#..INTERIOR/MMS-9

#....System name:

Employee Counseling Services Program--Interior, MMS-9.
System location:
This system of records is located with the contractor providing
counseling services.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
All Minerals Management Service employees, former employees, and
their family members who seek, are referred, and/or receive
assistance through the Employee Counseling Services Program. The
records contained in this system which pertain to individuals contain
principally personal and/or medical information. These records are
subject to the Privacy Act.
Categories of records in the system:
Records in this system include documentation of visits to
employee counselor (Employee Counseling Services Program Counselor)
and the problem assessment, recommended plan of action to correct the
major issue, referral to community or private resource for assistance
with personal problems, referral to community or private resource for
rehabilitation or treatment, results of referral, and other notes or
records of discussions held with the employee made by the Employee
Counseling Services Program Counselor. Additionally, records in this
system may include documentation of treatment by a therapist or at a
Federal, State, local government, or private institution.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
(1) 42 U.S.C. 290dd-1; (2) 42 U.S.C. 290ee-1.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including
categories of users and the purposes of such uses:
The primary use of these records is to counsel and refer
employees and/or their family members with personal or medical
problems. These records and information may be used to disclose
information to qualified personnel for the purpose of conducting
scientific research, management audits, financial audits, or program
evaluation, but such personnel may not identify, directly or
indirectly, any individual patient in any report or otherwise
disclose patient identities in any matter (when such records are
provided to qualified researchers employed by the Department of the
Interior, all patient identifying information will be removed).

Note.--Disclosure of information pertaining to an individual with
a history of alcohol or drug abuse must be limited in compliance with
the restrictions of the confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Patient Records Regulations, 42 CFR part 2. Disclosure of records
pertaining to the physical and mental fitness of employees are, as a
matter of Department policy, afforded the same degree of
confidentiality.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing,
retaining, and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Maintained in folders in file cabinets.
Retrievability:
Indexed by name of individual on whom they are maintained.
Safeguards:
Maintained with safeguards meeting the requirements of 43 CFR
2.51 for manual records.
Retention and disposal:
These records are retained and disposed of in accordance with
General Records Schedule No. 1, Item No. 27.
System manager(s) and address:
Chief, Equal Employment and Development Opportunity Division,
Minerals Management Service, 381 Elden Street, Mail Stop 2900,
Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817.
Notification procedure:
Inquiries regarding the existence of a record should be addressed
to the System Manager. A written signed request stating that the
individual seeks information concerning his/her records is required
(43 CFR 2.60).
Records access procedures:
A request for access may be addressed to the System Manager. The
request must be in writing, signed by the requester, and meet the
content requirements of 43 CFR 2.63.
Contesting record procedures:
A petition for amendment should be addressed to the System
Manager and must meet the content requirements of 43 CFR 2.71.
Record source categories:
Information in this system of records comes from the individual
to whom it applies, the supervisor of the individual if the
individual was referred by a supervisor, the Employee Counseling
Services Program staff who records the counseling session, and the
therapists or institutions used as referrals or providing treatment.