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://newsroom.hrsa.gov/efoia/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://newsroom.hrsa.gov/efoia/foiguide.htm
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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