Use the power of technology to save time and money and increase efficiency when responding to FOIA requests
Since 1967, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has provided ordinary citizens with the opportunity to request public records from federal agencies. In FY 2022 alone, FOIA.gov tracked almost 1 million requests from the public.
Currently, there are over 100 federal agencies fielding FOIA requests, and that number is growing. There is no central agency responsible for fielding requests, and each agency is responsible for developing its own internal processes for responding to FOIA requests.
Recently, state and local governments have also been fielding FOIA requests or their local equivalents. This has put pressure on already strained budgets and processes. Given the mandated response time for federal FOIA requests is only 20 business days, many local and state agencies fielding those requests for the first time may find it difficult to respond in a timely manner.
Using widely available technology, local and state agencies can create FOIA processes that are largely automated. Agencies that work to automate FOIA requests can potentially save time, reduce costs, and see greater efficiencies in collaboration and data security.
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FOIA request process
While over100 federal agencies currently fielding FOIA requests each may have their own departments and processes for responding to them, the basic steps remain the same. In general, a typical FOIA request follows this pattern:
- FOIA request received
- Request logged and tracked
- Records search
- Records analysis
- Application of exemptions
- Record redaction
- Communication with requester
- Record delivery
Agencies without a dedicated staff in place to field FOIA requests may need to factor in this workload around other tasks. Without automation, this could become overwhelming.
Potential FOIA request concerns
With so many FOIA requests coming in, there may be many concerns about fielding them correctly. It doesn’t help that there’s no singular standard for compliance. State and local agencies gearing up to respond to their own version of FOIA requests are left to fend for themselves in developing processes that address the multiple challenges related to FOIA requests.
Transparency
FOIA was introduced to increase government transparency and give citizens an opportunity to understand more about how government works. While that is a lofty goal, transparency is not always practical or even desirable.
FOIA exempts nine different types of government documents from being released to the public, including documents related to national security, information that would violate a person’s privacy, and certain documents related to law enforcement. Agencies responding to FOIA requests must take these exceptions (or their local equivalents) into account.
Data security
For anyone who collects and stores data, data breaches are an ongoing concern. In the US alone, the Identity Theft Resource Center reported over 1,800 cases of compromised data in 2022.
This puts an extra onus of responsibility on agencies fielding FOIA requests to ensure their systems are protected from data theft. The cruel irony is that the more organized your data is, the easier it may be for someone to exploit it, unless the data is properly secured.
How automation can help
In the early days of FOIA, federal agencies were required to manually search for, collate, redact, and deliver documents. Recent advances in technology have improved the situation.
Using scanners, printers, and records management software (RMS), agencies can enhance their records request processes. A 2013 study by the Office of Information Policy at the US Department of Justice found that in responding to FOIA requests, a digital approach using automated tools was able to complete a search for records in less than an hour, compared to conventional methods that required multiple days to complete the search.
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Data storage
It all starts with the records. If your records are stored in boxes on shelves, your processes and response times may naturally be hindered by the time it takes to physically search those records for the files being requested.
Agencies that have not done so already may find that moving to a digital record management software (RMS) solution could have a positive impact on their ability to respond to FOIA requests. RMS solutions allow agencies to store, search, and automatically perform many functions required by the FOIA request process.
Auto de-duplication
De-duping, or analyzing records to find duplicates, is simply a fact of life for FOIA responders, but it’s a necessary early step in the process. De-duping can identify and eliminate duplicate records from a search request, reducing the number of files that then need to be further analyzed or redacted.
It can take days to manually de-dupe a records request. With automation, that same process can take minutes.
Batch redactions
Redaction is arguably the most time-consuming part of replying to FOIA requests. Regardless of how transparent an agency may want to be with the public, there are certain details and facts that must be protected for privacy or other concerns, according to FOIA. Manually combing through documents and hand-redacting each exempted piece of information can take hours.
Automation allows an agency to search for and redact files quickly by redacting multiple files at once instead of one at a time. This could save precious time and resources and may enhance the speed of responding to requests.
Automatic transcription of video files
Transcription is a huge time sink. It can take even a trained typist around 1 hour to transcribe 15 minutes of audio or video. For records containing a lot of video or audio, those minutes can add up to serious hours.
Automatic transcription can reduce that time to seconds. Even if someone has to later clean up the transcription, starting with a complete text file can save countless hours of time and budget.
Automation technology
Scanner
A quality scanner can be absolutely essential for your FOIA request process. Scanning your paper files allows you to store them digitally, where they can be accessed, searched, and analyzed more quickly and easily.
Scanner software with optical character recognition (OCR) allows you to scan hardcopy documents and automatically convert them into editable and searchable digital files. This means that no matter what kind of file you start with, you can easily digitize it into your workflow.
Printer
Even in the digital world, paper documents are sometimes a requirement. A quality printer will allow you to print digital files as hard copies for signature or mailing.
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There is no shortage of options when it comes to printers, scanners, fax machines, and copiers. Automate your FOIA request process with the RICOH C125 MF multifunction laser printer that can do it all. With a printing speed of up to 26 color pages per minute and a large, 250-page capacity paper tray, the C125 MF is built for demanding fast-paced environments. It can handle multiple paper types and offers a reverse document feeder for fast duplex scanning and copying. Click here for more information.
Note: Information and external links are provided for your convenience and for educational purposes only, and shall not be construed, or relied upon, as legal or financial advice. PFU America, Inc. makes no representations about the contents, features, or specifications on such third-party sites, software, and/or offerings (collectively “Third-Party Offerings”) and shall not be responsible for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of such Third-Party Offerings. Please consult with a licensed professional regarding your specific situation as regulations may be subject to change.