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. 14-15, Rockville, MD 20857
PHONE NUMBER: (301) 443-2865
ELECTRONIC ADDRESS FOR THIS REPORT ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB:
http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/efoia/annual01.htm
ADDRESS FOR PAPER COPIES OF THIS REPORT:
Freedom of Information Officer
Office of Communications
Health Resources and Services Administration
5600 Fishers Lane, Rm. 14-15
Rockville, MD 20857
II. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST: See HRSA FOIA Reference Guide
at:
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. 14-15
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):
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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: 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 or 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:
42 U.S.C. 11137 (b) - Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986
41 U.S.C. 253b (m) - National Defense Authorization 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.
41 U.S.C. 253b (m) - National Defense Authorization Act;
prohibits release of contractor proposals not incorporated into
agency contracts
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: 25
2. Number of requests
received during reporting fiscal year: 338
3. Number of requests
processed during reporting fiscal year: 330
4. Number of requests
pending at close of reporting fiscal year: 33
B. Disposition of Initial Requests:
1. Number
granted in full: 272
2. Number granted
in part: 35
3. Number of full
denials: 14
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption was used:
Exemption 1 - 0
Exemption 2 - 0
Exemption 3 - 3
Exemption 4 - 12
Exemption 5 - 9
Exemption 6 - 11
Exemption 7 - 0
Exemption 8 - 0
Exemption 9 - 0
4. Other reasons for
non-disclosure (total): 8
a. No records 5
b. Referrals 0
c. Request withdrawn 1
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 2
h. Duplicate request 0
i.
Other (specify) 0
- 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 DASPA(Media)
Annual FOIA Report for HHS.
A. Number of Appeals:
1. Number
of appeals received during the fiscal year 0
2. Number of appeals
processed during the 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
used once per appeal)
Exemption
1 - 0
Exemption 2 - 0
Exemption 3 - 0
Exemption 4 - 0
Exemption 5 - 0
Exemption 6 - 0
Exemption 7 - 0
Exemption 7(A) - 0
Exemption 7(B) - 0
Exemption 7(C) - 0
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) 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 0
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 - N/A
b.
Median number of days to process - N/A
2. Complex Requests (specify
for any and all tracks used):
a.
Number of requests processed - N/A
b.
Median number of days to process - N/A
3. Requests Accorded
Expedited Processing:
a.
Number of requests processed - N/A
b.
Median number of days to process - N/A
4. Single Track System
a.
Number of requests processed
330
b. Median number of days to process
30 calendar days
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) 33
2. Median number
of days that such requests were pending as of that date 17 calendar
days
VIII. COMPARISONS WITH PREVIOUS YEAR(S) (Optional):
IX. COSTS/FOIA STAFFING:
A. Staffing levels:
1. Number of full-time
FOIA personnel 2
2. Number of personnel
with part-time or occasional FOIA duties (in total work-years) one
person at .5 work-year
3. Total number
of personnel (in work-years) 2.5 work-years
B. Total costs (including staff and all resources):
1. FOIA processing
(including appeals) $157,544.00
2. Litigation-related
activities (estimated) $.00
3. Total costs $157,544.00
4. Comparison with previous
year(s) (including percentage of change) (optional)
X. FEES:
A. Total amount of fees collected by agency for
processing requests: $1,604.00
B. Percentage of total costs: 1%