Contents
- BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT [XML]
- HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST
- ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS
- Exemption 3 Statutes
- FOIA Requests
- Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests
- FOIA Requests: Response Time for Processed and Pending Requests
- Requests for Expedited Processing and Requests for Fee Waiver
- FOIA Personnel and Costs
- Fees Collected for Processing Requests
- FOIA Regulations
- Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisons
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ANNUAL REPORT — FY 2011
I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT
1. Name, title, address, and telephone number of person(s) to be contacted with questions about the Report.
Robert Eckert
Director, Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Division
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
United Sates Department of Health and Human Services
330 C Street, S.W., Room 2221
Washington D.C. 20201
(202) 690-7453
2. ELECTRONIC ADDRESS FOR THIS REPORT ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
3. ADDRESS FOR PAPER COPIES OF THIS REPORT
Contact Robert Eckert at the address or telephone number listed above.
**Copies of the annual reports of a number of individual HHS Operating Divisions can be found by contacting the responsible component shown in Section II below, or by locating a FOIA link at the following websites:
- Administration on Aging (AOA)
- Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
- Indian Health Service (IHS)
- National Institute of Health (NIH)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
II. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST
Requests may be submitted electronically:
- Submit a FOIA Request
1. HHS and OPDIV Freedom of Information Officers/FOIA Requester Service Centers
Health and Human Services (HHS)
Freedom of Information Officer
Mary E. Switzer Building, Room 2206
330 C Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 202-690-7453Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Freedom of Information Officer
901 D Street, S.W.
7th Floor West Aerospace Building
Washington, D.C. 20447
Phone: 202-401-9215Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Freedom of Information Officer
540 Gaither Road
The Eisenberg Building, Room 3129
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Phone: 301-427-1866Administration on Aging (AOA)
Freedom of Information Officer
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 202-357-3540Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and/or
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
Freedom of Information Officer
1600 Clifton Road, N.E., MS D-54
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
Phone: (770) 488-6399Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Freedom of Information Officer
North Building, Room N2-20-06
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21244
Phone: 410-786-5353Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Freedom of Information Officer
12420 Parklawn Drive, Room 1050
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-827-6567Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Freedom of Information Officer
Parklawn Building, Room 14-15
5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 301-443-3376Indian Health Service (IHS)
Freedom of Information Officer
12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 450
Twinbrook II, Metro Plaza Building
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 301-443-1116National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Freedom of Information Officer
Building 31, Room 5B35 9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Phone: 301-496-5633Office of Inspector General (OIG)
Freedom of Information Officer
Cohen Building, Suite 1062
330 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 202-619-2541Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)
Freedom of Information Officer
7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 920
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301-492-4800Program Support Center (PSC)
Freedom of Information Officer
7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 920
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301-492-4800Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Freedom of Information Officer
1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 8-1042
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 240-276-21372. 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. Information withheld may include home addresses and phone numbers, social security numbers, medical records, proprietary business records, investigatory records, that if released may interfere with open investigations, and drafts of documents.
III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS:
1. 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
- OIG - Office of the Inspector General
- OASH - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health
- PRO - Professional Review Organization
- PSC - Program Support Center
- SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
2. Basic Terms (from FOIA UPDATE, Summer 1997):
- Administrative Appeal - a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level.
- 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.
- Backlog - the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response.
- Component - for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a "component" is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their annual report data for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency.
- Consultation - the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency for its review because that agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it. That Agency, in turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester.
- Exemption 3 Statute - a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b) (3) of the FOIA.
- FOIA Request - a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e., a "third-party" request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., "first-party" requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act "systems of records" or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report. Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, however, include records for which the agency has received a consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of this Report.)
- Full Grant - an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.
- Full Denial - an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be located.
- Median Number - the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.
- 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 granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis.
- Expedited Processing - an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency regulations.
- Simple Request - a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low 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 high volume and/or complexity of the records requested.
- Partial Grant/Partial Denial - in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason.
- Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal - a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.
- Perfected Request - a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.
- Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal - a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.
- Range in Number of Days - the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or administrative appeals.
- Time Limits - the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).
3. Concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions:
- Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information
- Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices
- Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law
- Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges
- Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy
- Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of those records
- could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,
- would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication,
- could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,
- could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source,
- would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or
- could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual
- Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions
- Exemption 9: geological information on wells
IV: Exemption 3 Statutes
Statute Information Withheld Case Citation Component Times Relied upon by Component 5 U.S.C. app. § 107(a) (Ethics in Government Act of 1978) Financial disclosure information pertaining to certain government employees Meyerhof v. EPA, 948 F.2d 1498, 1500-02 (9th Cir. 1992 NIH – 1 FDA – 2 3 21 U.S.C. § 331(j) (Food Drug and Cosmetic Act) Trade secrets Anderson v. HHS, 907 F.2d 936, 950-51 (10th Cir. 1998). FDA – 24 24 21 U.S.C. § 350d(a)(b) Food Registration Documents None FDA – 5 5 41 U.S.C. § 423(a)(1) Procurement Integrity Act) Contractor bid or proposal information; source selection information Legal & Safety Employer Research, Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of the Army, No. Civ. S001748, 2001 WL 34098652, at *3-4 (E.D. Cal. May 4, 2001) (dictum) CDC – 4 4 41 U.S.C. § 253b(m) Technical proposal not incorporated into a final contract Hornbostel v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d 21, 30 (D.D.C. 2003), summary affirmance granted, No. 03-0527, 2004 WL 1900562 (D.C. Cir, Aug. 25, 2004). OS – 5
DC – 8 CMS – 30 FDA – 6 OASH – 655 42 U.S.C. § 242m(d) Identifiable information for certain research and statistical activities None CDC – 6 6 42 U.S.C. § 262a(h) Select agent information. None OS – 1 CDC – 5 6 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-12(d)(4)(A) (National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986) Medical records presented to a special master or the court in National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Long V DOJ, No. 06-CV-1086, 2011 WL 113925, at *10 (N.D.N.Y. Mar. 25, 2011) HRSA – 1 1 42 U.S.C § 11137(b) Adverse reports of health practitioners’' conduct. None HRSA – 2 2 V: FOIA Requests
A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests
Component Requests Pending Start of Fiscal Year Requests Received in Fiscal Year Requests Processed in Fiscal Year Requests Pending End of Fiscal Year OS 560 1,396 1,592 364 ACF 317 296 416 197 AHRQ 7 77 81 3 AOA 0 16 16 0 CDC 323 1,128 1,088 363 CMS 5,233 52,116 53,328 4,021 FDA 4,691 9,301 10,602 3,390 HRSA 31 332 330 33 IHS 35 100 104 31 NIH 85 1,198 1,204 79 OIG 18 729 737 10 OASH 158 576 529 205 SAMHSA 154 166 152 168 HHS Total 11,612 67,431 70,179 8,864 B. (1) Disposition of FOIA Requests- All Processed Requests
Com-
ponentNumber
of
Full
GrantsNumber
of
Partial
Grants/
Partial
DenialsNumber
of
Full
Denials
Based
on Exemp-
tionsNumber of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemp-
tionsTotal No Records All
Records
Refer-
red
to
another Compo-
nent
or AgencyRequest With-
drawnFee-
Rel-
ated ReasonRecords
not
Reason-
ably
Descri-
bedImpro-
per
FOIA
Request
for
Other
ReasonNot Agency Record Dupli-
cate RequestOther Explain in chart below OS 99 146 28 56 798 17 1 5 77 46 9 310 1,592 ACF 100 158 13 37 24 59 1 5 0 3 16 0 416 AHRQ 15 33 0 23 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 81 AOA 0 1 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 CDC 213 247 28 275 55 146 33 20 26 4 24 14 1,088 CMS 33,856 789 6,400 7,011 109 750 1,410 464 1,176 59 245 1,029 53,238 FDA 7,473 170 77 707 8 1,386 213 1 93 2 201 271 10,602 HRSA 262 33 3 12 17 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 330 IHS 19 4 4 12 10 12 0 10 0 8 0 25 104 NIH 775 102 11 139 12 113 20 16 6 9 1 0 1,204 OIG 166 180 33 101 16 42 2 5 61 99 12 20 737 OASH 131 138 19 90 71 30 0 20 9 0 0 21 529 SAMHSA 64 82 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 152 HHS Total 43,173 2,083 6,.616 8,480 1,121 2,563 1,680 576 1,448 234 510 1,695 70,179 B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests – Other Reasons for “Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions” from Section V, B (1)
Component Description of “Other” Reasons for Denials from Chart
B (1) & Number of Times Those Reasons Were Relied uponTOTAL OS Administrative Closure - Based on Response and Non Response to Continued Interest calls and Correspondence
310 ACF N/A
0 AHRQ Referrals to other areas, State and private organizations
5 AOA N/A
0 CDC No response to still interested letters.
14 CMS Administrative Closures based on response/non-response due to continued interest calls and correspondence
1,029 FDA Available on internet
271 HRSA N/A
0 IHS No response to still interested letters.
25 NIH N/A
0 OIG No response to still interested letters.
18 OIG Administrative Closures.
2 OASH No response to still interested letter
21 SAMHSA N/A
0 Agency Overall
1,695 B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests - Number of Times Exemptions Applied
Component Ex. 1 Ex.2 Ex.3 Ex.4 Ex.5 Ex.6 Ex. 7 (A) Ex. 7 (B) Ex. 7 (C) Ex. 7 (D) Ex. 7 (E) Ex. 7 (F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9 OS 0 5 6 36 88 126 24 0 64 0 1 3 0 0 ACF 0 0 0 63 16 110 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AHRQ 0 0 0 32 1 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AOA 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CDC 0 25 20 120 54 172 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CMS 0 54 30 152 62 4,929 2 2 175 6 26 1 0 0 FDA 0 5 37 114 34 34 118 0 13 6 8 4 0 0 HRSA 0 0 3 38 6 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IHS 0 0 0 6 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NIH 0 4 1 27 24 45 5 0 6 2 1 1 0 0 OIG 0 1 0 63 63 164 29 0 124 1 27 0 0 0 OASH 0 1 6 61 24 123 1 0 33 0 2 0 0 0 SAMHSA 0 0 0 60 0 82 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 HHS Total 0 95 103 772 375 5,858 181 2 415 15 65 9 0 0 VI: Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests
A. Received, Processed, and Pending Administrative Appeals
Component Appeals Pending Start of Fiscal Year Appeals Received in Fiscal Year Appeals Processed in Fiscal Year Appeals Pending End of Fiscal Year OS 211 191 199 203 CMS 31 125 120 36 HHS Total 242 316 319 239 B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals
Component Affirmed on Appeal Partially Affirmed & Partially Reversed/Remanded on Appeal Completely Reversed/Remanded on Appeal Appeals Closed for Other Reasons TOTAL OS 109 14 13 63 199 CMS 1 0 7 112 120 HHS Total 110 14 20 175 319 C. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions Applied
Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9 OS 0 3 5 24 19 34 5 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 CMS 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 HHS Total 0 3 5 24 20 34 5 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Reasons Other Than Exemptions
Com-ponent No Records Records Referred at Initial Request Level Request With- drawn Fee-Related Reason Records not Reason- ably Described Improper Request for Other Reasons Not Agency Record Dup- licate Request or Appeal Request in Liti- gation Appeal Based Solely on Denial of Request for Expe- dited Pro- cessing Other *Explain in chart below OS 14 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 63 CMS 1 0 89 0 0 3 3 1 1 0 14 HHS Total 15 0 90 4 0 3 3 1 1 3 77 C. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Other:
Component Description of “Other” Reasons for Denial on Appeal Number of Times The Reasons Were Relied Upon TOTAL OS Appeal moot
49
63
OS Appeal untimely
2
63
OS Appeal upheld
6
63
OS Dismissed, appellant lacks standing
1
63
OS No response from appellant
2
63
OS Remand
3
63
CMS Administrative closure based on response/non-response due to continued interest calls and correspondence
14
14
HHS TOTAL 77
C. (4) Response time for administrative appeals (See chart)
Component Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days OS 76 263 1 1,533 CMS 145 189 2 1,892 HHS Overall 76 200 1 1,892 C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Appeals (See Chart)
Component 10th 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st OS Date of Receipt 8/31/
20048/24/
20047/29/
20046/22/
20046/22/
20046/3/
20046/1/
20044/16/
20042/24/
20042/11/
2004OS Days Pending 2,586 2,593 2,619 2,656 2,656 2,675 2,677 2,723 2,775 2,788 CMS Date of Receipt 1/26/
20111/24/
20111/20/
201112/23/
201012/14/
201012/10/
201011/9/
201011/4/
201010/20/
201010/4/
2010CMS Days Pending 174 176 178 195 202 204 225 228 239 250 HHS Overall Date of Receipt 8/31/
20048/24/
20047/29/
20046/22/
20046/22/
20046/3/
20046/1/
20044/10/
20042/24/
20042/11/
2004HHS Overall Days Pending 2,586 2,593 2,619 2,656 2,656 2,675 2,677 2,723 2,775 2,788 VII. FOIA Requests: Response Time for Processed and Pending Requests
A. Processed Requests – Response Time for All Perfected Requests1
Component Simple: Med- ian Days Simple: Aver-age Days Simple: Low- est Days Simple: High- est Days Com- plex: Med- ian Days Com- plex: Aver- age Days Com- plex: Low- est Days Com- plex: High- est Days Expe- dited Pro- cess- ing: Med- ian Days Expe- dited Pro- cess- ing: Aver- age Days Expe- dited Pro-cess-ing: Low- est Days Expe- dited Pro-cess- ing: High- est Days OS2 0 0 0 0 600 185 1 1,619 0 0 0 0 ACF 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AHRQ 9 13 1 79 35 47 1 207 0 0 0 0 AOA 2 5 1 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CDC 26 44 <1 292 32 73 <1 1,000 0 0 0 0 CMS 8 19 1 535 16 218 1 1,702 100 188 3 556 FDA 9 49 1 1,305 162 248 1 1,760 53 64 31 109 HRSA3 0 0 0 0 15 17 1 344 0 0 0 0 IHS 15 13 3 25 85 96 62 160 0 0 0 0 NIH4 14 24 1 459 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OIG 1 3 1 23 14 24 1 170 0 0 0 0 OASH 13 26 1 349 174 263 6 925 0 0 0 0 SAMHSA 17 34 1 78 34 58 4 135 0 0 0 0 HHS Overall 15 35 <1 1,305 174 112 <1 1,760 60 70 3 556 Footnotes:
1.Some numbers based on estimates.
2.OS - Uses single-track log.
3.HRSA - Uses single-track log.
4.NIH - Uses single-track log.
B. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was Granted
Component Simple: Med- ian Days Simple: Aver-age Days Simple: Low- est Days Simple: High- est Days Com- plex: Med- ian Days Com- plex: Aver- age Days Com- plex: Low- est Days Com- plex: High- est Days Expe- dited Pro- cess- ing: Med- ian Days Expe- dited Pro- cess- ing: Aver- age Days Expe- dited Pro-cess-ing: Low- est Days Expe- dited Pro-cess- ing: High- est Days OS6 0 0 0 0 38 162 1 1,309 0 0 0 0 ACF 730 120 1 1,465 515 37 15 1,029 30 22 1 60 AHRQ 10 19 7 79 41 52 1 207 0 0 0 0 AOA 0 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CDC 40 50.5 <1 155 52 88 <1 1,000 0 0 0 0 CMS 10 20 1 519 125 237 2 1,596 54 107 3 460 FDA 9 48.6 1 1,305 164 250 1 1,760 53 64.3 31 109 HRSA7 0 0 0 0 15 17 1 344 0 0 0 0 IHS 25 24 15 30 80 75 30 140 0 0 0 0 NIH8 14 24 1 459 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OIG 2 5 1 23 23 31 1 170 0 0 0 0 OASH 25 33 1 174 171 276 41 925 0 0 0 0 SAMHSA 6 10 1 45 130 208 58 338 0 0 0 0 HHS Overall 275 98 <1 1,465 171 198 <1 1,760 50 63 1 460 Footnotes:
5.Some numbers based on estimates.
6.OS - Uses single-track log.
7.HRSA - Uses single-track log.
8.NIH - Uses single-track log.
C. Processed Requests – Response Time in Day Increments
1. Simple Requests
Component 1–
20 Days21-
40 Days41–
60 Days61–
80 Days81-
100 Days101-
120 Days121-
140 Days141-
160 Days161-
180 Days181-
200 Days201-
300 Days301-
400 Days401+
DaysTOTAL OS9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ACF 6 5 11 18 17 11 28 10 19 20 78 9 154 386 AHRQ 33 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 AOA 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 CDC 17 8 8 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 40 CMS 38,244 5,083 1,933 1,113 796 412 260 156 152 84 266 90 52 48,641 FDA 2,423 717 438 392 492 441 244 116 91 81 253 99 220 6,007 HRSA10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IHS 14 8 9 11 4 3 3 2 4 0 0 0 0 58 NIH11 788 251 65 30 19 9 11 7 9 5 7 2 1 1,204 OIG 466 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 468 OASH 235 74 29 28 11 3 4 0 3 0 1 1 0 389 SAMHSA 1 32 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 HHS Overall 42,243 6,181 2,512 1,593 1,341 879 551 294 278 190 606 201 427 57,296 Footnotes:
9.OS - Uses single-track log.
10. HRSA - Uses single-track log.
11. NIH - Uses single-track log.
2. Complex Requests
Component 1–
20 Days21-
40 Days41–
60 Days61–
80 Days81-
100 Days101-
120 Days121-
140 Days141-
160 Days161-
180 Days181-
200 Days201-
300 Days301-
400 Days401+
DaysTOTAL OS 966 80 53 37 19 11 7 8 6 7 22 31 323 1,570 ACF 0 0 12 5 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 AHRQ 13 11 7 8 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 44 AOA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CDC 387 215 113 67 49 46 36 33 19 9 18 19 37 1,048 CMS 2,478 187 102 72 72 47 46 42 48 55 177 242 1,095 4,663 FDA 577 309 248 212 251 230 154 101 106 116 295 379 1,538 4,516 HRSA 268 41 15 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 330 IHS 5 2 5 5 1 5 1 5 1 5 3 3 2 43 NIH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OIG 150 74 21 9 7 1 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 269 OASH 3 4 5 6 5 16 9 11 15 10 16 8 32 140 SAMHSA 28 10 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 52 HHS Total 4,875 933 593 425 410 365 257 203 196 202 532 683 3,028 12,702 3. Requests Granted Expedited Processing
Component 1–
20 Days21-
40 Days41–
60 Days61–
80 Days81-
100 Days101-
120 Days121-
140 Days141-
160 Days161-
180 Days181-
200 Days201-
300 Days301-
400 Days401+
DaysTOTAL OS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ACF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AHRQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AOA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CDC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CMS 4 3 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 5 3 24 FDA 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 HRSA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IHS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NIH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OIG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OASH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SAMHSA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 HHS Total 4 3 1 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 4 5 3 27 D. Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Request12
Component Simple: Number Pending Simple: Median Days Simple: Average Days Com- plex: Number Pending Com- plex: Median Days Com- plex: Average Days Expe- dited Process- ing: Num- ber Pending Expe- dited Process- ing: Median Days Expe- dited Process- ing: Average Days OS13 0
0
0
364
250
366
0
0
0
ACF 249
524
284
0
0
0
2
98
98
AHRQ 2
4
4
4
32
30
0
0
0
AOA 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
CDC 6
279
335
347
110
166
1
608
608
CMS 1,783
10
19
2,229
123
150
9
108
152
FDA 252
179
217
3,145
32
109
2
191
227
HRSA14 0
0
0
34
11
12
0
0
0
HIS 25
36
56
41
245
380
0
0
0
NIH15 79
16
53
0
0
0
0
0
0
OIG 2
1
8
8
14
41
0
0
0
OASH 30
13
116
219
174
202
0
0
0
SAMHSA 25
17
34
80
34
58
0
0
0
HHS Total 2,453
275
215
6,471
123
198
14
166
225
Footnotes:
12. Some numbers based on estimates.
13. OS - Uses single-track log.
14. HRSA - Uses single-track log.
15. NIH - Uses single-track log.
E. Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests
Component 10th 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st OS:
Date of Receipt4/19/
20073/6/
20072/9/
20071/24/
20079/28/
200611/14/
20057/18/
20054/25/
20053/28/
20054/19/
2007OS:
Days Pending1,625 1,669 1,694 1,710 1,828 2,146 2,265 2349 2,377 2,429 ACF:
Date of Receipt8/27/
20088/12/
20086/12/
20086/12/
20085/16/
20085/9/
20085/2/
20084/9/
20083/13/
20081/4/
2008ACF:
Days Pending829 853 928 928 969 981 989 995 1,025 1,049 AHRQ:
Date of ReceiptN/A N/A N/A N/A 9/26/
20119/26/
20118/30/
20118/18/
20118/12/
20118/9/
2011AHRQ:
Days Pending0 0 0 0 4 4 22 30 34 37 AOA:
Date of ReceiptN/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A AOA:
Days Pending0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
CDC:
Date of Receipt10/15/
200810/8/
20089/23/
20089/17/
20087/25/
20084/28/
20084/21/
20083/3/
200812/31/
20077/3/
2007CDC:
Days Pending743 747 758 762 799 861 866 901 943 1,066 CMS:
Date of Receipt1/25/
20101/25/
20101/20/
20101/19/
20101/19/
20101/15/
20101/14/
20101/12/
20101/6/
20101/5/
2010CMS:
Days Pending422 422 425 426 426 427 428 430 434 435 FDA:
Date of Receipt3/5/
20081/3/
200811/30/
20079/7/
20075/8/
20074/18/
20073/20/
20072/27/
20072/7/
20073/16/
2006FDA:
Days Pending899 941 963 1,020 1,105 1,119 1,140 1,155 1,168 1,392 HRSA:
Date of Receipt9/15/
20119/14/
20119/14/
20119/13/
20119/13/
20119/12/
20119/12/
20119/12/
20118/16/
20116/1/
2010HRSA:
Days Pending11 12 12 13 13 14 14 14 32 344 IHS:
Date of Receipt7/28/
20116/16/
20116/11/
20111/24/
20111/24/
201111/5/
20109/16/
20108/2/
20108/2/
201012/7/
2009IHS:
Days Pending46 73 81 170 170 229 273 303 303 473 NIH:
Date of Receipt5/6/
20114/8/
20113/22/
20112/2/
20111/18/
201112/13/
201010/13/2010 6/7/
20104/7/
20105/6/
2011NIH:
Days Pending103 123 136 169 178 203 244 333 375 1,031 OIG:
Date of Receipt9/20/
20119/19/
20119/19/
20119/19/
20119/9/
20119/9/
20118/23/
20117/8/
20116/2/
20119/20/
2011OIG:
Days Pending6 9 9 9 11 11 28 60 86 128 OASH:
Date of Receipt11/24/
200911/18/2009 11/16/2009 11/12/2009 9/15/
20096/16/
20091/5/
200911/21/2008 10/28/2008 11/24/
2009OASH:
Days Pending483 487 489 491 533 598 714 745 763 782 SAMHSA:
Date of Receipt10/26/
201010/12/
20109/18/
20107/23/
20107/14/
20105/12/
20105/8/
20104/11/
20103/10/
201010/26/
2010SAMHSA:
Days Pending<231 241 275 313 319 359 360 380 400 412 Agency Overall:
Date of Receipt2/9/
20072/7/
20071/24/
20079/28/
20063/16/
200611/14/2005 7/18/
20054/25/
20053/28/
20052/9/
2007Agency Overall:
Days Pending1,694 1,696 1,706 1,828 1,948 2,146 2,265 2,349 2,377 2,429 VIII: Requests for Expedited Processing and Requests for Fee Waiver
A. Requests for Expedited Processing
Component Granted Denied Median Number of Days to Adjudicate Average Number of Days to Adjudicate Number Adjudicated Within Ten Calendar Days OS 0 8 5 2 8 ACF 2 0 45 45 0 AHRQ 0 0 0 0 0 AOA 0 0 0 0 0 CDC 0 15 8 10 15 CMS 19 0 1 4 17 FDA 3 92 13 21 38 HRSA 0 5 8 8 8 IHS 0 0 0 0 0 NIH 0 0 0 0 0 OIG 0 0 0 0 0 OASH 0 0 0 0 0 SAMHSA 0 0 0 0 0 HHS Total 24 163 13 22 78 B. Requests for Fee Waiver
Component Granted Denied Median Number of Days to Adjudicate Average Number of Days to Adjudicate OS 0 0 0 0 ACF 0 1 45 45 AHRQ 6 0 11 58 AOA 0 0 0 0 CDC 3 15 41 45 CMS 7 0 1 1 FDA 254 11 11 20 HRSA 1 4 7 7 IHS 0 0 0 0 NIH 1 3 26 25 OIG 0 1 1 1 OASH 0 0 0 0 SAMHSA 0 0 0 0 HHS Total 272 35 26 25 IX: FOIA Personnel and Costs
Component “Full-Time FOIA Employees” “Equivalent Full-Time FOIA Employees” Total Full-Time FOIA Staff Processing Costs Litigation-Related Costs Total Costs OS 12 0 12 $874,842.00 $28,598.00 $903,440.00 ACF 4 1 5 $443,333.00 $0.00 $443,333.00 AHRQ 1 0 1 $54,903.00 $0.00 $54,903.00 AOA 0 0.04 .004 $2,576.00 $0.00 $2,576.00 CDC 12 0 0 $1,148,880.00 $0.00 $114,8880.00 CMS 19 61 80 $4,821,716.00 $57,470.00 $4,879,186.00 FDA 85 42 127 $33,003,128.00 $130,226.00 $33,133,354.00 HRSA 3 1.5 4.5 $487,951.00 $0.00 $487,951.00 IHS 1 2 3 $369,945.00 $0.00 $369,945.00 NIH 15 13 28 $3,138,120.00 $20,981.00 $3,159,101.00 OIG 3 2 5 $100,688.00 $0.00 $100,688.00 OASH 5 2 7 $1,203,071.00 $2,500.00 $120,5571.00 SAMHSA 1 0 1 $99,191.00 $0.00 $99,191.00 HHS Total 161 123.83 284.83 $45,748,344.22 $239,775.00 $45,988,119.22 X: Fees Collected for Processing Requests
Component Total Amount of Fees Collected Percentage of Total Costs OS $0.00 0.00% ACF16 $0.00 0.00% AHRQ $175.00 0.32% AOA $0.00 0.00% CDC $24,232.77 2.11% CMS $606,801.39 12.58% FDA $452,246.57 1.37% HRSA $4,029.00 0.83% IHS $0.00 0.00% NIH $47,108.00 1.50% OIG $15,317.00 15.21% OASH $1,469.00 0.12% SAMHSA $1,026.00 1.03% HHS Total $1,152,404.73 2.52% Footnotes:
16. The ACF has temporarily suspended fee collections
XI. FOIA Regulations
- Title 45, Volume 1, Parts 1 to 199
XII: Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisons
A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals
Component Backlogged Requests as of End of Fiscal Year Backlogged Appeals as of End of Fiscal Year OS 309 68 ACF 160 0 AHRQ 0 0 AOA 0 0 CDC 287 0 CMS 2,008 36 FDA 3,421 0 HRSA 2 0 IHS 34 0 NIH 25 0 OIG 4 0 OASH 165 0 SAMHSA 114 0 HHS Total
6,529 104 B. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations
Component Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Pending at Your Agency as of Start of the Fiscal Year Consultations Received from Other Agencies During the Fiscal Year Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Processed by Your Agency During the Fiscal Year Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Pending at Your Agency as of End of the Fiscal Year OS 0 0 0 0 ACF 0 0 0 0 AHRQ 0 0 0 0 AOA 0 0 0 0 CDC 0 0 0 0 CMS 0 0 0 0 FDA 0 12 12 0 HRSA 0 0 0 0 IHS 0 0 0 0 NIH 0 4 4 0 OIG 0 0 0 0 OASH 0 4 4 0 SAMHSA 0 0 0 0 HHS Total 0 20 20 0 C. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency
Component 10th 9th 9th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st OS N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ACF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AHRQ N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A AOA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CDC N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A CMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 FDA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A HRSA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IHS N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A NIH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OIG N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A OASH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SAMHSA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A HHS Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report – Requests Received, Processed, and Backlogged
(1) Requests Received and Processed During Fiscal Year
Component Requests Received from Last Year’s Annual Report Requests Received from Current Annual Report Requests Processed from Last Year’s Annual Report Requests Processed from Current Annual Report OS 2,144 1,396 2,306 1,592 ACF 1,133 296 1,538 416 AHRQ 57 77 61 81 AOA 27 16 27 16 CDC 1,207 1,128 1,372 1,088 CMS 46,586 52,116 51,665 53,328 FDA 9,690 9,301 9,879 10,602 HRSA 369 332 369 330 IHS 98 100 94 104 NIH 1,253 1,198 1,282 1,204 OIG 563 729 569 737 OASH 496 576 555 529 SAMHSA 216 166 143 152 HHS Total 63,839 67,431 69860 70,179 (2) Requests Backlogged as of End of Fiscal Year
Component Backlogged Requests from Previous Annual Report Backlogged Requests from Current Annual Report OS 525 309 ACF 299 160 AHRQ 1 0 AOA 0 0 CDC 245 287 CMS 3,486 2,008 FDA 4,691 3,421 HRSA 2 2 IHS 35 34 NIH 37 25 OIG 11 4 OASH 129 165 SAMHSA 91 114 HHS Total 9,552 6,529 E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged
(1) Appeals Received and Processed During Fiscal Year
Component Number of Appeals Received from Last Year’s Annual Report Number of Appeals Received from Current Annual Report Number of Appeals Processed from Last Year’s Annual Report Number of Appeals Processed from Current Annual Report OS 168 191 244 199 CMS 26 125 145 120 HHS Total 194 316 369 319 (2) Administrative Appeals Backlogged as of End of the Fiscal Year
Component Backlogged Administrative Appeals from Previous Annual Report Backlogged Administrative Appeals from Current Annual Report OS 198 68 CMS 31 36 HHS Total 229 104