Storage

   Retrievability

   Authorized Users

   Physical Safeguards

   Procedural Safeguards

   Implementation Guidelines

 

System name:  Alien Mental Waiver Program.  HHS/CDC/NCID.

Security classification:  None.

System location:  Medical Screening Section, Medical Screening and Health Assessment Branch, Division of Quarantine, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Corporate Square, Bldg. 10, Rm. 1105, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA  30333.

and

Federal Records Center, 1557 St. Joseph Avenue, East Point, GA  30344.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:  Immigrant and refugee  aliens with waivers of inadmissibility who have or have had a physical or mental disorder with associated behavior that may pose, or has posed, a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others.

Categories of records in the system:  Medical history files.

Authority for maintenance of the system:  Public Health Service Act, Section 325, "Examination of Aliens" (42 U.S.C. 252); and the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 212(g), "Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility" (8 U.S.C. 1182(g)).

Purpose(s):  To comply with the requirements of Section 212(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must receive and maintain medical records on aliens who apply for waivers of inadmissibility due to a physical or mental disorder with associated harmful behavior.  CDC is furnished with a copy of the alien's medical examination report and psychiatric/psychological evaluation and uses the information to process the initial applications for such waivers and for periodic medical surveillance and evaluation of individual cases.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:  Department of State (DOS) or Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) obtains initial medical examinations and submits to the Division of Quarantine, CDC.  Final diagnosis returned to submitter.  Alien or sponsor furnishes copy of medical file to local health care facility in the United States.

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.

In the event of litigation where the defendant is:  (a) the Department, any component of the Department, or any employee of the Department in his or her official capacity; (b) the United States where the Department determines that the claim, if successful, is likely to directly affect the operations of the Department or any of its components; or (c) any Department employee in his or her individual capacity where the Department of Justice has agreed to represent such employee, for example, in defending a claim against the Public Health Service based upon an individual's mental or physical condition and alleged to have arisen because of activities of the Public Health Service in connection with such individual, disclosure may be made to the Department of Justice to enable that Department to present an effective defense, provided that such disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.

CDC is authorized to share information on aliens with the Social Security Administration to determine eligibility for benefits, pursuant to Section 1631 (e) of the Social Security Act as amended by Public Law 103-296, or as otherwise provided for in the Social Security Act.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:  Individual file folders.

Retrievability:  Records are retrieved by name.

Safeguards:

1. Authorized Users:  Access is granted to only a limited number of personnel, i.e., program manager and immediate support members, as authorized by the system manager to accomplish the stated purposes for which the data in this system have been collected.

2. Physical Safeguards:  Locked cabinets in locked rooms, 24-hour guard service in buildings, personnel screening of visitors, electronic anti-intrusion devices in operation at the Federal Records Center.

3. Procedural Safeguards:  Users of individually identified data protect information from public scrutiny, and only specifically authorized personnel may be admitted to the record storage area.  CDC employees who maintain records are instructed to check with the system manager prior to making disclosures of data.

4. Implementation Guidelines:  Chapter 45-13, “Safeguarding Records Contained in Systems of Records,” of the HHS General Administration Manual.  FRC safeguards are in compliance with GSA Federal Property Management Regulations, Subchapter B--Archives and Records.

Retention and disposal:  Record are maintained in agency for five years.  Disposal methods include burning or shredding paper materials or transferring records to the Federal Records Center when no longer needed for evaluation and analysis.  Records destroyed by paper recycling process when 10 years old, unless needed for further study.

System manager(s) and address:  Director, Division of Quarantine, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Corporate Square, Bldg. 10, Rm. 1207, MS E03, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA  30333.

Notification procedure:  An individual may learn if a record exists about himself or herself by contacting the system manager at the address above.  Requesters in person must provide driver's license or other positive identification.  Individuals who do not appear in person must either:  (1) submit a notarized request to verify their identity or; (2) certify that they are the individuals they claim to be and that they understand that the knowing and willful request for or acquisition of a record pertaining to an individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense under the Privacy Act subject to a $5,000 fine.

An individual who requests notification of or access to medical records shall, at the time the request is made, designate in writing a responsible representative who is willing to review the record and inform the subject individual of its contents at the representative's discretion.

A parent or guardian who requests notification of, or access to, a child's medical record shall designate a family physician or other health professional (other than a family member) to whom the record, if any, will be sent.  The parent or guardian must verify relationship to the child by means of a birth certificate or court order, as well as verify that he or she is who he or she claims to be.

The following information must be provided when requesting notification:  (1) full name; (2) the approximate date and place of the study, if known; and (3) nature of the questionnaire or study in which the requester participated.

Record access procedures:  Same as notification procedures.  Requesters should also reasonably specify the record contents being sought.  An accounting of disclosures that have been made of the record, if any, may be requested.

Contesting record procedures:  Contact the official at the address specified under System Manager above, reasonably identify the record and specify the information being contested, the corrective action sought, and the reasons for requesting the correction, along with supporting information to show how the record is inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant.

Record source categories:  Prior to alien's arrival in the U.S., medical information supporting the diagnosis of a physical or mental disorder with associated harmful behavior is submitted by the Department of State and/or Department of Justice (INS); after arrival, mental status evaluations submitted by medical specialists, schools, or institutions.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act:  None.