Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

SYSTEM NAME:

Correspondence Files (HHS/SAMHSA/OA)

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Office of the Administrator
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room, 8-1065
Rockville, Maryland  20857

Office of the Director
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room, 4-1057
Rockville, Maryland 20857

Office of the Director
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room, 5-1015
Rockville, Maryland 20857

Office of the Director
Center for Mental Health Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room, 4-1057, Rockville, Maryland 20857

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Individuals who request information on SAMHSA programs.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Correspondence.

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.). CSAP: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Section 515-8 (42 U.S.C. 290bb-21 et. seq.). CSAT: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Section 507-12 (42. U.S.C. 290bb et. seq.). CMHS: Center for Mental Health Services, Sections 506 (42 U.S.C. 290aa-5) and 520-35 (42 U.S.C. 290bb-31 et. seq.). Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act of 1986 as amended (42 U.S.C. 1801 et. seq.); Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980, Section 501(c) (8 U.S.C. 1522 note), P.L. 96-422; Executive Order 12341; and Disaster Relief Act of 1974, Section 413, P.L. 93-288, as amended by Section 416 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act P.L. 100-107.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:

To provide reference retrieval and control to assure timely and appropriate attention..

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 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. 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.

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

STORAGE:

Correspondence records maintained in hard copy; control records maintained on computer printout, tape, and disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Hard copy records indexed alphabetically by name and date of outgoing correspondence, by subject, and/or by computerized numerical code. Records are cross-referenced in detail on computer.

SAFEGUARDS:

1. Authorized Users: Authorized correspondence control staff in each location and managers and supervisors on a need-to-know basis.

2. Physical Safeguards: Records are maintained in file cabinets in a locked, secure location; computer system records are secured through the use of passwords which are changed frequently.

3. Procedural Safeguards: Only authorized personnel have access to files and passwords.

4. Implementation Guidelines: DHHS Chapter 45-13 of the General Administration Manual and Part 6, "Automated Information Systems Security" in the HHS Information Resources Management Manual.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Records which are pertinent are held 5 years and then transferred to the Washington National Records Center (WNRC) located at 4205 Suitland Road, Suitland, MD 20409. Records are destroyed when 10 years old. Other material is destroyed when 2 years old. Control forms are destroyed when 1 year old.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Same as system location; each system manager maintains full responsibility for their specific correspondence system.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

An individual may learn if a record exists about himself or herself by contacting the appropriate System Manager as listed under system location above. Give name and approximate date of records requested. Individuals who request notification in person must supply one proof of identity containing individual's complete name and one other identifier with picture (e.g., driver's license, building pass). Individuals who request notification by mail must supply notarized signature as proof of identity.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

Same as notification procedures. Requesters should also 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 appropriate official at the address specified under Notification Procedures above and reasonably identify the record. Specify the information to be contested, and state the corrective action sought, with supporting information to show how the record is inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Records are derived from incoming and outgoing correspondence.

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:

None.

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