Section III: Proactive Disclosures

The Attorney General’s 2022 FOIA Guidelines emphasize that “proactive disclosure of information is . . . fundamental to the faithful application of the FOIA.”  The Guidelines direct agencies to post “records online quickly and systematically in advance of any public request” and reiterate that agencies should post records “in the most useful, searchable, and open formats possible.”

1. Please describe what steps your agency takes to identify, track, and post (a)(2) proactive disclosures.

HHS FOIA Offices work with program offices to identify final opinions, agency policy statements, and administrative staff manuals that are required to be made available for public inspection.  HHS FOIA Offices also work with program offices and review their FOIA tracking systems to identify records that have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent FOIA requests.  Once these types of records are identified, HHS FOIA Offices work with digital communications specialists to ensure that these records are posted to agency websites.

Other steps taken to identify, track, and post (a)(2) proactive disclosures included HRSA FOIA’s use of a Find Similar Requests tool in its FOIA tracking System.  This tool provided HRSA FOIA with an efficient method to determine whether the same records have been requested three or more times and qualifies as a frequently requested record.

2. Does your agency post logs of its FOIA requests? 

• If so, what information is contained in the logs? 
• Are they posted in CSV format?  If not, what format are they posted in?
• Please provide a link to the page where any FOIA logs are posted.  If applicable, please provide component links.

Some HHS RSCs post logs of their FOIA requests to their electronic reading rooms.  This includes CDC, CMS, FDA, HRSA, IHS, and NIH.  OS FOIA has posted its FOIA logs for FY ‘17 through FY ’20 and plans to post FOIA logs for the most recent fiscal years in 2025.  The remaining HHS RSCs provide FOIA logs when requested through the routine FOIA process.

Information and Format:

• OS FOIA posts logs in Excel format and includes the following information in the log: requester name and organization, date of request, request description, and request ID.  OS FOIA logs are publicly available at https://www.hhs.gov/foia/electronic-reading-room/foia2017/index.html    
• CDC FOIA posts logs in Excel format and includes the following information in the log: requester name and organization, date of request, request description, and request ID. CDC FOIA logs are publicly available at https://foia.cdc.gov/app/ReadingRoom.aspx
• CMS FOIA posts logs in PDF format and includes the following information in the log: the document ID, original date of release, the subject or description of the document, public status of the request, request category, and organization of the requester.  CMS FOIA logs are publicly available at https://www.cms.gov/medicare/regulations-guidance/legislation/freedom-information-act-foia-service-center/reading-room
• FDA FOIA posts logs in Excel format and includes the following information in the log: control number, date received, requester organization name, and subject of the request.  FDA FOIA logs are publicly available at https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/freedom-information/fda-foia-logs
• HRSA FOIA posts logs in Excel format and includes the following information in the log: the FOIA tracking number, date received, date closed (if applicable), subject of the request (redacted as necessary), and the release type.  HRSA FOIA logs are publicly available at https://www.hrsa.gov/foia/electronic-reading
• IHS FOIA posts logs in Excel format and includes the following information in the log: case number, request date, received date, perfected date, intake type, status, fee category, requester name, requestor organization, short description, processing track, closed date, disposition and granted.  IHS FOIA logs are publicly available at https://www.ihs.gov/FOIA/readingroom/
• NIH FOIA posts logs in Excel and PDF format and includes the following information in the log: case number, requester’s organization name, request description, and date received.  NIH FOIA logs are publicly available at https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/freedom-information-act-office/nih-foia-log

3. Provide examples of any material (with links) that your agency has proactively disclosed during the past reporting year, including records that have been requested and released three or more times in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2)(D).

ACF:

• The Unaccompanied Children Program Manual of Procedures (MAP): https://www.acf.hhs.gov/e-reading-room#frequently

CDC:

• Proactively disclosed records to its Public Access Link Reading Room on various health topics including Mpox, COVID-19, male circumcision, avian flu, and Gordonia bronchialis: https://foia.cdc.gov/app/ReadingRoom.aspx

CMS has made available Medicare Cost Report Data; Medicare enrollment and eligibility data; Nursing Home Provider data; and Medicaid Unwinding data releases (e.g., data on enrollment, Medicaid and CHIP metrics, State-based Marketplace Medicaid Unwinding Reports and Healthcare.gov Marketplace Medicaid Unwinding Reports).

FDA:

• Compliance Letters - https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/compliance-actions-and-activities/warning-letters
• Medical Device Adverse Events - https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfmaude/search.cfm
• Inspections Database - https://datadashboard.fda.gov/ora/cd/inspections.htm
• FAERS Dashboard (human drug adverse events) - https://www.fda.gov/drugs/fdas-adverse-event-reporting-system-faers/fda-adverse-event-reporting-system-faers-public-dashboard
• Proactively disclosed records to its electronic reading room on various health and safety topics including COVID-19 and infant formula - https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/freedom-information/electronic-reading-room

HRSA:

• HRSA Reading Room:  https://www.hrsa.gov/foia/electronic-reading.html
• Health Center Data and Reporting:  https://bphc.hrsa.gov/data-reporting
• Unifor Data System Resources (UDS): https://bphc.hrsa.gov/data-reporting/uds-training-and-technical-assistance
• HRSA Data Warehouse: https://data.hrsa.gov/
• Office of Pharmacy Affairs 340B Database: https://340bopais.hrsa.gov/
• National Practitioner Data Bank: https://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/

IHS FOIA has proactively posted medical coding information (5 years of searchable data) and the open Dumps Line Listing:

• Albuquerque ICD Counts SU facilities FY 2023 Redacted [XLSX - 1.3 MB]
• Nashville ICD Counts SU facilities FY 2023 Redacted [XLSX - 101 KB]
• Navajo ICD Counts SU facilities FY 2023 Redacted [XLSX - 1.5 MB]
• Oklahoma ICD Counts SU facilities FY 2023 Redacted [XLSX - 2.2 MB]
• Phoenix ICD Counts SU facilities FY 2023 Redacted [XLSX - 2.1 MB]
• Portland ICD Counts SU facilities FY 2023 Redacted [XLSX - 416 KB]
• FY 2023 National Top ICD and pop [XLSX - 57 MB]
• FY 2023 Regional Top ICD and pop [XLSX - 27 MB]
• 24-120 Open Dumps Line Listing (Snapshot 20074 (12_01_2023) 

NIH:

The Office of the Director regularly updates proactive disclosures in the NIH FOIA Library, found here: https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/freedom-information-act-office/nih-foia-library

ORS News2Use newsletter provides a lot of useful information and is publicly available on our website.  (https://news2use.ors.nih.gov/Pages/default.aspx) It is published quarterly.

Other NIH Institutes and Centers proactively posted a large volume of records in 2024.  A sampling of those records is listed below, organized by center and institute:

Center for Scientific Review:

• Review Matters Blog: https://www.csr.nih.gov/reviewmatters/
• CSR Advisory Council Information (Agenda, minutes, video, roster etc.): https://public.csr.nih.gov/AboutCSR/Organization/CSRAdvisoryCouncil
• Study section information, rosters, and meetings dates: https://public.csr.nih.gov/StudySections  https://public.csr.nih.gov/RevPanelsAndDates
• CSR news and Policy:  https://public.csr.nih.gov/NewsAndPolicy
• X Account: https://x.com/CSRpeerreview

Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives/Office of Research Infrastructure Programs:

• X feed at homepage: https://orip.nih.gov/

Fogarty International Center:

• News and feature articles about Fogarty’s programs and grantee successes, scientific publications etc.: https://www.fic.nih.gov/News/Pages/News.aspx
• Weekly funding newsletter including items of interest to global health researchers: http://www.fic.nih.gov/Funding/News/
• Commentary and publications by Fogarty Director: https://www.fic.nih.gov/About/Pages/director-bio.aspx
• Newly funded grants and awards: http://www.fic.nih.gov/Grants/Search/Pages/search-grants.aspx 

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences:

• Annual reports, which can be found on the right rail and bottom at https://ncats.nih.gov/about/center
• Translational Science Education and Training: https://ncats.nih.gov/training-education
• Funded activitiesunder the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program: https://ncats.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/CTSA-Program-Funded-Activities-and-Other-Sources-Final-FY23_508.pdf
• NCATS Strategic Plan: https://ncats.nih.gov/about/ncats-overview/strategic-plan
• NCATSToolkit for Patient-Focused Therapy Development:https://ncats.nih.gov/toolkit
• E-Newsletter: https://ncats.nih.gov/enews
• Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncats.nih.gov
• X Account:https://x.com/ncats_nih_gov
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-center-for-advancing-translational-science-ncats
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ncatsmedia

National Institute on Aging:

• Budgets and testimony: https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/budget
• Inside NIA Blog: https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/blog
• Payline information and policies: https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/grants-funding/nia-specific-funding-policies

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering:

• NIBIB-funded science highlights: http://www.nibib.nih.gov/news-events/newsroom
• Funding opportunities: http://www.nibib.nih.gov/research-funding#quicktabs-funding_tabs=1
• National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering meeting agendas and meeting minutes: http://www.nibib.nih.gov/about-nibib/advisory-council
• NIBIB Congressional Justification: http://www.nibib.nih.gov/about-nibib/budget

National Institute on Drug Abuse:

• The NIDA Data Share web site (https://datashare.nida.nih.gov/)

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences:

• Databases & Searches - NTP makes several databases and online searches available at no cost. See https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/data
• NTP Monographs - NTP conducts literature-based evaluations that assess evidence on substances in our environment that may cause adverse health effects. See https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/publications/monographs?type=NTP

National Institute of Mental Health:

• NIMH Clinical Trials Funding Opportunity Announcements: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/opportunities-announcements/clinical-trials-foas/index.shtml
• Funding Opportunities: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/index.shtml

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities:

• Director’s Corner - Director’s Corner -  http://nimhd.nih.gov/about/directors-corner/index.html
• NIMHD Staff Directory - https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/staff-directory.html
• Extramural Research Programs - https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/extramural
• NIMHD Research Framework - https://nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/research-framework.html
• NIMHD funding opportunities - https://nimhd.nih.gov/funding/nimhd-funding/
• Intramural Research Programs - https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/intramural/
• NIMHD Publications - https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/publications/

OIG:

• Agency Reports and Publications: https://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/index.asp

OS FOIA:

• OS published over 600 guidance documents to the HHS Guidance Portal during the relevant reporting period (https://www.hhs.gov/guidance/).  The Guidance Portal helps to ensure that the public receives appropriate notice of new HHS guidance.  OS also posted data, including several datasets related to COVID-19, to Healthdata.gov.
• Additionally, OS FOIA posted a copy of the Deputy Agency Chief FOIA Officer’s guidance on applying the foreseeable harm standard when processing initial FOIA requests and administrative appeals to the Electronic FOIA Reading Room (https://www.hhs.gov/foia/electronic-reading-room/index.html).

4. Please provide a link (or component links, if applicable) where your agency routinely posts its frequently requested records.

HHS routinely posts frequently requested records on Operating Division or Staff Division FOIA webpages. HHS FOIA Reading Rooms can be accessed using the following links:

• OS FOIA - https://www.hhs.gov/foia/electronic-reading-room/index.html
• ACF FOIA - https://www.acf.hhs.gov/e-reading-room
• ACL FOIA - https://acl.gov/FOIA#Eroom
• CDC FOIA - https://foia.cdc.gov/app/ReadingRoom.aspx
• CMS FOIA - https://www.cms.gov/medicare/regulations-guidance/legislation/freedom-information-act-foia-service-center/reading-room
• FDA FOIA - https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/freedom-information/electronic-reading-room
• HRSA FOIA - https://www.hrsa.gov/foia/electronic-reading
• IHS FOIA - https://www.ihs.gov/FOIA/readingroom/
• NIH FOIA - https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/freedom-information-act-office/nih-foia-library
• OIG FOIA - https://oig.hhs.gov/foia/foia-electronic-reading-room/

The ARPA-H FOIA Reading Room is currently under construction and SAMHSA FOIA is working to relaunch its FOIA Reading Room.  More information about the ARPA-H FOIA program can be found at https://arpa-h.gov/freedom-of-information-act and information about the SAMHSA FOIA program can be found at https://www.samhsa.gov/about/laws-regulations-policies/freedom-information-act.

In addition, HHS Operating Divisions and Staff Divisions routinely post frequently requested records to program office websites.

Some examples include:

• CMS program office postings include records related to:
  • Medicare Cost Report Data: https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/cost-reports/cost-reports-fiscal-year/hospital-2010-fy-2024
  • Medicare Enrollment Data:  https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/medicare-advantagepart-d-contract-and-enrollment-data/monthly-pdp-enrollment-state-county-plan-type/pdp-enrollment-scp-2024-05
  • Nursing Home Updates: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/health-safety-standards/quality-safety-oversight-general-information/policy-memos-states-and-cms-locations/nursing-home-data-and-care-compare-updates
  • CMS Data: https://www.cms.gov/data-research
• FDA program office postings include records related to:
  • U.S. domestic and foreign inspections - https://datadashboard.fda.gov/ora/cd/inspections.htm
  • The FDA Adverse Events Reporting System Public Dashboard - https://www.fda.gov/drugs/fdas-adverse-event-reporting-system-faers/fda-adverse-event-reporting-system-faers-public-dashboard
• HRSA program office postings include records related to:
  • HRSA grant funding - https://www.hrsa.gov/grants/find-funding
  • Provider Relief Fund payments - https://data.cdc.gov/Administrative/HHS-Provider-Relief-Fund/kh8y-3es6/about_data
  • Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program Data - https://www.hrsa.gov/cicp/cicp-data
  • HRSA Data - https://data.hrsa.gov/

5. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make the posted information more useful to the public, especially to the community of individuals who regularly access your agency’s website?  If yes, please provide examples of such improvements, such as steps taken to post information in open and machine readable formats.  If not taking steps to make posted information more useful, please explain why. 

HHS has taken steps to make posted information more useful to the public.  For example:

OS continued to provide high value health data in an accessible manner to the public through Healthdata.gov.  Data is provided on the website in open formats that makes it more accessible to entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy makers in the hopes that the data can be used to better health outcomes for the public.

CMS, where possible, makes data available in .csv format to condense the size of data files, which increases speed of download and transmission.

HRSA has proactively posted records such as its FOIA Logs, the Unmet Need Scores, and Service Area Status Data in Excel format to make the records more accessible to the public.

NIH continued to use the RePORT Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) module to provide the public with an electronic tool that allows users to easily search a repository of NIH-funded research projects and access publications and patents resulting from NIH funding (https://reporter.nih.gov/).

OIG used customer feedback, web analytics and regular updates to improve the information on its website.  In addition, all information on the OIG website is easily searchable.

SAMHSA is working to make grant application records available through the creation of a new public database. SAMHSA is also working to relaunch its FOIA Reading Room.

6. Does your proactive disclosure process or system involve any collaboration with agency staff outside the FOIA office, such as IT or data personnel?  If so, describe this interaction.

HHS FOIA Offices recognize that proactive disclosure of information is fundamental to the faithful application of the Act.  To support that goal, HHS FOIA Offices work with program offices and IT staff to identify (a)(2) records and other records sets that are most useful to the public and make those records available in a manner that is accessible to all members of the public as soon as possible.  HHS FOIA Offices also work with agency communications offices, which monitor correspondence from the public and other outside stakeholders, to gain an understanding of which topics are of greatest interest.  In addition, HHS FOIA Offices work with public affairs offices to promote the release of new records.

7. Optional -- Please describe the best practices used to improve proactive disclosures and any challenges your agency faces in this area. 

HHS FOIA Offices are encouraged to review their FOIA logs and case management systems and to work with program offices and IT staff to identify and post frequently requested records.  However, because a significant number of HHS FOIA resources are dedicated to processing initial requests, appeals, and litigations, HHS FOIA Offices often lack the time or resources needed to identify, review, and post records that are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests.

• Introduction: Agency Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer
• Section I: FOIA Leadership and Applying the Presumption of Openness
• Section II: Ensuring Fair and Effective FOIA Administration         
• Section III: Proactive Disclosures                                                     
• Section IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology                  
• Section V: Steps Taken to Remove Barriers to Access, Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests, and Reduce Backlogs