or access to a Treasury facility, obtain 

employment with Treasury)? 

Awardees and allocatees (i.e. the organizational recipients of program awards or allocations) are allowed to 

revise CIIS submission errors by requesting for the CDFI Fund Compliance Office and CIIS administrator to 

reopen a specific report for correction. In addition, adverse compliance determinations are contestable during 

the compliance review process, although the only way CIIS reports factor into an adverse compliance 

determination is if the organization fails to submit its CIIS report on time. An organization can cure this failure 

by submitting a late report if it is approved by the Compliance Office. None of the adverse compliance 

determinations involves PII or adverse actions taken against individuals (only organizational recipients of 

program awards or allocations).