FREEDOM
OF INFORMATION ACT
ANNUAL REPORT
FY2005
I.
Basic Information Regarding Report
A. Name,
title, address, and telephone number of person(s) to be contacted
with questions about the report.
Paula
D. Sweeney, Records Manager
Selective Service System
Arlington, VA 22209-2425
Telephone: 703-605-4046
B. An
electronic copy of the report may be obtained by accessing
the Selective Service System Home Page at the following address:
www.sss.gov
C. A copy
of this report in paper form may be obtained by requesting
a copy in writing to the address stated in I.A. above.
II.
How to Make a FOIA Request
A. Names,
addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency
components and offices that receive FOIA requests.
Paula
D. Sweeney, Records Manager
Selective Service System
Arlington, VA 22209-2425
Telephone: 703-605-4046
B. Brief
description of the agency’s response time ranges.
The Selective
Service’s response time ranges from 1 to 20 days depending
on the complexity of the request.
C. Brief
description of why some requests are not granted.
Requests
which are not granted are usually denied because no records
are available.
III. Definitions of Terms and Acronyms Used in the
Report (to be included in each report)
A. Agency-specific
acronyms or other terms.
N/A
B. Basic
terms, expressed in common terminology.
1. FOIA/PA
Request – Freedom of Information/Privacy 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. A Privacy Act request is a request for
records concerning oneself; such requests are also treated
as FOIA requests. (All requests for access to records, regardless
of which law is cited by there requester, are included in
this report.)
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 the 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 (nonexpedited) track based
on the volume and/or simplicity of 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
in response to a FOIA request.
10. Partial
grant – an agency decision 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 other 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 the FOIA’s exemptions, or
for some procedural reason (such as because no records 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 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 agency 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 8.
IV.
Exemption 3 Statutes
A. List
of Exemption 3 statutes relied on by agency during current
fiscal year.
1. Brief
description of type(s) of information withheld under each
statute.
N/A
2. Statement
of whether a court has upheld the use of each statute. If
so, then cite example.
N/A
V.
Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests
A. Numbers
of initial requests.
Total
of the numbers in lines 1 and 2, minus the number in line
3 should equal the number in line 4.
1. Number
of requests pending as of end of preceding fiscal year. 0
2. Number of requests received during current fiscal year.
25
3. Number
of requests processing during current fiscal year. 25
4. Number
of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year. 0
(Enter this number also in Line VII.B.1.)
B. Disposition of initial requests.
1. Number
of total grants 13
2. Number
of partial grants 2
3. Number
of denials 0
a. number
of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption
once per request)
(1) Exemption
1 0
(2) Exemption
2 0
(3) Exemption
3 0
(4) Exemption
4 0
(5) Exemption
5 0
(6) Exemption
6 2
(7) Exemption
7 (A) 0
(8) Exemption
7 (B) 0
(9) Exemption
7 (C) 0
(10) Exemption
7 (D) 0
(11) Exemption
7 (E) 0
(12) Exemption
7 (F) 0
(13) Exemption
8 0
(14) Exemption
9 0
4. Other
reasons for nondisclosure (total) 10
a. no
records 3
b. referrals 1
c. request
withdrawn 2
d. fee-related
reason 0
e. records
not reasonably described 0
f. not
a proper FOIA request for some other reason 0
g. not
an agency record 0
h. duplicate
request 1
i. other
(specify) 3 (More information needed to process request)
VI.
Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests
A. Numbers
of appeals.
1. Number
of appeals received during fiscal year 0
2. Number
of appeals processed during fiscal year 0
B. Disposition
of appeals.
1. Number
completely upheld 0
2. Number
partially reversed 0
3. Number
completely reversed 0
a. number
of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption
once per appeal)
(1) Exemption
1 0
(2) Exemption
2 0
(3) Exemption
3 0
(4) Exemption
4 0
(5) Exemption 5 0
(6) Exemption
6 0
(7) Exemption
7(A) 0
(8) Exemption
7(B) 0
(9) Exemption
7(C) 0
(10) Exemption
7(D) 0
(11) Exemption
7(E) 0
(12) Exemption
7(F) 0
(13) Exemption
8 0
(14) Exemption
9 0
4. Other
reasons for nondisclosure (total) 0
a. no
records 0
b. referrals 0
c. request
withdrawn 0
d. fee-related
reason 0
e. records
not reasonably described 0
f. not
a proper FOIA request for some other reason 0
g. not
an agency record 0
h. duplicate
request 0
i. other
(specify) 0
VII.
Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests
A. Median
processing time for requests processed during the year.
1. Simple requests (if multiple tracks used).
a. number
of requests processed 25
b. median
number of days to process 6
2. Complex
requests (specify for any and all tracks used).
a. number
of requests processed 0
b. median
number of days to process 0
3. Request
accorded expedited processing.
a. number
of requests processed 0
b. median
number of days to process 0
B. Status
of pending requests.
Agencies
using multiple tracks may provide numbers of each track, as
well as totals.
1. Number
of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year 0
(Enter this number from line V.A.4.)
2. Median
number of days that such requests were pending as of that
date
0
VIII.
Comparison with Previous Year(s) (Optional)
Requests
for expedited processing:
1. Number
of requests received: __0_____
2. Number
of requests processed: __0_____
IX.
Costs/FOIA Staffing
A. Staffing
levels.
1. Number
of full-time FOIA personnel 0
2. Number of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA duties
(in total work-years) .3
3. Total
number of personnel (in work-years) .3
B. Total
costs (including staff and all resources)
1. FOIA
processing (including appeals) $7,065
2. Litigation-related
activities (estimated) 0
3. Total
costs $7,065
4. Comparison
with previous year(s) (including percentage of change)(optional)
0
C. Statement
of additional resources needed for FOIA compliance (optional)
0
X.
Fees
This includes
charges for search, review, document duplication, and any
other direct costs permitted under agency regulations.
A. Total
number of fees collected by agency for processing requests
0
B. Percentage
of total costs 0
XI. FOIA
Regulations (Including Fee Schedule)
A paper
copy of the Selective Service System FOIA Regulations are
attached to this report. An electronic copy may be obtained
by accessing the Selective Service System Home Page at the
following address:
www.sss.gov
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