[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59735-59738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24346]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[FR-5386-N-09]


Privacy Act of 1974; Notification of a New Privacy Act System of 
Records, Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families Data Files

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer.

ACTION: Notification of a new SORN.

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SUMMARY: Housing Urban Development (HUD) proposes to establish a new 
Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), SORN. The proposed new system of 
record is the Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families Data (RRHFD) 
Files. The records system will be used by HUD's Office of Policy 
Development and Research (PD&R) to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
RRHFD Program, which is a demonstration program that was authorized by 
Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (Pub. L. 110-
161). Refer to the ``Objective'' caption to obtain detailed

[[Page 59736]]

information about the purpose of this study.
    Comments Due Date: October 28, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this notice to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., 
Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications should refer to 
the above docket number and title. A copy of each communication 
submitted will be available for public inspection and copying between 8 
a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Robinson-Staton, Departmental 
Privacy Act Officer, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 2256, Washington, DC 
20410, Telephone Number (202) 402-8047. (This is not a toll-free 
number.) A telecommunication device for hearing-and speech-impaired 
individuals (TTY) is available at (800) 877-8339 (Federal Information 
Relay Service).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a), as amended notice is given that HUD proposes to establish 
a new SORN as identified as RRHFD.
    Title 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11) provide that the public be 
afforded a 30-day period in which to comment on the new system of 
records.
    The new system report was submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, and the 
House Committee on Government Reform pursuant to paragraph 4c of 
Appendix 1 to OMB Circular No. A-130, ``Federal Responsibilities for 
Maintaining Records About Individuals,'' July 25, 1994 (59 FR 37914).

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 552a 88 Stat. 1896; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).

    Dated: September 22, 2010.
Jerry E. Williams,
Chief Information Officer.

System name:
    Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families Data Files.

System location:
    Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families Data Files are to be located 
at Abt Associates Inc., 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA; Abt 
Associates Inc., 4550 Montgomery Avenue, Bethesda, MD; and the AT&T 
Datacenter, 15 Enterprise Ave., Secaucus, NJ 07094.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Families enrolled in RRHFD.

Categories of records in the system:
    Name; Social Security Number; study identifier; birth date; contact 
information (home address, telephone numbers, e-mail address); 
demographic characteristics of the family head (e.g., race/ethnicity, 
gender, marital status); number of children and other adults in the 
household (a roster of adults and children with the family head at 
baseline and spouse/partner and children not with the family head at 
baseline, and characteristics of these family members); income sources 
and total family income; employment and earnings for the family head; 
current housing conditions, rent and rental assistance received; 
housing history since program completion; barriers to housing; homeless 
program participation; contact information for landlord, family and 
friends; and study tracking information.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    Sec. 501, 502, Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 (Pub. L. 
91-609), 12 U.S.C. 1701z-1, 1701z-2.

Purpose:
    The FY 2008 budget for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (H.R. 2764) included a $25 million set-aside to implement a 
Rapid Re-housing for Families Demonstration Program ``expressly for the 
purposes of providing housing and services to homeless families.'' Also 
included in the legislation was a requirement that there be an 
evaluation of the demonstration program ``in order to evaluate the 
effectiveness of the rapid re-housing approach in addressing the needs 
of homeless families.'' The underlying presumption of the rapid re-
housing program posits that providers, through the use of an assessment 
tool they have developed for the program, will be able to predict with 
considerable confidence which homeless families, with a minimum amount 
of housing and supportive services, will be able to achieve housing 
stability and self-sufficiency at the conclusion of the program. In 
order to measure the efficacy of the program, HUD will seek to enroll 
approximately 1,200 participating families into the outcomes 
evaluation. A follow-up survey will be administered to each 
participating family 12 months after completion of the program. The 
survey will collect data related to housing stability; self-
sufficiency; employment and earnings; family well-being; and health.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    <bullet> Authorized Abt/SRBI staff will use the data files in the 
Web-based study contact database to track study participants and locate 
participants for 12-month follow-up interviews. Staff will use the data 
files to match with other datasets for tracking purposes, such as 
change of address and credit bureau databases.
    <bullet> A limited number of authorized Abt researchers will access 
personally identifying information to link data from one phase of data 
collection to another or to match primary study data with other 
datasets for data collection purposes (e.g., matching records from 
primary data collection with local Homeless management Information 
Systems (HMIS) administrative data).
    <bullet> Authorized Abt researchers will also use the data for 
statistical analysis and to develop findings for this research study.
    <bullet> Authorized Abt researchers may use the data to create a 
public use file of non-identifiable data for disclosure to authorized 
researchers for other purposes.
    <bullet> If the Department suspects or has confirmed that the 
security or confidentiality of information in the system of records has 
been compromised; or if the Department has determined that as a result 
of the suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to 
economic or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the 
security or integrity of this system or other systems or programs 
(whether maintained by the HUD or another agency or entity) that rely 
upon the compromised information; then the disclosure made to such 
agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in 
connection with the HUD's efforts to respond to the suspected or 
confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    Each data user's permissions will be defined based on the user's 
role on the project. For example, the local site interviewer will be 
able to review data for study participants only for his or her own 
specific site. Study data will be aggregated or de-identified at the 
highest level possible for each required, authorized use.
    Abt Associates will not use or disclose the data for any purposes 
other than for the ``The Evaluation of the Rapid Re-Housing for 
Families Demonstration Program.'' Abt Associates will not disclose the 
data to additional parties without the written authority of

[[Page 59737]]

the providing organization, except where required by law.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Safeguards:
    The following safeguards shall be used to secure data in storage, 
retrieval, during access, and disposal.
    <bullet> All personal data (identifiable and de-identified data 
analyses files) will be encrypted and maintained on a secure 
workstation or server that is protected by a firewall, complex 
passwords, and multi-authentication factors, in a directory that can 
only be accessed by the network administrators and the analysts 
actively working on the data.
    <bullet> Data on the secure server will be encrypted using an 
industry standard algorithm incorporating at least 128-bit encryption. 
The decryption key will only be known to analysts actively working with 
the data.
    <bullet> Separate data files will be maintained for each 
questionnaire and for identifying information. Data files used for 
analysis will be stored in a separate location from files with 
identifying information to minimize the risk that an unauthorized user 
could use the unique identification number to link de-identified files 
with the identifiers. The unique identification number will be 
protected through multi-mode authentication, in addition to encryption 
technologies.
    <bullet> Access rights to the data are granted to limited 
researchers on a need-to-know basis, and the level of access provided 
to each researcher is based on the minimal level required by that 
individual to fulfill his research role.
    <bullet> Abt Associates will backup the data on a regular basis to 
safeguard against system failures or disasters. Only encrypted versions 
of the data will be copied to the backup media. Unencrypted data will 
never be stored on a laptop or on a movable media such as CDs, 
diskettes, or USB flash drives.
    <bullet> If an authorized researcher leaves employment or is no 
longer working on this project, their user ID and access will be 
terminated within one day, as will VPN access. These steps will be 
documented as part of termination process.
    <bullet> The site interviewers will securely store any hard copy 
documents with personal protected information, such as signed consent 
forms, tracking letters, or interview appointment schedules.
    Consent Forms. The participation agreement/informed consent and 
contact information form will be a paper form. After the family signs 
the informed consent form, the RRHD program staff person will record 
the participant's contact information in the secure, Web-based study 
contact database. After the contact information is recorded, the hard 
copy form will be placed within a sealed envelope and stored 
temporarily in a locked cabinet in a secure physical location within 
the RRHD program's administrative office. (If the contact information 
cannot be immediately recorded in the database, the RRHD program staff 
will store the signed form in the designated locked cabinet until the 
staff person is able to record the data. Alternatively, the program can 
submit the signed form to the Abt Director of Analysis, and Abt 
research staff can enter the contact information into the study contact 
database.)
    Tracking documentation. The site interviewer will store any 
tracking letters, appointment schedules, or other documentation with 
personal protected information, such as name, in a locked cabinet that 
can only be accessed by the interviewer. Tracking documentation with 
personal protected information should not be generated until needed in 
the tracking process to limit risk of unauthorized disclosures. Site 
interviewers should use study IDs in lieu of personal protected 
information on tracking documentation whenever feasible to limit risk 
of unauthorized disclosures.
    All hard copy forms with personal identifying data (the participant 
agreement/informed consent form) will be stored securely in a locked 
cabinet that can only be accessed by authorized individuals working on 
the data. The locked cabinet will be stored in a locked office in a 
limited access building.
    Hard copy forms that are no longer needed for the study will be 
shredded. If site interviewers do not have access to a paper shredder, 
they will submit the paperwork to the Abt Director of Analysis via 
FedEx with clear instructions to destroy the documents upon receipt.

Retrieving:
    The contact database will include personal identifiers that can be 
used to locate records to update families' whereabouts during the 
tracking period. Records within the contact database can be retrieved 
by name, social security number, study identification number, 
birthdate, or spouse name.
    After data collection is complete, researchers will use a dataset 
that is stripped of identifying information for all analyses, with the 
exception of a unique study identification number assigned to each 
participating family. The study identification number will be randomly 
generated at the time of random assignment and will be unrelated to 
personal information such as SSN, DOB, or name. The study identifier 
can be linked to the personal identifying information but only by a 
small number of central research staff at Abt Associates.

Retention and disposal:
    PII will be maintained only as long as required and only under 
conditions specified in the study protocol. Upon completion of all 
research for The Evaluation of the Rapid Re-Housing for Families 
Demonstration Program, Abt Associates will permanently destroy all 
electronic personally-identifiable information on the working server 
using one of the methods described by the NIST SP 800-88 ``Guidelines 
for Media Sanitization'' (September 2006). Encrypted versions of the 
data may remain on backup media for a longer period of time, but will 
be similarly permanently destroyed.
    At the end of the contract, records that do not need to be retained 
will be shredded and the remainder of the files will be shredded after 
the three-year retention period required in the contract. The retention 
and disposal procedures are in keeping with HUD's records management 
policies as described in 44 USC 3101 and 44 USC 3303.

System manager(s) and address:
    Carol Star, Director of the Program Evaluation Division, Office of 
Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20410, Telephone 
Number (202) 402-6139.

Notification procedure:
    For information, assistance, or inquiry about existence or records, 
contact Donna Robinson-Stanton, Departmental Privacy Act Officer, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC, in accordance with the procedures in 24 CFR part 16.

Record access procedures:
    The Department's rules for providing access to records to the 
individual concerned appear in 24 CFR part 16. If additional 
information or assistance is required, contact the Privacy Act Officer 
at the appropriate location.

Contesting record procedures:
    The Department's rules for contesting the contents of records and 
appealing initial denials, by the individual concerned, appear in 24 
CFR part 16. If additional information or assistance is

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needed, it may be obtained by contacting:
    (i) In relation to contesting contents of records, the Departmental 
Privacy Act, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
Street SW., Room 2256, Washington, DC 20410;
    (ii) In relation to appeals of initial denials, the HUD 
Departmental Privacy Appeals Officers, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20410.

Record source categories:
    Original data collected directly from participating families, third 
party data for tracking purposes (e.g., National Change of Address 
database, credit bureaus), and administrative data on Homeless 
Management Information Systems.

Exemption from certain provisions of the Act:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2010-24346 Filed 9-27-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P