Disability Determination Services Consultant File, Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Determinations
Effective Date: January 11, 2006
(71 F.R. 1811)
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
SYSTEM NUMBER: 60-0046
System name:
Disability
Determination Services Consultant File, Social Security Administration, Office
of Disability Determinations.
Security classification:
None.
System Location:
Offices of State
Disability Determination Services (DDS) may currently maintain this type of
file. Contact the system manager at the address below or access http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/bluebook/app_b.htm for the name
and address of each State DDS and the Federal Disability Determination Services
(FDDS).
Categories of individuals covered
by the system:
Physicians
who have expressed a willingness to conduct consultative examinations for the
DDS and, in some instances, other physicians with whom the DDS has contact. The latter are
usually treating physicians. This file also includes, but is not limited to,
psychologists, social workers, nurses, audiologists and vocational consultants
who express a willingness to conduct some type of consultative service for the
DDS.
Categories of records in the
system:
Information
relative to a consultant's specialty, past experience as to the promptness with
which reports are submitted, general thoroughness of reports, fees received,
etc., and perhaps comments on the consultant's own preferences (such as
appointment hours, etc.).
Authority for maintenance of the
system:
5
U.S.C. 301, 30 U.S.C. 923(b), and sections 221 and 1633 of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 421 and 1383b).
Purpose(s):
DDS personnel
use this information in the selection of a consultant when additional medical
or vocational evidence is needed for claims under Titles II and XVI of the
Social Security Act.
Routine uses of records maintained
in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:
Disclosure may
be made for routine uses as indicated below. However, disclosure of any
information defined as ``return or return information'' under 26 U.S.C. 6103 of
the Internal Revenue Code will not be disclosed unless authorized by a statute,
the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS), or IRS regulations.
1. To a congressional office in response to
an inquiry from the office made at the request of the subject of a record.
2. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), a
court or other tribunal, or another party before such tribunal when:
(a) The Social
Security Administration (SSA), or any component thereof; or
(b) Any SSA employee in his/her
official capacity; or
(c) Any SSA
employee in his/her individual capacity where DOJ (or SSA where it is
authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the employee; or
(d) the United States or any agency thereof
where SSA determines that the litigation is likely to affect the operations of
SSA or any of its components, is a party to litigation or has an interest in
such litigation, and SSA determines that the use of such records by DOJ, a
court or other tribunal, or another party before such tribunal, is relevant and
necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, SSA
determines that such disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the
records were collected.
3. To contractors and other Federal
agencies, as necessary, for the purpose of assisting the Social Security
Administration (SSA) in the efficient administration of its programs. We will
disclose information under this routine use only in situations in which SSA may
enter into a contractual or similar agreement with a third party to assist in
accomplishing an agency function relating to this system of records.
4. To the General Services Administration
and the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) under 44 U.S.C. 2904
and 2906, as amended by the NARA Act of 1984, information which is not
restricted from disclosure by Federal law for the use of those agencies in
conducting records management studies.
5. To student volunteers, individuals
working under a personal services contract, and other workers who technically
do not have the status of Federal employees, when they are performing work for
the Social Security Administration (SSA), as authorized by law, and they need
access to personally identifiable information in SSA records in order to
perform their assigned Agency functions.
6. To the Secretary of Health and Human
Services or to any State, the Commissioner shall disclose any record or
information requested in writing by the Secretary for the purpose of
administering any program administered by the Secretary, if records or
information of such type were so disclosed under applicable rules, regulations
and procedures in effect before the date of enactment of the Social Security
Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994.
7. We may disclose information to
appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, entities, and persons when (1)
we suspect or confirm that the security or confidentiality of information in
this system of records has been compromised; (2) we determine 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 of SSA that rely upon the
compromised information; and (3) we determine that disclosing the information to
such agencies, entities, and persons is necessary to assist in our efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or
remedy such harm. SSA will use this routine use to respond only to those
incidents involving an unintentional release of its records.
Policies and practices for storing,
retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Each DDS
maintains its own records and the method of storage may vary from State to
State and within the FDDS. Generally, the information is on a file card
maintained in a standard card file cabinet. However, some States may use an
automated format.
Retrievability:
Records are
retrieved by consultant's surname.
Safeguards:
Only authorized
SSA and DDS personnel have access to these records. Personal information other
than the name of the consultant is subject to the disclosure restrictions of 5
U.S.C. 552(b)(6), 21 U.S.C. 1175, and 42 U.S.C. 1306.
Access http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/bluebook/app_g.htm for additional
information relating to SSA data security measures.
Retention and disposal:
DDS policy as to
retention and disposal varies from State to State and within the FDDS, but
generally, the file is destroyed upon death, retirement or relocation of the
consultant.
System manager(s) and address(es):
Social Security Administration
Associate
Commissioner
Office of Disability Determinations
Notification procedures:
An individual
can determine if this system contains a record about him/her by providing name
and address to the DDS Administrator, c/o the State in which he or she resides
and/or information is likely to be maintained (contact the system manager at
the address above or access http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/bluebook/app_b.htm for address
information).
An individual requesting notification of
records in person should provide the same information, as well as provide an
identity document, preferably with a photograph, such as a driver's license or
some other means of identification. If an individual does not have any
identification documents sufficient to establish his/her identity, the individual
must certify in writing that he/she is the person claimed to be and that he/she
understands that the knowing and willful request for, or acquisition of, a
record pertaining to another individual under false pretenses is a criminal
offense.
If notification is requested by telephone,
an individual must verify his/her identity by providing identifying information
that parallels information in the record to which notification is being
requested. If it is determined that the identifying
information provided by telephone is insufficient, the individual will be
required to submit a request in writing or in person. If an individual
is requesting information by telephone on behalf of another individual, the
subject individual must be connected with the Social Security Administration
(SSA) and the requesting individual in the same phone call. SSA will establish
the subject individual's identity (his/her name, Social Security number,
address, date of birth and place of birth, along with one other piece of information,
such as mother's maiden name) and ask for his/her consent in providing
information to the requesting individual.
If a request for notification is submitted
by mail, an individual must include a notarized statement to SSA to verify
his/her identity or must certify in the request that he/she is the person
claimed to be and that he/she understands that the knowing and willful request
for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to another individual under false
pretenses is a criminal offense. These procedures are in accordance with SSA
Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).
Record access procedures:
Same
as Notification procedures. Requesters also should reasonably specify
the record contents being sought. These access procedures are in accordance
with SSA Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).
Contesting record procedures:
Same
as Notification procedures. Requesters also should reasonably identify
the record, specify the information they are contesting and the corrective
action sought, and the reasons for the correction, with supporting
justification showing how the record is incomplete, untimely, inaccurate or
irrelevant. These procedures are in accordance with SSA Regulations (20 CFR
401.65(a)).
Record source categories:
Information is
obtained mostly from the consultant. Observations of DDS personnel about the
consultant, such as the individual's general promptness in filing reports, may
occasionally be found in a consultant's file.
Systems exempted from certain
provisions of the Privacy Act:
None.