Records Management & Privacy Newsletter

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent this bulletin at 11/01/2018 08:27 AM EDT

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA)

Fund Management Directorate, Resources and Systems Division

Records Management & Privacy NEWSLETTER

October, 2018 | Issue 4

By December 2019 all Federal Agencies, including FEMA, will have to take control and manage all records electronically. NARA, the National Archives and Records Administration has indicated that it will no longer accept any physical records after 2022.

FEMA Directive 141-1, Records Management Program, requires Headquarters, Regional Offices, and Field establishments to designate a Records Liaison Officer and appoint Records Custodians in writing.

Together, their roles will be to ensure that records are created, maintained, and disposed of within program areas in accordance with records management laws, regulations, and DHS/FEMA policies.

Records Management Training

NARA has developed updated records management courses designed to address the changing Federal recordkeeping environment. NARA also offers an optional certification program for individuals who successfully complete training in Federal records management. In addition, NARA can provide PowerPoint presentations that can be used by the agency to raise awareness about records management in general and electronic recordkeeping in particular.

FEMA Records Management Updates:

Effective October 1, 2018 FEMA will no longer receive paper form 13001 - Notice of Eligibility for Disposal.

All disposal notices for review and approval will be through the Archives and Records Centers Information System (ARCIS).

Please submit all transfer requests through ARCIS for review and approval.

NARA Rates Increase:

In 2019, NARA will raise its rates for records retained in off-site storage and eligible for disposition. Rates will be raised to $0.35 per box per month for standard storage, $0.65 for controlled unclassified records, and $1.00 for classified records.

Records Management Introduction

The Records Management & Privacy Newsletter is a quarterly newsletter designed to educate and inform FIMA employees about the importance of good records management behavior. Each quarter this publication will provide news and updates about FEMA and FIMA records management requirements.

We are Relocating!

FIMA's quest for a more paperless office environment is essential. Setting aside time to sort through documents stored in file cabinets and boxes will be critical to the success of FIMA's move to the 6th floor. Scanning your records or requesting boxes to send inactive records to the Federal Record Center will reduce the number of file cabinets required in our new space. In order to minimize the level of effort, leadership is encouraging divisions to scan, shred, dispose and archive critical files now. You can coordinate with your Records Management POC. A complete list of representatives is included on the last page of this document.

What Is A Record?

A record includes: all recorded information--regardless of form or characteristics--made or received by a Federal agency under Federal law, or in connection with the transaction of public business; and preserved or appropriate for preservation, by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization’s functions.

A record is also anything created or received by agencies or contractors in the course of government business.

Examples:

Media: e.g. electronic, digital, microfilm, microfiche, audio tape, video tape, film, paper
Temporary records
Permanent records (indefinite)

Records Management Frequent Questions:

What is a file plan?

A file plan is functional listing specifying different types of divisional records that must be retained. It is not the form in which the record exists that determined how long it must be retained, but the substance of that record’s content.

What if the record type is not in the disposition schedule?

The designated record’s custodian should notify FEMA Records Management.

What is FEMA Records Retention schedule?

The FEMA Records Schedule provides mandatory instructions (“disposition instructions”) to all FEMA/FIMA staff regarding how to maintain the FIMA’s divisional records. The disposition schedule identifies whether record types are “permanent” or “temporary.”

POINT OF CONTACTS:

FIMA - FMD - Resources & Systems Division (RSD)

Bridget Hutchins, FIMA Records Liaison Officer (202)646-3612 bridget.hutchins@fema.dhs.gov

Virginia (Ginny) Desautels, FIMA FOIA Officer /FIMA Privacy Officer (540)247-5543 virginia.desautels@fema.dhs.gov

PRIVACY NEWS

The year is nearly over, so let’s get ready.

You need to know how to protect your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) during this move. This means protecting any information contained in work items or personal items that are here at work. Everyone will receive one blue (storage) bin for packing personal belongings. If PII is packed inside, please be sure to secure a Privacy Cover Sheet (FEMA Form 109-2-1-1) to the top of your blue bin.

With so many file cabinets in our work areas, there are questions each of us should consider as we approach the move. Do we use them? Does your division store electronic media or paper files in those file cabinets? Do those files contain PII? The answers should guide our actions accordingly.

Next, divisions should ask who will be responsible for packing those files. Make a list of all the file cabinets in your program area and assign someone to inventory each one. Review the contents for PII and determine what needs to be kept and moved to the new location. That person should also be responsible for packing those files and marking the outside of the bin (or box) to identify the contents. Again, remember that anything containing PII must have a Privacy Cover Sheet attached identifying the contents as PII. Any documents that contain PII that are not moving with you should be destroyed by shredding or placing in a locked PII designated bin. Be sure that the item meets the requirements posted on the top of the PII bin before you place them inside. Anything not meeting those requirements needs to be shredded.

We are moving to the 6th floor and will have all new furniture, including new R2D2s. Therefore, we need to start going through our R2D2s to determine what we need to keep and what we need to throw away. Is there PII in your R2D2? Is it critical to your jo or something you want to move with you? If you want to keep these documents then pack them in your personal bin and designate it as containing PII with a Privacy Cover Sheet, FEMA Form 109-2-1-1

Do you have binders filled with program information, maps, documents, charts, posters? Are they all going to the new space? Who will be responsible for reviewing all of those documents and packing or destroying those items?

These items at not contain PII but they cannot be left on the shelf if they are not being moved to the new place. Someone needs to go through the items to clean those out and destroy or pack them.