OGIS’s outreach is on a roll! This week OGIS staff presented twice to audiences of FOIA requesters as part of the National Archives’ “Know Your Records” series. This was a great opportunity to hear from those in the field – most of whom are not sophisticated FOIA requesters -- about their FOIA concerns. While this … Continue reading Avoiding Common FOIA Pitfalls
FOIA requesters and agency FOIA professionals may not see eye-to-eye on a number of issues. One of these is “still interested?” letters -- FOIA shorthand for the letters some agencies send to people with longstanding requests asking if the requester still wants the records. These letters generally require some kind of action on the part … Continue reading “Still interested?” letters – what’s the problem?
For over a year now, we at OGIS have regularly presented dispute resolution skills training sessions to FOIA professionals at various agencies. It’s been a fun, exciting effort that has given us an opportunity to meet FOIA professionals from all across the government. Unfortunately -- with the exception of the few sessions we presented at … Continue reading OGIS Reaches Out – Way Out
FOIA isn’t free, we all know that. The Federal government’s estimated spending on FOIA in 2010 was approximately $416 million. Usually, an agency will process its own FOIA requests by searching for, retrieving and reviewing records. But when an agency has to ask a contractor or even another agency to assist with a request, and … Continue reading Paying the FOIA bills
Conventional wisdom holds that August is quiet in Washington, D.C. While we at OGIS cannot attest to that -- it seems we are busier than ever this month -- we suggest that August is a great time to learn something new, namely, FOIA dispute resolution skills! We will present our Dispute Resolution Skills for FOIA … Continue reading Announcing Dispute Resolution Skills Training for FOIA Professionals
Many people believe that federal law enforcement agencies have some kind of investigatory file on them. The truth is that very few people have been investigated by an agency such as the FBI, but that doesn’t stop many people from requesting their own records from federal law enforcement agencies. (When an individual requests access to … Continue reading OGIS Case Study #1 – “I am pretty sure the Government has a file on me”
We at OGIS have a serious case of plain writing fever. As you read on the FOIA Ombudsman a few weeks ago, the Plain Writing Act, signed in October, goes into effect this fall. We see this as unqualified good news! So what is plain writing? Simply put, it is clear, precise writing that makes … Continue reading More on Plain Writing
Those of us who live and breathe FOIA tend to stay pretty focused on the federal access law or, for those outside the Federal government, on a patchwork of U.S. state access laws. We may tend to overlook that there are now more than 90 countries with similar laws of their own, and we at … Continue reading Freedom of Information: Big in Japan (and Brazil and Spain…)
If you’ve called OGIS, had a case with us or read this blog, you’ve probably heard the mantra: “We’re from the government and we’re here to help!” We’ve heard from hundreds of people seeking assistance -- on everything from the expected -- FOIA delays, denials, fees and exemption use -- to the unexpected -- employee … Continue reading Setting Expectations
Government-speak -- with its acronyms, abbreviations and general jargon -- can make anyone’s head spin. Can the DoD IDA get trained on FOIA with CBT? Will the EPA FPL share an MOU with OGIS? OMG, it’s ridiculous enough to make you LOL (or SMH)! Some of us in the Federal world get a little entrenched … Continue reading Hold the alphabet soup, please.
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