System Notice: 09-30-0023 1

SYSTEM NAME:

Records of Contracts Awarded to Individuals (HHS/SAMHSA/OPS)

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Director
Division of Contracts Management
Office of Program Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, Maryland 20857

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

An individual who receives a contract as well as individuals who apply or compete for an award but do not receive the award and their consultants.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Curriculum vitae, salary information, evaluations of proposals by contract review committees.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

SAMHSA: Public Health Service Act, sections 301 (42 U.S.C. 241), 322 (42 U.S.C. 249(c)), and 501-05 (42 U.S.C. 290aa et. seq.). CSAT: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Section 507-12 (42 U.S.C. 290bb et. seq.). CSAP: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Section 515-8 (42 U.S.C. 290bb-21 et. seq.). CMHS: Center for Mental Health Services, Section 520-35 (42 U.S.C. 290bb-31 et. seq.). Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental health Illness Act of 1986 as amended (42 U.S.C. 10801 et. seq.); Refugee Education Assistance Act 1980, section 501(c) (8 U.S.C. 1522 note). Pub. L. 96-422; Executive Order 12341; and Disaster Relief Act of 1974, section 413. Pub L. 93-288, as amended by section 416 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Pub. L. 100-107.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:

To document the history of each contract procurement action and award made within SAMHSA to an individual. The records are also used by contract review committee members when evaluating a proposal submitted by an individual.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

  1. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record of an individual in response to a verified inquiry from the congressional office made at the written request of that individual.
  2. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may disclose information from this system of records to the Department of Justice, or to a court or other tribunal, when (a) HHS, or any component thereof; or (b) any HHS employee in his or her official capacity; or (c) any HHS employee in his or her individual capacity where the Department of Justice (or HHS, where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the employee; or (d) the United States or any agency thereof where HHS determines that the litigation is likely to affect HHS or any of its components, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and HHS determines that the use of such records by the Department of Justice, the court or other tribunal is relevant and necessary to the litigation and would help in the effective representation of the governmental party, provided however, that in each case, HHS determines that such disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
  3. A record from this system may be disclosed to the following entities in order to help collect a debt owed the United States:
    1. to another Federal agency so that agency can effect a salary offset;
    2. to another Federal agency so that agency can effect an administrative offset under common law or under 31 U.S.C. 3716 (withholding from money payable to, or held on behalf of, the individual);
    3. to the Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to request his/her mailing address to locate him/her or in order to have a credit report prepared;
    4. to agents of the Department and to other third parties to help locate him/her in order to help collect or compromise a debt;
    5. to debt collection agents under 31 U.S.C. 3718 or under common law to help collect a debt; and
    6. to the Justice Department for litigation or further administrative action.
      Disclosure under part (d) of this routine use is limited to the individual's name, address, Social Security number, and other information necessary to identify him/her. Disclosure under parts (a)-(c) and (e) is limited to those items; the amount, status, and history of the claim; and the agency or program under which the claim arose. An address obtained from IRS may be disclosed to a credit reporting agency under part (d) only for purposes of preparing a commercial credit report on the individual. Part (a) applies to claims or debts arising or payable under the Social Security Act if and only if the employee consents in writing to the offset.
  4. SAMHSA may disclose information from its records in this system to consumer reporting agencies in order to obtain credit reports to verify credit worthiness of contract applicants. Permissible disclosures include name, address, Social Security number or other information necessary to identify the individual; the funding being sought; and the program for which the information is being obtained.
  5. When a debt becomes partly or wholly uncollectible, either because the time period for collection under the statute of limitations has expired or because the Government agrees with the individual to forgive or compromise the debt, a record from this system of records may be disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service to report the written-off amount as taxable income to the individual.
  6. A record from this system may be disclosed to another Federal agency that has asked the Department to effect an administrative offset under common law or under 31 U.S.C. 3716 to help collect a debt owed the United States.
    Disclosure under this routine use is limited to: name, address, Social Security number, and other information necessary to identify the individual, information about the money payable to or held for the individual, and other information concerning the administrative offset.
  7. SAMHSA may disclose from this system of records to the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS): (1) A delinquent debtor's name, address, Social Security number, and other information necessary to identify the debtor; (2) the amount of the debt; and (3) the program under which the debt arose, so that IRS can offset against the debt any income tax refunds which may be due to the debtor.
  8. To appropriate federal agencies and Department contractors that have a need to know the information for the purpose of assisting the Department’s efforts to respond to a suspected or confirmed breach of the security or confidentiality of information maintained in this system of records, and the information disclosed is relevant and necessary for that assistance.

DISCLOSURES TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

Disclosures may be made from this system to "consumer reporting agencies" as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 (F)) or the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 (31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3)). The purpose of such disclosures is to provide an incentive for debtors to repay delinquent Federal Government debts by making these debts part of their credit records. Information disclosed will be limited to name, Social Security number, address, other information necessary to establish the identity of the individual, and amount, status, and history of the claim, and the agency or program under which the claim arose. Such disclosures will be made only after the procedural requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3711(f) have been met.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Documents are filed in manual files in enclosed and/or locked file cabinets.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Records are retrieved by contract number and cross indexed by individual's name.

SAFEGUARDS:

  1. Authorized Users: Federal contract and support personnel, Federal contract review staff and outside consultants acting as peer reviewers of the project.
  2. Physical Safeguards: All folders are in file cabinets in a room that is locked after business hours in a building with controlled entry (picture identification). Files are withdrawn from cabinet for Federal staff who have a need to know by a sign in and out procedure.
  3. Procedural Safeguards: Access to records is strictly limited to those staff members trained in accordance with the Privacy Act.
  4. Implementation Guidelines: DHHS Chapter 45-13 of the General Administration Manual.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

  1. Procurement or purchase copy, and related papers:
    1. Transactions of more than $25,000 are destroyed 6 years and 3 months after final payment.
    2. Transactions of $25,000 or less are destroyed 3 years after final payment.
  2. Other copies of records used by the Division of Contracts Management for administrative purposes are destroyed upon termination or completion.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Director
Division of Contracts Management
Office of Program Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, Maryland 20857

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

To determine if a record exists, write to the appropriate System Manager at the address above or appear in person to the Division of Contracts Management. An individual may learn if a record exists about himself/herself upon written request with notarized signature. The request should include, if known, contractor's name, contract number, and approximate date contract was awarded. An individual who is the subject of records maintained in this records system may also request an accounting of all disclosures that have been made from that individual's records, if any.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

Same as notification procedures. Requesters should reasonably specify the record contents being sought. An individual may also request an accounting of disclosures of his/her record, if any.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

Contact the official at the address specified under notification procedures above and reasonably identify the record, specify the information being contested, the corrective action sought, along with supporting information to show how the record is inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Contract proposals and supporting contract documents, contract review committees, site visitors.

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:

None.


  1. Published in the Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 97, Thursday, May 20, 2010 (pages 28264-28275)

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