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Upcoming Refresher Training Session:
Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Annual FOIA Reports and
2012 Chief FOIA Officer Reports

On October 13, 2011, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) will host a refresher training session to go over the reporting requirements for Fiscal Year 2011 Annual FOIA Reports and 2012 Chief FOIA Officer Reports.  Both reports must be submitted to OIP for clearance prior to final posting.  At the training session the requirements for both reports will be reviewed and there will be time for questions.  The Annual FOIA Report covers Fiscal Year 2011, while the 2012 Chief FOIA Officer Report will cover agency activities from March 2011 to March 2012.  

Fiscal Year 2011 Annual FOIA Reports

Last year OIP provided agencies with an Excel tool to be used in creating their Annual FOIA Reports.  OIP will soon provide agencies with an updated tool to create their Fiscal Year 2011 Annual FOIA Reports.  Prior to the training, OIP will send agencies a link along with instructions which will allow them to download the updated tool. 

The tool will generate the Annual FOIA Report in an open format, which is required by the Open Government Directive and will allow uploading of the data into FOIA.GOV.  As was done in Fiscal Year 2010, agencies must also publish their 2011 Annual FOIA Report in the PDF or similar human-readable format traditionally used for publishing Annual FOIA Reports. 

Agency Annual FOIA Reports in both their open and human-readable formats should be submitted to OIP electronically at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov no later than December 5, 2011, in order to allow sufficient time for OIP to review them prior to posting.

After the reports are reviewed and cleared by OIP, they should be posted on each agency’s website in both open format and in the PDF or similar human-readable format. 

2012 Chief FOIA Officer Reports

On March 19, 2009, the Attorney General directed agency Chief FOIA Officers to review “all aspects of their agencies’ FOIA administration” and to report each year to the Department of Justice on the steps taken “to improve FOIA operations and facilitate information disclosure at their agencies.” 

OIP will be issuing new reporting requirements for the 2012 Chief FOIA Officer Reports, and prior to the meeting will post these requirements on OIP’s Guidance page.  The Chief FOIA Officer Reports should be submitted to OIP electronically at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov in either PDF or similar human-readable format no later than February 1, 2012, to enable OIP to review and clear the drafts for final posting.  

After the reports are reviewed and cleared by OIP, they should be posted on each agency’s website no later than March 12, 2012.

Training Details

The details for the Refresher Training on Fiscal Year 2011 Annual FOIA Reports and 2012 Chief FOIA Officer Reports are listed below:

When:  October 13, 2011
Where:   National Housing Center
1201 15th Street NW
(entrance on 15th and M Street)
Time:   10:00 – 12:00 noon
Who should attend:   Chief FOIA Officers and Agency Principal FOIA Contacts and any other Agency Personnel who prepare the Annual FOIA Report and/or Chief FOIA Officer Report, including appropriate IT staff

Registration is required to attend this event.  If you are interested in attending, please e-mail your name to OIP’s Training Officer, Bertina Adams Cleveland, at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov.  If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Ms. Adams at (202) 514-1010.

Updated August 6, 2014

Topic
FOIA