PARIS Frequently Asked Questions

A brief summary of the PARIS site contents, listed by webpage.

About:

• What We Do:  Visual outline of the PARIS match process.
• Board of Directors: Current list of PARIS Board of Directors, and representative state partners.
• History: Historical summary of the PARIS program.
• Charter: PARIS Board scope, purpose, functions, and membership information.

State Info: A description of the PARIS components and relationship with State Public Assistance Agencies (SPAAs), and list of PARIS SPAA participating programs.

• State Match Results: Includes match results tables.

System Info: Sample file formats

• Input Submissions and Output Records
• Data dictionary
• Data Flow Chart
• File Transmission Instructions

Memorandum of Agreements: PARIS Matching Agreements

Reports:

• Agency Financial Report
• Cost Benefit Analysis
• Evaluation Project report
•  GAO report

Conferences & Trainings: PARIS training conference materials by year.

Resources: Published Page Repository

• Search by:
  • Key Word
  • Topic
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    • Transmissions
    • FAQs
    • Contact maps
    • Summary reports
  • Archives
• Sort Results:
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Contact the PARIS mailbox when you are: 

• Submitting CMA documents 

• Submitting Office changes — ex. If your state’s office is relocating the PARIS match responsibilities within your state AND/OR State is designating new program lead, etc. 

• Designating a new Signatory for PARIS CMA’s 

• Designating a new State Administrative Representative - https://www.acf.hhs.gov/paris/map/state-administrative-representatives 

• Designating a new Interstate match Coordination Point - https://www.acf.hhs.gov/paris/map/state-interstate-match-contact 

• Designating a newly assigned State Security Administrator — This person completes SAAR, SAFE, and SFTP documentation. 

• Regarding a PARIS Training 

• Regarding a PARIS Transmittal 

• Include a cc: to PARIS mailbox when contacting DMDC — This allows us to assist in follow-up and completion on your request 

• State Representatives should be cc’d on any questions sent to PARIS office. PARIS will add State Representative to questions received in the PARIS mailbox 

See the PARIS Contacts page for further information on state and federal PARIS contacts.

Contact the PARIS mailbox: PARIS@acf.hhs.gov

Contact the PARIS mailbox: PARIS@acf.hhs.gov

PARIS provides yearly reporting from states on how state agencies use and report on the PARIS match. See the latest HHS Agency Financial Reports (AFRs), find the “PARIS” section inside each report for more information on how PARIS has benefitted state agencies so far. 

• Samples of Reporting from the 2021 AFR: 

  • PARIS statement includes all matched numbers  

    • Sample: PARIS provided states with match records for an average of over 900,000 unique social security numbers each quarter from August 20XX to May 20XX. 

  • State public assistance agencies realize cost savings in a variety of manner using PARIS data. For example: 

    • The [State Redacted] Department of Health and Human Services reports its usage of the PARIS Interstate match resulted in $11.7 million in annualized cost avoidance in FY 20XX. 

    • The [State Redacted] Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance reports it used PARIS to close or remove active clients from 10,486 public assistance cases for projected cost savings of $75.1 million between April 20XX and March 20XX. 

    • [State Redacted] State Health Care Authority’s Veterans Program reports it had approximately $18.08 million in cost savings from fee-for-service claims and cessation of managed care premium payments between July 20XX and June 20XX. 

No. Never send Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to the PARIS mailbox, unless explicitly requested by the PARIS office.

• PII includes an individual’s name, date of birth, home address, social security number, or any explicitly detailed information that can be used to identify an individual or beneficiary 

• What should I do in this case? 

  • Contact your state administrative representative for information or questions about ACF PARIS matching results. State representatives’ contact information can be found here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/paris/map/state-administrative-representatives 

  • PARIS State Administrative Representatives will assist with match results, inquiries, and contacting other states

    • State Representatives are responsible for escalation and emailing PARIS office if they are not responded to by other state rep

States can send their signed CMAs to the ACF PARIS mailbox. Only one CMA can be submitted for each state.

The signatory is designated by state officials by position held at the state office. There can only be one signatory per CMA per state. 

• DoD CMA must include: 1 ’Program Contact’ information, 1 ’System Security Contact’ information, and 1 ’Signatory’ signature. 

  • Note: For DoD CMAs, the Program Contact & System Security Contact don’t need to match the signatory name. 

• VA CMA must include: 1 ’Signatory’ contact information AND signature (contact name and signature MUST match). 

  • If a signatory is not available for a signature, those acting on behalf of the signatory must specify their position and clarify that they are acting, ’on behalf of signatory’ for ACF to accept signature. 

First, check the State Administrative Representatives page for your state’s existing State Administrative Representative. 

Contact PARIS mailbox (PARIS@acf.hhs.gov) requesting to update your State Administrative Representative. In the email, specify: 

1. Which contact information (if any) needs to be removed from the state’s current webpage. Otherwise, specify that the new contact(s) are to be listed in addition to the existing contacts. 

2. The contact information for the new representative(s), in the following format: 

Name: 

Organization: 

Address: 

Telephone: 

Fax: 

Email: 

3. The order in which the representatives’ contacts should be listed on the webpage, if applicable. (I.e., Who to contact first)

Email the PARIS mailbox, confirming the current state agency System Authorization Access Request (SAAR) connection point and the newly appointed state agency SAAR connection point. 

• Use the following format in your email: 

  • Name 

  • Cc’s must include PARIS State Administrator  

  • Cc’s must include DMDC POC regarding match files.  

  • Email body must include the following information: 

    • Which office is currently submitting match file 

    • Which office is now designated to submit match file 

    • Date and time this exchange is expected 

    • Request for SAAR (security access registration) Note: SAAR approval/access can take 3-6 months 

    • Formal request for ticket to be created by ACF. (Why? Because ACF can provide an escalation point only for tickets created by ACF)