HRSA Fiscal Year 2000
Freedom of Information Annual Report
I. AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration
REPORT PREPARED BY: Steven J. Merrill
TITLE: Freedom of Information Officer, Office
of Communications, Health Resources and Services Administration,
HHS
ADDRESS: 5600 Fishers Lane, Rm. 14-45, Rockville,
MD 20857
PHONE NUMBER: (301) 443-2865
ELECTRONIC ADDRESS FOR THIS REPORT ON THE WORLD
WIDE WEB: http://www.hrsa.gov/foia/annual00.htm
ADDRESS FOR PAPER COPIES OF THIS REPORT:
Freedom of Information Officer
Office of Communications
Health Resources and Services Administration
5600 Fishers Lane, Rm. 14-45
Rockville, MD 20857
II. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST: See http://www.hrsa.gov/foia/
A. Names,
addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency
components and offices that process
FOIA requests:
Freedom
of Information Officer
Office
of Communications
Health
Resources and Services Administration
5600 Fishers Lane, Rm. 14-45
Rockville, MD 20857
B. Brief description of agency's
response time range(s):
Response times can range from same day response
to more than 3 months, depending on the complexity
of the request.
C. 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.
III. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS USED IN REPORT:
A. Agency-specific acronyms or
other terms:
HHS
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
HRSA
- Health Resources and Services Administration
B. Basic terms (from FOIA UPDATE,
Summer 1997):
1. FOIA request - Freedom of Information
Act request. A FOIA request is generally a request
for access to records concerning a third party, an
organization, or a particular topic of interest.
2. Initial Request - a request to a federal
agency for access to records under the Freedom of
Information Act.
3. Appeal - a request to a federal agency asking
that it review at a higher administrative level a
full denial or partial denial of access to records
under the Freedom of Information Act, or any other
FOIA determination such as a matter pertaining to
fees.
4. Processed Request or Appeal - a request
or appeal for which an agency has taken a final action
on the request or appeal in all respects.
5. 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 in each track are processed on a
first-in/first-out basis. A requester who has an urgent
need for records may request expedited processing
(see below).
6. Expedited processing - an agency will process
a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester
has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records
which warrants prioritization of his or her request
over other requests that were made earlier.
7. Simple request- a FOIA request that an agency
using multi-track processing places in its fastest
(non-expedited) track based on the volume and/or simplicity
of the records requested.
8. Complex request - a FOIA request that an
agency using multi-track processing places in a slower
track based on the volume and/or complexity of records
requested.
9. Grant - an agency decision to disclose all
records in full response to a FOIA request.
10. Partial grant - an agency to disclose a
record in part in response to a FOIA request, deleting
information determined to be exempt under one or more
of the FOIA's exemptions; or a decision to disclose
some records in their entireties, but to withhold
others in whole or in part.
11. Denial - an agency decision not to release
any part of a record or records in response to a FOIA
request because all the information in the requested
records is determined by the agency to be exempt under
one or more of FOIA's exemptions or for some procedural
reason (such as because no record is located in response
to a FOIA request).
12. Time Limits - the time period in the Freedom
of Information Act for an agency to respond to a FOIA
request (ordinarily 20 working days from proper receipt
of a "perfected" FOIA request).
13. "Perfected" request - a FOIA
request for records which adequately describes the
records sought, which has been received by the FOIA
office of the or agency component in possession of
the records, and for which there is no remaining question
about the payment of applicable fees.
14. Exemption 3 statute - a separate federal
statute prohibiting the disclosure of a certain type
of information and authorizing its withholding under
FOIA subsection (b)(3).
15. Median number - the middle, not average,
number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number
is 7.
16. 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 eight.
IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES:
A. List of Exemption 3 statutes
relied on by the agency during report year:
42
U.S.C. 11137 (b) Health Care Quality Improvement Act
of 1986
42
U.S.C. 300aa-12 (d) (4) (A) National Childhood Vaccine
Injury Act
1. Brief description of type(s) of information
withheld under each statute:
42 U.S.C. 11137 (b) - Health Care Quality
Improvement Act of 1986 and the National Practitioners
Data Bank; Prohibits release of adverse reports
of a physician's conduct or practice.
42 U.S.C. 300aa12 (d) (4) (A) - National
Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act; prohibits
release of information submitted to a special master
or court proceeding without the express consent
of the person submitting the information.
2. Has a court upheld the use of each statute?
If so, cite example: No.
V. INITIAL FOIA ACCESS REQUESTS (Include all requests,
3rd or 1st party):
A. Numbers of initial requests
(line 1 + line 2 - line 3 = line 4):
1.
Number of requests pending at close of preceding fiscal
year: 28
2.
Number of requests received during reporting fiscal
year: 249
3.
Number of requests processed during reporting fiscal
year: 252
4.
Number of requests pending at close of reporting fiscal
year: 25
B. Disposition of Initial Requests:
1.
Number granted in full: 206
2.
Number granted in part:
3.
Number of full and partial denials: 35
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption was used:
Exemption 1 = 0
Exemption 2 = 0
Exemption 3 = 1
Exemption 4 = 19
Exemption 5 = 9
Exemption 6 = 19
Exemption 7 = 0
Exemption 8 = 0
Exemption 9 = 0
4.
Other reasons for non-disclosure (total) = 11
a. No records = 5
b. Referrals =
c. Request withdrawn = 2
d. Fee-related reason = 2
e. Records not reasonably described
f. Not a proper FOIA request for some other reason =
1
g. Not an agency record = 1
h. Duplicate request
i. Other (specify)
VI. APPEALS OF INITIAL DENIALS OF FOIA/PA REQUESTS:
Appeal authority for HRSA denials is the Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (Media), Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS). Information about
HRSA appeals will be included in the Annual FOIA Report
for HHS.
VII. COMPLIANCE WITH TIME LIMITS/STATUS OF PENDING
REQUESTS:
A. Median Processing Time of
Requests Processed During the Year.
1.
Simple Requests (if multiple tracks used):
a. Number of requests processed
b. Median number of days to process
2.
Complex Requests (specify for any and all tracks used):
a. Number of requests processed = 247
b. Median number of days to process = 35 calendar
days
3.
Requests Accorded Expedited Processing: 0
a. Number of requests processed
b. Median number of days to process
B. Status of Pending Requests
(if multiple tracks are being used, report for each
track as well as totals).
1. Number
of requests pending as of the end of the fiscal year
covered in this report (from Line V.A.4): 37
2. Median
number of days that such requests were pending as of
that date: 8 calendar days
VIII. COMPARISONS WITH PREVIOUS YEAR(S) (Optional):
IX. COSTS/FOIA STAFFING:
A. Staffing levels:
1. Number
of full-time FOIA personnel: 1
2. Number
of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA duties
(in total work-years: one person at .7 work-year
and one person at .5 work-year
3. Total
number of personnel (in work-years): 2.2 work-years
B. Total costs (including staff
and all resources):
1.
FOIA processing (including appeals) = $142,816
2.
Litigation-related activities (estimated) = $500.00
3.
Total costs = $143,316
4.
Comparison with previous year(s) (including percentage
of change) (optional)
X. FEES:
A. Total amount of fees collected
by agency for processing requests: $3,140.00
B. Percentage of total costs:
2.2%
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