System of Records (SOR)

95VA00M - Center for Minority Veterans Management Information System-VA

System location:
Record are maintained at the Center for Minority Veterans' office in VA Headquarters, Washington, DC. VA's Automation Center, 1615 E. Woodward Street, Austin, Texas 78772, maintains the Automated Demographic Data File System (ADDFS).

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
The system of records will cover the following individuals: (1) VA beneficiaries who contact the Center for Minority Veterans for assistance in addressing concerns about benefits and services provided to them based on the race or ethnicity of the beneficiary. (2) The ADDFS will be comprised of demographic data on randomly selected veterans who served in the military from 1975 to the present and whose VA benefits data are currently maintained in an existing VA or DoD automated database.

Categories of records in the system:
The records will include correspondence, electronic mail and memoranda memorializing conversations with individuals. The records also may include documents reflecting the processing and investigation of these complaints, and documents extracted from the beneficiary's VA records in order to assist in responding to the veteran's inquiry. The ADDFS will include the names, social security numbers, claim numbers, race, ethnicity and gender of randomly selected veterans currently maintained in existing VA or DoD automated file systems.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
38, U.S.C. 317, as amended.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:

1. Disclosure of specific information may be made to a congressional office, in response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the request of the individual and concerning that individual's records in this system.
2. Disclosure may be made during reviews by the National Archive and Records Administration during records management inspections conducted under the authority of Title 44, U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
3. At the initiative of VA, pertinent information may be disclosed to appropriate Federal, State or local agencies responsible for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing or implementing statutes, rules, regulations or orders, where VA becomes aware of an indication of a violation or potential violation of civil or criminal law or regulation.
4. Disclosure may be made to officials of the Merit Systems Protection Board, including the Office of the Special Counsel, the Federal Labor Relations Authority and its General Counsel or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, when requested in the performance of their authorized duties, and the request is not in connection with a law enforcement investigation.
5. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may disclose records in this system of records in proceedings before a court or adjudicative body before which VA is authorized to appear when VA, a VA official or employee, the United States, or an individual or entity for whom the United States is providing representation is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and VA determines that the use of such records is relevant and necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, the agency determines that disclosure of the information contained in the records is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
6. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may disclose records in this system of records to the Department of Justice when VA, a VA official or employee, the United States, or an individual or entity for whom the United States is providing representation is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and VA determines that the use of such records is relevant and necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, the agency determines that disclosure of the information contained therein is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.

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

Storage:
The ADDFS is stored in a secure area located at VA's Automation Center, 1615 E. Woodward Street, Austin, Texas 78772. ADDFS data files are stored On magnetic disk and for archival purposes, on magnetic tape. Other records are stored in the Center for Minority Veterans in VA Headquarters, Washington, DC, or on file servers at VA Headquarters that are utilized by the Center.

Retrievability:
Automated records may be retrieved by name, social security number, claim number, race, ethnicity and/or gender. Paper records are retrieved by name.

Safeguards:
Access to the automated system is via computer terminal; standard security procedures, including a unique identification code and password combination, are used to limit access to authorized personnel only. Specifically, in order to obtain access to the automated records in this system of records, an individual must have access to VA's automated resources. Access to the ADDFS at VA's Automation Center is limited as follows: An individual may not self- register for this access. Formal documentation of the request for access, signed by the employee's supervisor and approved by the Director, Center for Minority Veterans, is required before an individual may obtain such access. Authorized customers are issued a customer identification code and a one-time password. Access to paper records maintained by the Center for Minority Veterans is limited to VA employees who need to have access to the records in order to perform their agency duties. Generally, file areas are locked after normal duty hours and the Federal Protective Service or other security personnel protect the offices from outside access.

Retention and disposal:
Records will be maintained and disposed of in accordance with the records disposal authority approved by the Archivist of the United States, the National Archives and Records Administration, and published in Agency Records Control Schedules.

System manager(s) and address:
Director, Center for Minority Veterans, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420.

Record access procedures:
An individual who seeks access or wishes to contest records maintained under his or her name or other personal identifier may write, call or visit the system manager.

Contesting record procedures:
See record access procedures above.

Record source categories:
For investigation purposes, information may be obtained from existing VA beneficiary records, employment records; VA beneficiaries, third parties (e.g., relatives or representatives acting on their behalf, such as veterans' service organizations); congressional correspondence and other Federal agencies. For ADDFS, record sources are VA benefits databases as set forth in ``58VA21/ 22--Compensation & Pension, Education and Rehabilitation Records--VA, ``38VA23--Beneficiary Identifier and Records Locator Subsystem--VA,'' and Department of Defense military personnel automated records systems.

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