HHS Fiscal Year 2012 Freedom of Information Annual Report

Contents

1. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT [XML]
2. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST
3. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS
4. Exemption 3 Statutes
5. FOIA Requests
6. Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests
7. FOIA Requests: Response Time for Processed and Pending Requests
8. Requests for Expedited Processing and Requests for Fee Waiver
9. FOIA Personnel and Costs
10. Fees Collected for Processing Requests
11. FOIA Regulations
12. Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisons

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ANNUAL REPORT — FY 2012

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT

1. Name, title, address, and telephone number of person(s) to be contacted with questions about the Report.

Robert Eckert
Director, Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Division
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
United Sates Department of Health and Human Services
330 C Street, S.W., Room 2221
Washington D.C. 20201
(202) 690-7453

2. ELECTRONIC ADDRESS FOR THIS REPORT ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB:

http://www.hhs.gov/foia/12anlrpt.html

3. ADDRESS FOR PAPER COPIES OF THIS REPORT

Contact Robert Eckert at the address or telephone number listed above, or the link shown: http://www.hhs.gov/foia/request/index.html

**Copies of the annual reports of a number of individual HHS Operating Divisions can be found by contacting the responsible component shown in Section II below, or by locating a FOIA link at the following websites:

Administration on Aging (AOA): http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Site_Utilities/FOIA/

Administration for Children and Families (ACF): http://www.acf.hhs.gov/acf_foia.html

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): http://www.ahrq.gov/news/foia.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/od/foia/

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): http://www.cms.hhs.gov/foia/

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): http://www.fda.gov/RegulatoryInformation/foi/

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): http://www.hrsa.gov/foia/

Indian Health Service (IHS): http://www.ihs.gov/AdminMngrResources/FOIA/

National Institute of Health (NIH): http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/foia/

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH): http://www.psc.gov/foia/

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: http://www.samhsa.gov/foia/

II. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST

Requests may be submitted electronically at: http://www.hhs.gov/foia/request/index.html

1. HHS and OPDIV Freedom of Information Officers/FOIA Requester Service Centers

Health and Human Services (HHS)
Freedom of Information Officer
Mary E. Switzer Building, Room 2206
330 C Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 202-690-7453

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Freedom of Information Officer
901 D Street, S.W.
7th Floor West Aerospace Building
Washington, D.C. 20447
Phone: 202-401-9215

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Freedom of Information Officer
540 Gaither Road
The Eisenberg Building, Room 3129
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Phone: 301-427-1866

Administration on Aging (AOA)
Freedom of Information Officer
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 202-357-3540

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and/or
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
Freedom of Information Officer
1600 Clifton Road, N.E., MS D-54
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
Phone: (770) 488-6399

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Freedom of Information Officer
North Building, Room N2-20-06
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21244
Phone: 410-786-5353

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Freedom of Information Officer
12420 Parklawn Drive, Room 1050
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-827-6567

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Freedom of Information Officer
Parklawn Building, Room 14-15
5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 301-443-3376

Indian Health Service (IHS)
Freedom of Information Officer
12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 450
Twinbrook II, Metro Plaza Building
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 301-443-1116

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Freedom of Information Officer
Building 31, Room 5B35 9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Phone: 301-496-5633

Office of Inspector General (OIG)
Freedom of Information Officer
Cohen Building, Suite 1062
330 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 202-619-2541

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)
Freedom of Information Officer
7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 920
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301-492-4800

Program Support Center (PSC)
Freedom of Information Officer
7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 920
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301-492-4800

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Freedom of Information Officer
1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 8-1042
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 240-276-2137

2. Brief description of why some requests are not granted: Documents requested were protected by an exemption and release would have caused harm to the interest protected by the exemption. Information withheld may include home addresses and phone numbers, social security numbers, medical records, proprietary business records, investigatory records, that if released may interfere with open investigations, and drafts of documents.

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS:

1. Agency-specific acronyms or other terms:

HHS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
OPDIVs - Operating Divisions of HHS
OS - Office of the Secretary, HHS
OASPA - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, HHS
AoA - Administration on Aging
ACF - Administration for Children and Families
AHRQ - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
ATSDR - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
FDA - Food and Drug Administration
HRSA - Health Resources and Services Administration
IHS - Indian Health Service
NIH - National Institutes of Health
OIG - Office of the Inspector General
OASH - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health
PRO - Professional Review Organization
PSC - Program Support Center
SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

2. Basic terms (from FOIA UPDATE, Summer 1997):

1. Administrative Appeal - a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level.
2. Average Number - the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.
3. Backlog - the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response.
4. Component - for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a "component" is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their annual report data for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency.
5. Consultation - the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency for its review because that agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it. That Agency, in turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester.
6. Exemption 3 Statute - a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.
7. FOIA Request - a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e., a "third-party" request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., "first-party" requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act "systems of records" or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report. Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, however, include records for which the agency has received a consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of this Report.)
8. Full Grant - an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.
9. Full Denial - an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be located.
10. Median Number - the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.
11. Multi-Track Processing - a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis.
    1. Expedited Processing - an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency regulations.
    2. Simple Request - a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.
    3. Complex Request - a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested.
12. Partial Grant/Partial Denial - in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason.
13. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal - a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.
14. Perfected Request - a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.
15. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal - a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.
16. Range in Number of Days - the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or administrative appeals.
17. Time Limits - the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).

3. Concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions:

1. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information
2. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices
3. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law
4. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges
5. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy
6. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of those records
   1. could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,
   2. would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication,
   3. could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,
   4. could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source,
   5. would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or
   6. could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual
7. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions
8. Exemption 9: geological information on wells

IV: Exemption 3 Statutes

V: FOIA Requests

1. Received, Processed, and Pending FOIA Requests

B. (1) Disposition of all FOIA Requests – All Processed Requests

B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests – Other Reasons for Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions from Section V, B (1)

B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests - Number of times exemptions applied

VI: Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests

A. Received, Processed, and Pending Administrative Appeals

B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals

C. (1) Reasons for denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions applied

C. (2) Reasons for denial on Appeal – Reasons other than exemptions

C. (3) Reasons for denial on Appeal – Other:

C. (4) Response time for administrative appeals (See chart)

C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Appeals (See Chart)

VII. FOIA Requests: Response Time for Processed and Pending Requests

1. Processed Requests – Response Time for All Perfected Requests^[5]

2. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was Granted^[9]

3. Processed Requests – Response Time in Day Increments

1.      Simple Requests

2.      Complex Requests

3. Requests Granted Expedited Processing

4. Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Requests^[16]

5. Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests

VIII: Requests for Expedited Processing and Requests for Fee Waiver

1. Requests for Expedited Processing

2. Requests for Fee Waiver

IX: FOIA Personnel and Costs

X: Fees Collected for Processing Requests

XI. FOIA Regulations

http://www.hhs.gov/foia/45cfr5.html

XII: Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisons

1. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals

2. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations

3. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency

4. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report – Requests Received, Processed, and Backlogged

(1)  Requests Received and Processed

(2) Requests Backlogged

5. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged

(1)  Appeals Received, Processed

(2)  Appeals Backlogged