On October 15, 2012, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) will host a refresher training session to go over the reporting requirements for Fiscal Year 2012 Annual FOIA Reports and 2013 Chief FOIA Officer Reports. Both reports must be submitted to OIP for clearance prior to final posting. At the training session the requirements for both reports will be reviewed and there will be time for questions. The Annual FOIA Report covers Fiscal Year 2012, while the 2013 Chief FOIA Officer Report will cover agency activities from March 2012 to March 2013.
Fiscal Year 2012 Annual FOIA Reports
The Justice Department has created a tool that will generate the Annual FOIA Report in an open format, which is required by the Open Government Directive and will allow uploading of the data into FOIA.gov. As was done in Fiscal Year 2011, agencies must also publish their 2012 Annual FOIA Report in the PDF or similar human-readable format traditionally used for publishing Annual FOIA Reports.
Agency Annual FOIA Reports in both their open and human-readable formats should be submitted to OIP electronically at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov no later than December 7, 2012, in order to allow sufficient time for OIP to review them prior to posting.
After the reports are reviewed and cleared by OIP, they should be posted on each agency’s website in both open format and in the PDF or similar human-readable format.
2013 Chief FOIA Officer Reports
On March 19, 2009, the Attorney General directed agency Chief FOIA Officers to review “all aspects of their agencies’ FOIA administration” and to report each year to the Department of Justice on the steps taken “to improve FOIA operations and facilitate information disclosure at their agencies.”
On September 26, 2012, OIP issued new reporting requirements for the 2013 Chief FOIA Officer Reports. The Chief FOIA Officer Reports should be submitted to OIP electronically at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov in either PDF or similar human-readable format no later than February 4, 2013, to enable OIP to review and clear the drafts for final posting.
After the reports are reviewed and cleared by OIP, they should be posted on each agency’s website no later than March 11, 2013.
Training Details
The details for the refresher training seminar for the preparation and completion of these reports are:
Refresher Training for FY 2012 Annual FOIA Reports and 2013 Chief FOIA Officer Reports
Department of Justice, Robert F. Kennedy Building
10th and Constitution Ave., NW – Great Hall
October 15, 2012, 10:00am – noonTraining is open to agency Chief FOIA Officers, Principal FOIA Contacts, and any other agency personnel who prepare Annual FOIA Reports and/or Chief FOIA Officer Reports (including appropriate IT staff)
If you are interested in attending this training, as registration is required to attend this event, please e-mail your name to OIP’s Training Officer, Bertina Adams Cleveland, at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov. Please remember that a picture ID is required to enter the building for this seminar. If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Ms. Adams at (202) 514-1010.
