AOA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ANNUAL REPORT — FY 2010

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT

1. Name, title, address, and telephone number of person(s) to be contacted with questions 

about the Report.

Harry Posman

Freedom of Information Public Liaison

Administration on Aging

Department of Health and Human Services

Washington D.C. 20201

(202) 357-3540

2. ELECTRONIC ADDRESS FOR THIS REPORT ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: 

http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Site_Utilities/FOIA/index.aspx#Reports

3. ADDRESS FOR PAPER COPIES OF THIS REPORT

Copies of AoA annual reports can be found by contacting the responsible component noted in 

Section I.1 of this report, or by accessing the Agency FOIA web page at:

http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Site_Utilities/FOIA/

II. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST

Please see HHS Guide to Information Resources at: http://www.hhs.gov/about/infoguid.html#foia

1. 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

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

Freedom of Information Annual Report — FY 2010 1
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

OPHS - Office of Public Health and Science

PHS - Public Health Service

PRO - Professional Review Organization

PSC - Program Support Center

SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

2. Basic terms (from FOIA UPDATE, Summer 1997):

a. 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.

b. 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.

c. 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.

d. 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.

e. 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.

f. 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.

g. 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 

Freedom of Information Annual Report — FY 2010 2
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.)

h. Full Grant - an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA 

request.

i. 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.

j. Median Number - Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, 

of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.

k. 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.

(A)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.

(B) 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.

(C) 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.

l. 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.

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative 

appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.

n. 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.

Freedom of Information Annual Report — FY 2010 3
o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a request or 

administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.

p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to process 

requests or administrative appeals.

q. 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:

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information

b. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by 

legal privileges

f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the 

extent that the production of those records

(A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,

(B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication,

(C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of 

personal privacy,

(D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source,

(E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations 

or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement 

investigations or prosecutions, or

(F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any 

individual

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells

IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES

Statute

Type of 

Information

Withheld Case Citation

Number of 

Times Relied 

upon per 

Component

Total Number 

of Times Relied 

upon by Agency

Freedom of Information Annual Report — FY 2010 4
Statute

Type of 

Information

Withheld Case Citation

Number of 

Times Relied 

upon per 

Component

Total Number 

of Times Relied 

upon by Agency

21 U.S.C. § 331(j) Trade Secrets Anderson v. 

Department of 

Health & human 

Servs., 907 F.2d 

936 (10th Cir. 

1990)

AOA - 6 6

V. FOIA Requests

A. Received, Processed, and Pending FOIA Requests

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

Start of Fiscal 

Year

Number of 

Requests 

Received in 

Fiscal Year

Number of 

Requests 

Processed in 

Fiscal Year

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

End of Fiscal 

Year

AOA 0 27 27 0

B. (1) Disposition of all FOIA Requests – All Processed Requests

Number 

of Full 

Grants

Number 

of 

Partial 

Grants/ 

Partial 

Denials

Number of 

Full 

Denials 

Based on 

Exemptions

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions Total

No 

Records

All 

Records 

Referred to 

another 

Component 

or Agency

Request 

Withdrawn

FeeRelated 

Reason

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described

Improper 

FOIA 

Request 

for Other 

Reason

Not 

Agency 

Record

Duplicate 

Request

Other 

“Explain 

in chart 

below”

AOA 11 12 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27

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 upon TOTAL

AOA N/A

Freedom of Information Annual Report — FY 2010 5
B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests - 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

AOA 0 0 6 7 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS

A. Received, Processed, and Pending Administrative Appeals – 0

B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals – N/A

C. (1) Reasons for denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions applied – N/A

C. (2) Reasons for denial on Appeal – Reasons other than exemptions – N/A

C. (3) Reasons for denial on Appeal – Other: - N/A

C. (4) Response time for administrative appeals (See chart) N/A

C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Appeals (See Chart) – N/A

VII. FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS

A. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests1

Simple Complex Expedited Processing

Numbe

r 

Pendin

g

Median 

Numbe

r of 

Days

Averag

e 

Numbe

r of 

Days

Numbe

r 

Pendin

g

Median 

Numbe

r of 

Days

Averag

e 

Numbe

r of 

Days

Numbe

r 

Pendin

g

Median 

Numbe

r of 

Days

Averag

e 

Numbe

r of 

Days

AO

A

0 0 0 0 5 4 0 0 0

B. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was 

Granted2

Simple Complex Expedited Processing

Median 

Number of 

Days

Average 

Number of 

Days

Lowest 

Number of 

Days

Highest 

Number of 

Days

Median 

Number of 

Days

Average 

Number of 

Days

Lowest 

Number of 

Days

Highest 

Number of 

Days

Median 

Number of 

Days

Average 

Number of 

Days

Lowest 

Number of 

Days

Highest 

Number of 

Days

AOA 0 0 0 0 5 4 1 8 0 0 0 0

C. Processed Requests – Response Time in Day Increments

1. Simple Requests – N/A

1 Some numbers based on estimates.

2 Some numbers based on estimates.

Freedom of Information Annual Report — FY 2010 6

 
2. Complex Requests

1–20 

Days

21-40 

Days

41–60 

Days

61–80 

Days

81-

100 

Days

101-

120 

Days

121-

140 

Days

141-

160 

Days

161-

180 

Days

181-

200 

Days

201-

300 

Days

301-

400 

Days

401+ 

Days TOTAL

AOA 27 27

3. Requests Granted Expedited Processing – N/A

D. Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Requests3 N/A

E. Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests N/A

VIII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER

A. Requests for Expedited Processing - 0

B. Requests for Fee Waiver – 0

IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

Personnel Costs

Number of 

“Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees”

Number of 

“Equivalent 

Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees”

Total 

Number 

of FullTime

FOIA 

Staff

Processing 

Costs

LitigationRelated 

Costs

Total 

Costs

AOA 0 .04 .04 $2576 0 $2576

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

Total Amount of Fees 

Collected Percentage of Total Costs

AOA 0 0

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS

http://www.hhs.gov/foia/45cfr5.html

XII. BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS

A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals - 0

B. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations - 0

3 Some numbers based on estimates.

Freedom of Information Annual Report — FY 2010 7

 
C. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other 

Agencies and Pending at Your Agency - 0

D. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report –

Requests Received, Processed, and Backlogged

(1) Requests Received and Processed

Number of Requests Received

Number of Requests 

Processed

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Last Year’s 

Annual 

Report

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current 

Annual 

Report

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Last Year’s 

Annual 

Report

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current 

Annual 

Report

AOA 10 27 11 27

(2) Requests Backlogged

Number of Backlogged Requests 

as of End of the Fiscal Year from 

Previous Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged Requests as 

of End of the Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report 

AOA 0 0

E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual 

Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged - 0

(1) Appeals Received, Processed – N/A

(2) Appeals Backlogged – N/A

Freedom of Information Annual Report — FY 2010 8