September 30, 2000: Headlines: FOIA: Freedom of Information: Journalism: Investigative Journalism: Speaking Out: US Peace Corps: Annual Peace Corps FOIA Report for FY1999

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Peace Corps Library: Freedom of Information Act: September 30, 2000: Headlines: FOIA: Freedom of Information: Journalism: Investigative Journalism: Speaking Out: US Peace Corps: Annual Peace Corps FOIA Report for FY1999

By Admin1 (admin) (151.196.242.91) on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 5:01 pm: Edit Post

Annual Peace Corps FOIA Report for FY1999

Annual Peace Corps FOIA Report for FY1999

Annual Peace Corps FOIA Report for FY1999

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Annual Peace Corps FOIA Report

October 1, 1999, to September 30, 2000

I. Basic Information Regarding Report:

A. If you have any questions about the Freedom of Information Act Annual Report,

contact James Cuffe, FOIA Officer, at 202-692-2103.

B. To find this report on the World Wide Web, use the following electronic address:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/policies/foiareport00.html

C. You may obtain a copy of the report in paper form by writing to:

Peace Corps

FOIA Officer

1111 20th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20526

II. How to Make a FOIA Request:

Peace Corps FOIA request procedures are located in the FOIA Reference Guide, which is

electronically linked to our World Wide Web Site: http://www.peacecorps.gov

A. FOIA Requests are received in the Office of:

Peace Corps

FOIA Officer

1111 20th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20526

B. Peace Corps response time ranges from two days to ten days.

C. Some requests cannot be granted because the records have been destroyed at the

Federal Records Center due to the disposition of the record.

III. Definitions of Terms and Acronyms

A. Agency specific acronyms or other terms: N/A

B. Basic Terms used in the Report

1. FOIA/PA Request -- Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act Request. A FOIA

request is generally a request for access to records concerning third party, an

organization, or a particular topic of interest. A Privacy Act request is a request for

records concerning oneself; such requests are also treated as FOIA requests. (All requests

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for access to records, regardless of which law is cited by the requester, are included in

this report.)

2. Initial Request-- a request to a federal agency for access to records under the Freedom

of Information Act.

3. 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 determinations such as a matter pertaining to fees.

4. 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.

5. 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).

6. Expedited Processing -- agencies 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.

7. Simple Request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places

in its fastest (nonexpedited) track based on the volume and/or simplicity of records

requested.

8. 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.

9. Grant -- an agency decision to disclose all records in full response to a FOIA request.

10. Partial Grant -- an agency decision 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.

11. 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.

12. Time Limits -- the time period in the Freedom of Information Act for an agency to

respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from proper receipt of a

"perfected" FOIA request).

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13. "Perfected" request -- a FOIA request for records which adequately describes the

records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office of the agency or agency

component in possession of the records, and for which there is no remaining question

about payment of applicable fees.

14. 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).

15. Median number -- the middle, not average, number. For example, of three, seven, and

fourteen, the median number is 7.

16. 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 three, seven, and fourteen, the

average number is eight.

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes

A. List of Exemptions 3 Statutes relied on by agency during current fiscal year: NONE

1. Brief description of type of information withheld under each statute: N/A

2. Statement of whether a court has upheld the use of each statue. If so, then cite

example: N/A

V. Initial FOIA/PA requests

A. Number of Initial requests

1. Number of requests pending as of end of preceding fiscal year: 0

2. Number of requests received during current fiscal year = 1,793

3. Number of requests processed during current fiscal year = 1,769

4. Number of requests pending as of end of fiscal year = 24

B. Disposition of initial request.

1. Number of total grants = 1,728

2. Number of partial grants = 4

3. Number of denials = 9

a. Number of time each FOIA exemption used:

1. Exemption 1 = 0

2. Exemption 2 = 1

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3. Exemption 3 = 0

4. Exemption 4 = 0

5. Exemption 5 = 0

6. Exemption 6 = 1

7. Exemption 7a = 0

8. Exemption 7b = 0

9. Exemption 7c = 0

10. Exemption 7d = 0

11. Exemption 7e = 0

12. Exemption 7f = 0

13. Exemption 8 = 0

14. Exemption 9 = 0

**Eight Privacy Act records were denied under Privacy Act Exemption k (5) for

confidentiality protection on references.

4. Other reasons for nondisclosure:

a. no records = 23

b. referrals = 0

c. request withdrawn = 5

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( specify) = N/A

VI. Appeals of Initial Denials to FOIA/PA Requests

A. Number of appeals:

1. Number of appeals received during the fiscal year = 2

2. Number of appeals processed during fiscal year = 1

B. Disposition of appeals:

1. Number completely upheld = 1

2. Number partially reversed = N/A

3. Number completely reversed = N/A

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used = N/A

4. Other reasons for nondisclosure = 1 (Appeal withdrawn)

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VII. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests

A. Median processing time for requests processed during the year

1. Simple requests

a. number of request processed = 1,769

b. median number of days to process = 6

2. Complex request = N/A

3. Requests accorded expedited processing

a. number of requests processed = 0

b. median number of days to process = N/A

B. Status of pending requests

1. Number of pending as of end of current fiscal year = 24

2. Median number of days that such requests were pending as of that date = 150

VIII. Comparisons with Previous Years (optional)

For FY 1999

A. Comparison of number of requests received = 123

B. Comparison of number of requests processed = 111

C. Comparison of median number of days request were pending as of end of fiscal year=

10

D. Other statistics significant to the agency = N/A

IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing

A. Staffing levels

1. Number of full-time FOIA personnel = 1

2. Number of personnel with part-time or partial FOIA duties = 4

3. Total number of personnel (in work-years) = 1.8

B. Total Costs

1. FOIA processing = $58,410.92

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2. Litigation-related activities = $5,000

3. Total Costs = $63,410.92

4. Comparision with previous year (FY 1999) = $54,959.00

X. Fees

A. Total Amount collected by agency for processing requests = 0

B. Percentage of total costs = N/A

XI. FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule)

Please consult the federal regulations regarding FOIA at the following website:

http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/04_1_1.html



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Story Source: US Peace Corps

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; FOIA; Freedom of Information; Journalism; Investigative Journalism; Speaking Out

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