FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ANNUAL REPORT -- FY 2001

TITLE: Director, Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts Division, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, HHS.

** Copies of the annual reports of several individual HHS Operating Divisions can be found at:

II. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST: Please see HHS Guide to Information Resources at: http://www.hhs.gov/foia

A. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that process FOIA requests:

HHS Freedom of Information Officer
Room 645-F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Telephone: (202) 690-7453

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Freedom of Information Officer
Room 645-F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Telephone: (202) 690-7453

Administration on Aging (AoA)
Freedom of Information Officer
Executive Secretariat, Room 4741
330 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington D.C. 20201
Telephone: (202) 619-7586

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Freedom of Information Officer
Suite 501
2101 East Jefferson Street
Rockville, MD 20852
Telephone: (301) 594-6391

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and/or
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
Freedom of Information Officer
1600 Clifton Rd, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
Telephone: (404) 639-7270

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Freedom of Information Officer
7500 Security Boulevard
Room N2-20-16
Baltimore, Maryland 21244
Telephone (410) 786-5352

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Freedom of Information Officer
5600 Fishers Lane (HFI-35)
Rockville MD 20857
Telephone: (301) 827-6500

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Freedom of Information Officer
Office of Communications, Room 14-15
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Telephone: (301) 443-2865

Indian Health Service (IHS)
Freedom of Information Officer
Suite 450
12300 Twinbrook Parkway
Rockville, MD 20852
Telephone: (301) 443-1116

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

Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS)
Freedom of Information Officer, Room 17-21
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Telephone: (301) 443-5252

Program Support Center (PSC)
Freedom of Information Officer
Room 17-21
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Telephone: (301) 443-3921
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Freedom of Information Officer
Room 13-C-05
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Telephone: (301) 443-3814

B. Brief description of agency's response time range(s): Because individual

operating divisions (OPDIVS) have authority to release or deny their own records, and vary greatly in terms of the size and volume of FOIA requests processed, there is no overall HHS time range. Individual OPDIV response times can range from same day response to over a year, 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

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

OPHS - Office of Public Health and Science

PHS - Public Health Service

PRO - Professional Review Organization

PSC - Program Support Center

SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

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

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 the requester, are included in this report).

Initial Request - a request to a federal agency for access to records under the Freedom of Information Act.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Grant - an agency decision to disclose all records in full response to a FOIA request

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 exemptions; or a decision to disclose some records in their entireties, but to withhold others in whole or in part.

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 exemptions or for some procedural reason (such as because no record is located in response to a FOIA request).

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).

Perfected request - a FOIA request for records which adequately describes the records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office of the agency component in possession of the records, and for which there is no remaining question about the payment of applicable fees.

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).

Median number - the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.

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: See attached.

1. Brief description of type(s) of information withheld under each statute: See attached.

2. Has a court upheld the use of each statute? If so, cite example: See attached.

V. INITIAL FOIA/PA ACCESS REQUESTS (Include all requests, 3^rd or 1^st party): See attached for additional detail.

A. Numbers of initial requests (line 1 + line 2 - line 3 = line 4):

1. Number of requests pending at close of preceding fiscal year: 18530 (does not include 155 requests closed retroactively by NIH for FY 2000)

2. Number of requests received during reporting fiscal year: 61586

3. Number of requests processed during reporting fiscal year: 62599

4. Number of requests pending at close of reporting fiscal year: 17517 (This number should match Line VII.B.1.)

B. Disposition of Initial Requests:

1. Number granted in full: 48226

2. Number granted in part: 867

3. Number of full denials: 1605

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption was used:

Exemption 1 0000

Exemption 2 47

Exemption 3 31

Exemption 4 332

Exemption 5 199

Exemption 6 1803

Exemption 7 237

Exemption 7(A) 148

Exemption 7(B) 1

Exemption 7 8 65

Exemption 7 (D) 21

Exemption 7 (E) 2

Exemption 7 (F) 0

Exemption 8 0000

Exemption 9 0000

4. Other reasons for non-disclosure (total): 11901

a. no records: 3266

b. referrals: 529

c. request withdrawn: 2881

d. fee-related reason: 3174

e. records not reasonably described: 89

f. not a proper FOIA request for some other reason: 1374

g. not an agency record: 34

h. duplicate request: 184

i. other (specify): 370 (Glomar; litigation; administrative closures; materials more readily available from other sources, e.g. internet, libraries, etc.)

VI. APPEALS OF INITIAL DENIALS OF FOIA/PA REQUESTS (include all access requests whether first or third party):

A. Numbers of Appeals:

1. Number of appeals received during the fiscal year 184

2. Number of appeals processed during the fiscal year 128

B. Disposition of Appeals:

1. Number completely upheld 46

2. Number partially reversed 15

3. Number completely reversed 15

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each

exemption used once per appeal)

Exemption 1 0

Exemption 2 0

Exemption 3 1

Exemption 4 4

Exemption 5 6

Exemption 6 8

Exemption 7 6

Exemption 7(A) 3

Exemption 7(B) 0

Exemption 7(C) 3

Exemption 7(D) 0

Exemption 7(E) 0

Exemption 7(F) 0

Exemption 8 0

Exemption 9 0

4. Other reasons for non-disclosure (total): 52

a. no records: 9

b. referrals 0

c. request withdrawn 33

d. fee-related reason 1

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) 9 (litigation, administrative closures, material more readily available from other sources, e.g., internet, libraries, etc.

VII. COMPLIANCE WITH TIME LIMITS/STATUS OF PENDING REQUESTS: See attached for additional detail.

A. Median Processing Time for Requests Processed During the Year: (Some OPDIVs do not use multiple tracks. See attachment for more detailed statistics.)

1. Simple Requests (if multiple tracks used):

a. number of requests processed: 41,994 (see attached for detail).

b. median number of days to process: See attached..

2. Complex Requests (includes total of complex requests and single-track systems):

a. number of requests processed: 20,529 (see attached for detail)

b. median number of days to process: See attached.

3. Requests Accorded Expedited Processing:

a. number of requests processed: 76

b. median number of days to process: See attached.

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): 17,517

2. Median number of days that such requests were pending as of that date: Medians vary greatly from OPDIV to OPDIV. See attached for additional detail.

VIII. COMPARISONS WITH PREVIOUS YEARS(S) (Optional):

IX. COSTS/FOIA STAFFING: See attached for additional detail.

A. Staffing levels:

1. Number of full-time FOIA personnel: 169

2. Number of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA duties (in total work-years): 65.407

3. Total number of personnel (in work years): 234.407

B. Total costs (including staff and all resources):

1. FOIA processing (including appeals) $12,983,533

2. Litigation-related activities (estimated) $230,134

3. Total costs $13,213,667

4. Comparison with previous year(s) (including percentage of change) (optional):

X. FEES: See attached for additional detail.

A. Total amount of fees collected by agency for processing requests: $964,711

B. Percentage of total costs: 7 %

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS (including fee schedule):

The FOIA regulation implementing the 1996 amendments to the Freedom of

Information Act has been published as a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and

public comments have been received. The passage of PL 105-277 requiring

OMB to revise circular A-110 will require further revisions to the HHS FOIA

Regulation and public comments on those new sections. That effort is currently

underway. Until such time as the revised regulation is published as a new final

rule, however the current HHS FOIA regulation can be found at 45 CFR Part 5,

and at: www.hhs.gov/foia/45cfr5.html.

APPENDIX DOCUMENTS

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes

Statute/Rule	Type of Information Withheld	Case Citation
5 U.S.C. 107(a)(2) Appendix 4	Confidential financial disclosure reports	Meyerhoff v. EPA, 958 F.2^nd (9^th Cir 1992)
41 U.S.C. 253 (m)	Contractor proposals not incorporated into agency contracts.	No.
42 U.S.C. 1320c-9	Information created or acquired by a peer review organization (PRO) in the exercise of its duties and functions.	No.
42 U.S.C. 1396r-8(b)(3)(D)	Information disclosed by manufacturers and wholesalers…in a form which discloses…prices charged for drugs by such manufacturer or wholesaler.	No.
42 U.S.C. 11137(b)	Adverse reports of a physicians's conduct or practice.	No.

V. INITIAL FOI/PA ACCESS REQUESTS

Numbers of Initial Requests

	Number of Requests Pending as of End of Preceding Year	Number of Requests Received in Current Year	Number of Requests Processed in Current Year	Number of Requests Pending as of End of Current Year
OS (1)	325	1032	1042	315
AoA	0	6	6	0
CMS	3269	35084	35607	2746
PSC	34	126	146	14
OASPH	223	390	340	273
AHRQ	3	113	108	8
CDC	74	1013	1026	61
FDA	13626	22248	22721	13153
HRSA	25	338	330	33
IHS	68	106	100	74
NIH	832 (2)	1024	1111	745
SAMHSA	51	106	62	95
PHS Total	14902	25338	25798	14442
HHS Total	18530	61586	62599	17517

Some OS figures partially based on estimates due to software/system failure

(2) Does not include 155 additional "pending" requests closed retroactively for FY 2000.

V.B. Disposition of Initial Requests

	Number of Total Grants	Number of Partial Grants	Number of Full Denials	Total of Other Reasons for Nondisclosure
OS	268	161	75	538
AoA	4	0	0	2
CMS	28301	229	1375	5702
PSC	48	34	3	61
OASPH	177	12	32	119
AHRQ	32	41	1	34
CDC	359	230	4	433
FDA	17899	92	62	4668
HRSA	272	35	14	9
IHS	25	0	17	58
NIH	812	14	22	263
SAMHSA	29	19	0	14
PHS Total	19605	443	152	5598
HHS Total	48226	867	1605	11901

V.B.3. Exemptions Claimed Under the FOIA(1)

	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7A)	(7B)	(7C)	(7D)	(7E)	(7F)
OS	0	2	51	38	122	25	0	15	0	0	0
AoA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
CMS	38	15	49	70	1411	1	0	16	1	2	0
PSC	3	0	16	3	22	0	0	0	0	0	0
OASPH	0	1	6	4	15	15	0	13	13	0	0
AHRQ	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
CDC	6	7	79	48	160	0	0	0	0	0	0
FDA	0	2	83	0	10	104	0	16	6	0	0
HRSA	0	3	12	9	11	0	0	0	0	0	0
IHS	0	0	13	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
NIH	0	1	17	22	31	3	1	5	1	0	0
SAMHSA	0	0	6	2	17	0	0	0	0	0	0
PHS Total	6	14	216	88	248	122	1	34	20	0	0
HHS Total	47	31	332	199	1803	148	1	65	21	2	0

(1.) No claims for exemption (1), (8), or (9).

V.B.4. Other Reasons for Nondisclosure (Total)

	No Records	Referrals	Request Withdrawn	Fee-Related Reason	Records Not Reasonably Described	Not a Proper FOIA Request for Some Other Reason	Not an Agency Record	Duplicate Request	Other
OS	95	260	63	2	2	104	1	9	2
AoA	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
CMS	840	49	550	3124	74	978	14	4	69
PSC	25	16	6	3	1	1	0	3	6
OASPH	30	64	22	2	0	0	0	1	0
AHRQ	19	3	8	0	1	3	0	0	0
CDC	191	61	91	15	2	11	6	5	51
FDA	1964	63	1969	24	0	276	0	131	241
HRSA	5	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1
IHS	0	0	55	0	2	1	0	0	0
NIH	84	11	116	4	7	0	10	31	0
SAMHSA	11	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
PHS Total	2304	204	22262	45	12	291	19	168	293
HHS Total	3266	529	2881	3174	89	1374	34	184	370

VII. Compliance With Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests

A. Median Processing Time for Requests Processed During the Year

	AHRQ	AOA	CDC	CMS	FDA	HRSA	IHS	NIH	OS	PHS	PSC	SAMHSA
1. a. Number of Simple Requests (Where multiple tracks used)	0	0	0	33774	8145	0	0	0	0	0	75	0
b. Median Days to Process	0	0	0	10	14	0	0	0	0	0	35	0
2. a. Number of Complex Requests (Where multiple tracks used	0	0	0	1806	977	0	0	0	0	0	50	0
b. Median Days to Process	0	0	0	296	332	0	0	0	0	0	60	0
3. a. Number of Expedited Requests	0	0	0	27	2	0	0	0	0	26	21	0
b. Median Days to Process	0	0	0	111	5	0	0	0	0	1	4	0
4. a. Number of Single Track Requests	108	6	1026	0	13597	330	100	1111	1042	250 (1)	0	62
b. Median Days to Process	25	6	30	0	30	30	20	219	53 (2)	20	0	342

Does not include 64 additional PHS requests referred to other organizations.

Based on sample.

VII. B. Status of Pending Requests

	AHRQ	AOA	CDC	CMS	FDA	HRSA	IHS	NIH	OS	PHS	PSC	SAMHSA
1. Number of Requests Pending	8	0	61	2433 (1)	13153	33	74	745	315	273	14	95
2. Number of Median Days of Pending Requests as of September 30, 2001	10	0	40	10	146 (2)	17	35	228	111 (3)	180 (4)	70 (5)	90
				313 (6)
				(7)

Simple requests only.

Multi-track median day figures unavailable.

Based on sample.

Multi-track median day figures unavailable.

Complex requests.

Median day figures unavailable for complex requests.

IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing, and

X. Fees

	Staffing Levels			Costs (Estimated)			Fees
	Number of Full-Time Personnel	Number Staff With Part-Time or Occasional FOIA Duties (In Total Workyears)	Total Number of Personnel (In Work-Years)	FOIA Processing	Litigation-Related Activities	Total Costs	Total Fees Collected	% of Costs
OS	5	0	5	$347,000	$118,088	$465,088	$16,587	4
AoA	0	0.04	0.04	2,576	0	2,576	0	0
CMS	70	21	91	2,017,864	12,823	2,030,687	266,675	13
PSC	0	1	1	55,215	0	55,215	662	1
OASPH	3	0.3	3.3	190,154	15,515	205,669	2,920	1
AHRQ	1	0.25	1.25	42,393	0	42,393	203	0
CDC	4	0	4	258,688	0	258,688	53,794	21
FDA	71	18.697	89.697	8,165,088	59,488	8,224,576	583,624	7
HRSA	2	0.5	2.5	157,544	0	157,544	1,604	1
IHS	2	1	3	110,000	0	110,000	1,028	1
NIH	10	20.62	30.62	1,452,515	24,220	1,452,615	37,614	3
SAMHSA	1	2	3	208,616	0	208616	0	0
PHS Total	95	43.367	137.367	$10,560,301	$99,233	$10,660,301	$680,787	6
HHS Total	169	65.407	234.407	$12,983,533	$230,134	$13,213,667	$964,711	7

Last revised: December 1, 2003