The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) FOIA program in Lee’s Summit, Missouri invited several members of the OGIS staff to visit their facility this week to provide their FOIA staff with training and to facilitate an agency FOIA compliance assessment. OGIS’s training sessions are intended to teach FOIA professionals practical communication skills to … Continue reading OGIS Visits U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Almost five and a half years ago we at OGIS recommended to Congress that the development of a governmentwide FOIA web portal could improve public access to government information. Now, thanks to ongoing collaboration between the Office of Management and Budget (OMB and the Office of Information Policy at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and … Continue reading Cheers for a National FOIA Portal
As you might be aware if you regularly read our blog (or if you check our mediation program quarterly performance statistics), the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 created a surge in requests for our assistance. We have also received many submissions intended for other federal agencies – including misdirected appeals, certifications of identity, and other … Continue reading Return to Sender
As the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 approaches, we understand that agencies face increased pressure to close old requests and reduce their backlogs. This is also a good time to remind agencies about how to ensure their efforts comply with U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance and best practices. As we have talked about … Continue reading A Reminder on the Use of Still Interested Letters
As pictures of adorable kids returning from summer vacation and starting their first day of school begin to flood our social media feeds, we thought this might be a good moment to remind you all about the National Archives’ fantastic educational resource, DocsTeach, and to note that teachers can use this tool to help students of … Continue reading Teach the Children Well
We are very pleased to announce the release of our latest FOIA compliance agency assessment – this report takes an in-depth look at the operations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) FOIA program. OGIS’s agency assessments are based on direct observation and review of CFPB’s FOIA case files, analysis of applicable data and documents, … Continue reading OGIS Announces Release of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau FOIA Compliance Report
As part of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) agency assessment program, we reach out to requesters to ask them to let us know about their FOIA experiences with the agency. As you might remember, earlier this year we asked you all to share your experiences with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). We … Continue reading OGIS Launches USPS FOIA Compliance Assessment
Those who follow the news on FOIA are likely already aware of last week’s Chief FOIA Officers Council meeting hosted by NARA in McGowan Theater. The meeting included a panel discussion of ways that agencies, OGIS and FOIA requesters can better work together. What follows are a few observations from the presentations from my fellow … Continue reading Reflections on the July 27 Chief FOIA Officer Council Meeting
A few weeks ago, we gave you an update on the number of agencies that have taken steps towards identifying records or categories of records that should be proactively disclosed to the public. This week, we are sharing a call from members of the 2016-2018 FOIA Advisory Committee for your ideas on what records agencies … Continue reading Help the FOIA Advisory Committee Improve Proactive Disclosure!
The Chief FOIA Officers Council will be meeting on July 27, 2017 at 10 am to discuss strategies for improving customer service and improving coordination between agency FOIA Public Liaisons and our office. Be sure to RSVP today to join the audience in the William G. McGowan Theater and ensure you have an opportunity to … Continue reading Register Today to Share Your Thoughts with the Chief FOIA Officer Council
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