Privasoft FOIA Blog

White House Releases Memo Regarding Government Records Management

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:22:00 +0000

Focusing on records management reform, President Obama released a new Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on November 28^th, 2011. Prompted by Executive order 13589, promoting more efficient spending, the memo discusses modernizing the records management systems to reduce operational costs while increasing efficiency.

One of the primary concerns in adopting digital document management methods is that if data management practices and policies aren’t updated across the board, we are likely to face a major bottleneck in processing, which could effectively overflow into other resources at agencies disposal.

Agency heads have been tasked with ensuring that all records management activities are completed successfully and within all applicable regulations, as well as submitting a report to the Archivist and Director of OMB. This report will contain information of each agencies current records management processes and plans for improvement while also identifying obstacles and needs of each agency.

Once all reports have been received and evaluated by OMB, OMB will be releasing a Records Management Directive intended to create a government wide framework for records management. This includes promoting policies that enable agencies’ to better address their records management needs and expediting the transition from paper-based records management to a digital solution, when applicable.

We have yet to see what the impact of what this memo will be, but any time an Executive Order mandating a move to technology is made, we know the intent is increased operational efficiency. And from a FOIA perspective, we know it is a good move. Better records management processes help FOIA teams receive their responsive records faster by uploading electronic documents right into their redaction and case tracking software for faster review and processing of requests.

While we don’t know exactly where this memo will take us, it seems like it is a step in the right direction for Freedom of Information offices. Read the memo now by clicking HERE.

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Office Posts CUI Registry

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:58:00 +0000

An Executive Agent from the CUI Office worked with each government agency to establish these terms and practices. The result of this work has now been posted as the CUI Registry, which contains categories and sub-categories for CUI.

This innovation will allow for a more efficient workflow among and between government agencies. By using a standard set of designations for information deemed as CUI. This new system will help increase transparency across the board, especially when dealing with interagency FOIA requests.

Advances like this will set a new standard for transparency policies, allowing for faster dissemination of data while ensuring the protection of sensitive data.

Privasoft Earns Silver Competency in the Microsoft Partner Program

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Privasoft is proud to announce that it has earned Microsoft® Silver Independent Software Vendor (ISV) competency. Achieving this rigorous standard is further evidence of Privasoft's capability and commitment to the creation of leading-edge technology, based on the Microsoft platform.

In order to achieve this, Privasoft successfully met Microsoft’s judicious testing requirements and submitted several customer references as evidence of custom off-the-shelf (COTS) deployment in various organizations.

This accomplishment further confirms Privasoft’s technical competency and strategic vision to align with industry leaders and be at the forefront of technology to best serve our customers.

“Our partnership with Microsoft enables us to find innovative technology solutions to solve business problems and keep the acquisition and operational costs low for all customer sizes.”

- Phaneendra Rao, Director of Marketing and Product Management

With Silver ISV/Software competency, Privasoft gains access to a wider variety of Microsoft tools and support for Microsoft SQL Server, Windows Server, Windows 7 operating system and Microsoft cloud services. These additional resources will help to simplify and shorten the development cycle for new features, ultimately resulting in more robust and powerful tools for Privasoft clients.

See the press release HERE.

The Faster FOIA Act – Second Time’s a Charm

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:38:00 +0000

While the Faster FOIA Act is currently in limbo, having failed to pass in the House earlier this year. The Senate has once again passed the Act, and it is on its way back to the House, where it was previously rejected. Passing unanimously in the Senate, the Faster FOIA Act establishes an advisory panel to examine and address FOIA backlogs in government agencies.

The advisory panel will be analyzing FOIA request handling, systems for charging and accepting fees and fee waiver practices in an attempt to reduce handling times. They will also be seeking other methods of reducing FOIA backlogs and fundamentally streamlining FOIA processes. While the panel will not be able to set changes in place, it will be providing Congress with recommendations, which could be acted upon on a Congressional level.

The Faster FOIA Act ultimately has the potential to affect all requesters, but will have the most impact on frequent requesters, such as journalists and news outlets, advocacy groups, law firms and the like. Currently, less than half of the agencies evaluated by the Information Security Oversight Office have been found to be making steps toward more transparency, as ordered by President Obama.

With more than 69,000 FOIA requests backlogged across agencies and a higher volume of requests coming in each year, change in the FOIA process is clearly needed. Both standardization among agencies and automation systems, such as Privasoft’s AccessPro Suite, can lead to greatly reduced turnaround times which would also lead to rapid reductions in FOIA backlogs.

Privasoft’s Latest Offering: FOIAPro Track & Report

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:21:00 +0000

With new transparency initiatives in place, you only need to search for the “#FOIA” hashtag in Twitter to see many of the hurdles that Federal, State and Local government entities have to contend with. Great efforts are being made across the board, but Privasoft’s latest “cloud” based offering will greatly facilitate faster compiling and processing of annual reports, while at the same time allowing for more expansive adoption of digital FOIA management.

Privasoft’s FOIAPro Track & Report is an online case tracking and annual reporting tool that can easily be used by any office. Its flexibility allows it to work around any of your FOIA offices specific conditions or business processes.

The end result?

Save time and money this annual reporting season. FOIAPro can complete your annual report in minutes, not days, freeing your office resources up so they can concentrate on current requests and avoiding backlogs.

FOIAPro Track & Report allows agencies to accurately track the lifecycle and all aspects related to FOIA and Privacy Act requests while tracking all of the information necessary to quickly generate the year-end Annual Report.

About FOIAPro Case Tracker

FOIAPro Case Tracker is ideal for departments that do not have an automated FOIA case management system and receive a lower number (several dozens to a few hundred) of requests per year but spend a lot of time and resources in producing their annual report.

About FOIAPro Reporter

FOIAPro Reporter is ideal for departments that have some type of system (legacy, home-grown, etc.) to process FOIA cases, but waste a lot of time and money in producing their Annual Report due to inconsistent processing, data capturing and lack of resources.

FOIAPro Reporter is especially useful for those departments/components who submit their information to its parent agency for inclusion in the Agency wide report.

Check out FOIA-Pro.com for more information on Privasoft’s FOIAPro Track & Report. Free trials are available so you can see how FOIAPro will benefit your office with no risk.

Supreme Court Makes Major FOIA Exemption Change

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:09:00 +0000

Exemption 2 of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(2) (2006 & Supp. III 2009) has been clarified due to Milner v. Department of the Navy, in which Milner requested access to maps detailing safe distances from stored explosives. The Supreme Court has made an opinion stating that “High 2” exemptions will no longer apply in any situations. Exemption 2 is meant to protect information relating to personnel, including salary information, health care, training, retirement data and other issues relating to the personnel of a facility. The “High 2” exemption is a loose interpretation of Exemption 2 established in 1981 in the Crooker v. Bureau if Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms case.

In Milner v. Department of the Navy, Justice Elena Kagan said: "Our construction of the statutory language simply makes clear that Low 2 is all of 2 (and that High 2 is not 2 at all . . .)." While this determination was made, the Supreme Court did not order the release of the requested documents. The case was instead sent back to the Ninth Circuit to determine if any other FOIA exemptions could be applied to the information.

The Department of Justice’s release on the issue, found here: http://www.justice.gov/oip/foiapost/2011foiapost15.html, sheds more light on the situation, as well as offering guidance to FOIA offices to ensure that the proper exemptions are used in the proper manner.

How to Keep Your FOIA Obligations in these Tough Economic Times: Privasoft to Host Web Seminar

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:19:00 +0000

With the Obama Administration driving openness, transparency and accountability government agencies and departments are challenged to find innovative solutions to meet these objectives in the current economic condition.

Rising expectations, growing caseloads and increasingly complex requests create a significant challenge for freedom of information (FOIA) offices. Effective management and administration are essential if programs are to deliver responses at levels that meet and exceed citizens' expectations while also keeping costs in check.

Attend this free web seminar to learn how government agencies are reducing request turnaround time and ensuring compliance with legislation by:

• Ensuring 100% safety and accuracy of your redactions
• Avoiding unintentional release of sensitive material
• Tracking, managing and processing cases (requests and appeals)
• Monitoring and optimizing performance; ensuring legislative compliance
• Accurately producing annual report in minutes
• Easily creating custom and administrative reports
• Collaborating electronically and promoting citizen engagement

Register for the seminar by going to http://www.privasoft.com/ » to learn how government agencies are reducing request turnaround time and ensuring compliance with legislation.

Chief FOIA Officer Reports for FY 2011 Released

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:44:00 +0000

The Chief FOIA Officer’s of government agencies have released their annual reports detailing their current measures to increase FOIA compliance and efficiency. These include steps to increase proactive disclosures, reduce backlogs, technological and process innovations and examinations of the current FOIA request processes.

Agencies are also discussing their attempts to promote openness, primarily based on President Obama’s FOIA Memorandum and Attorney General Holder’s FOIA Guidelines. This has included FOIA officer training for increased support of erring on the side of transparency when evaluating documents for FOIA requests.

Attorney General Holder’s FOIA Guidelines require agencies to report on:
• Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness
• Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency has an Effective System In Place for Responding to Requests
• Steps Taken To Increase Proactive Disclosures
• Steps Taken To Greater Utilize Technology
• Steps Taken to Reduce Backlogs and Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests

Some agencies have also been asked to provide FOIA success stories, detailing what changes have had the most effect on their FOIA processing and responses and if they are using technology like a commercial off the shelf (COTS) software to assist with receiving, tracking, processing their Freedom of Information requests.
It is clear that while attempts to increase FOIA compliance and openness are in place, efforts from these agencies will continue to evolve to meet the increasing demands placed on these agencies. Specifically, agencies need to continue making the transition to digital processing to increase efficiency, accessibility and management.

Supreme Court Changes Rules on (b)(2)

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

On March 7, 2011, the Supreme Court, in an 8-1 majority opinion penned by new Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, ruled in Milner vs. Department of the Navy that the agency erred in applying the (b)(2) exemption to protect documents that show the hypothetical blast area of at an ammunition dump in Washington state.

The ruling is significant in that it is the first to limit the exemption's "personnel rules and practices" clause. The ruling indicated that the clause cannot be used in hypothetical situations such as the one featured in the Milner case. However, they did note that other exemptions may be used to protect similar information. This ruling underscored the need for accurate record-keeping with review decisions on documents, as court decisions can force unexpected changes to reviews. A robust redaction and document management software program like AccessPro Redaction can help agencies stay ahead of these situations by allowing analysts and reviewers to access past reviews at the click of a button.

Freedom of Information: A Primer for Ontario Hospitals

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Clow) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 03:07:00 +0000

Last week I had the fortune to attend one of the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) sponsored event titled - Freedom of Information: A Primer in downtown Toronto and I am so glad I could make it. I thought the planning committee for this event did an excellent job in putting this together and pulling off such a useful event in short order given the Government of Ontario brought about the new changes as part of the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act late last year.

It seemed the Agenda was very well thought through and the speakers were carefully chosen to cover all aspects of the new legislation as it pertains to Ontario Hospitals while also recommending a way forward from the experience they have gained successfully dealing with this act in Ontario and similar regulations in other jurisdictions.

The requirement to comply with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act or FIPPA is expected to increase the challenges that are currently faced by Ontario Hospitals in terms of resources/workload, learning period and reporting. But I really got the sense that events like this, where experiences and best practices are shared, do’s and don’ts are discussed, will make the adoption, implementation and ongoing sustainability of the Acts easier.

One of the key elements in ensuring success is using the right technology to process the anticipated deluge of requests so the greater public is served in time and Ontario Hospitals stay in compliance as well as avoid fines/penalties that may occur. All institutions covered by FIPPA are subject to the oversight of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario so compliance will be an important factor.

Given the breadth of FIPPA, one cannot underestimate the importance of having the right combination of resources, processes and technology solution that will guarantee compliance with the obligations of the Act.

As a trusted partner, Privasoft will be there to help you navigate the tricky implementation phase. We have been helping a number of organizations in Ontario and Canada comply with this and other similar acts for nearly 20 years. Privasoft’s AccessPro solution is a perfect fit for implementation of FIPPA requirements for Ontario Hospitals and provides an opportunity to stay ahead of the game and be ready well before January 2012. To learn more register for our web seminar.

Contributed by Phaneendra Rao, Director of Product Management

Open Government in 2010: Taking a Look at Discretionary Exemptions

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:13:00 +0000

Newly inaugurated President Barack Obama's first official executive order upon taking office was a decree relating to the Freedom of Information Act. This executive order was meant to usher in a new era of openness and government transparency. It stated, in part: "The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public...All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA."

In actual practice, however, the administration has found that certain pieces of information should still be kept confidential; an audit by the National Security Archives at George Washington University found that disclosure had not increased during Obama's first year in office. Less than a third of the 90 federal agencies surveyed had changed their practices significantly, and agencies were still strongly defending their decisions to withhold information. The Supreme Court recently took up the case of Glenn Milner vs. Department of the Navy, questioning whether the Navy overreached in invoking the (b)(2) exemption to withhold maps showing the expected damage from a Western Washington Naval ammunition dump explosion. The outcome of this case could have strong implications for how agencies use exemptions like (b)(2) and (b)(5). With more challenges to these "discretionary" exemptions likely, it is vitally important that agencies maintain a strong audit trail of their FOIA case management and document review decisions in order to accurately and successfully defend their disclosure decisions if necessary.

Remembering Soldiers and Analysts

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:03:00 +0000

As November 11 approaches I'm reminded of a visit I had with one of our government customers and in particular a comment that got me thinking about the importance of ensuring the accuracy of releasing information to the public. As part of my responsibilities here at Privasoft, I routinely visit our customers to talk about our products as well as the impact our products have on meeting their objectives - being accurate, meeting timelines, etc.

This visit to one of our defense customers was very enlightening. As we have a number of soldiers engaged in helping other countries around the world, they are sometimes put in potentially deadly situations. And a number of soldiers have lost their lives as a result of these situations.

As part of the freedom we enjoy due to others who have fought for us, we are open to providing information to our citizens when requested. Unfortunately this information has the potential to end up in the wrong hands if sensitive content is not carefully redacted. So I asked our customer what the impact of not accurately severing documents that are part of satisfying a citizen's request is. The response was - "a soldier could die". I paused for a moment and reflected on the huge responsibilities that an analyst has in disclosing this information and I thank them for accepting this responsibility.

As November 11 approaches, think of these analysts. And also think of the soldiers that have fought so valiantly to give us our freedom and to those that are still in conflict areas.

It's That Time of Year! FOIA Annual Reporting Season

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 20:44:00 +0000

The leaves are starting to change, the weather is beginning to cool, and Federal FOIA teams and Record Holders have begun to feel the pressure of compiling statistics for their Department's Annual FOIA Report.

Recently, I spoke to an individual responsible for submitting statistics up to their parent agency for the compilation of their Annual FOIA Report, and they said to me "You know, every year my boss asks me last minute to give information by the end of the month: They want to know, 'How many requests did we get? How many were processed? And then I have to go through all of my requests, log them in an Excel spreadsheet, print out my totals and fax it back to her - it's so much work!"

I asked, “Is it challenging for you to email her your Excel document?” The record holder replied that they had never been requested to submit it through email, but no, that's easy for me!

It's funny how we get so wrapped up in the details of ensuring that our information is correct, that we sometimes forget to take a step back to examine our process too - to see if there is a better way. One could save time, money, and trees. If this one Record Holder submitted their findings through email that might save at least an hour of work and if all the different agencies reporting up to the central agency sent their information electronically THINK of the time savings.

At the end of the day it would free up FOIA analysts so that they could focus on doing what they do best - processing FOIA requests and applying the legislation versus more administrative tasks.

FOIA Officers - Feeling Like a Filing Cabinet?

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 23:33:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of attending a FOIA conference this month and heard some really insightful panel speakers present on Freedom of Information and records management. But a funny thing happened when it came time for audience questions. A woman stood up and said, “I feel like a filing cabinet! I get a ton of requests from the same people over and over. Does anyone else feel that way?”

Her honesty got a lot of laughs from the audience, but underneath the humor there was in fact a serious question – “what can I do about this situation? How can I process these requests quickly and efficiently?”

Given that the audience was predominately those with responsibilities in processing Freedom of Information requests, I'm sure many people have felt that same frustration that this particularly brave FOIA officer was expressing. However, it seems there is generally a sense that FOIA teams should not voice their frustrations with Open Government processes.

Their frustrations over poor document management practices – of having to search
through paper records in manila filing folders with a black marker in hand, while still receiving and responding to these requests for information through snail mail seemed to baffle her. Without electronic records keeping, searching through filing cabinets to do excel spreadsheet tracking and responding to duplicate requests would be challenging to say the least.

Access to government records is heralded as a fundamental aspect of democracy – that we need to keep public officials accountable and transparent. But how can we make this system work better for government official that have the responsibility of responding to Freedom of Information requests with the responsive documents?

For those working in the disclosure of public records, let me ask you this: Do you ever feel like filing cabinet? What do you routinely struggle with?

Stay tuned as we share more FOIA stories.

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Privasoft) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:58:00 +0000

Welcome to Privasoft’s FOIA Blog. Privasoft has been servicing both the public sector and regulated industries with automated case management solutions to streamline efficiency and enforce FOIA compliance. This blog will feature FOIA industry information, opinions, and insights.

If there is something you’d like to see on the Privasoft FOIA Blog, or you would like to contribute, please contact us. We’re always looking for fresh insights into the world of FOIA and how it affects you.

About Privasoft - http://www.Privasoft.com/

For nearly 20 years, Privasoft has been delivering software and services to automate case management in public sector and regulated industries. Privasoft customers must comply with legislative, regulatory and internal requirements and are represented in health care, law enforcement and all levels of government. They rely on Privasoft to redact, capture, analyze, track, process and report on case work related to information disclosure processes. Privasoft is a Microsoft Certified Partner with offices in Ottawa, ON, Arlington, VA, and Brentford, Middlesex.