Mishandling FOIA Requests Can Be Costly for State Governments

Automation software can prevent unnecessary costs to state and local governments.

Arlington, VA, January 06, 2010

Privasoft Offers a Solution
FOIA case management automation software can prevent unnecessary costs to state and local governments. The Obama administration has been pushing for a more transparent government and increased FOIA compliance, and for good reason. The general attitude towards an open-government on all levels, Federal, State, and Local, is quite costly for taxpayers. Many lawsuits are filed every year against government agencies on all levels for a lack of FOIA compliance. The lack of compliance is typically due to lost or delayed FOIA requests.

Due to an increasing number of FOIA requests every year, backlogs are becoming a real problem for most agencies. Using manual redaction techniques as well as inadequate request tracking has already caused huge backlogs in many agencies. These backlogs must be addressed soon, as the number of FOIA requests will continue to increase.

Washington - The Department of Social and Health Services is paying the price for withholding public records related to a foster care abuse case. The public records in question were requested in preparation for a civil suit against DSHS. The department claims the records were not withheld intentionally, and has announced that the department has plans to make the transition to a "centralized records-request tracking system."

This is an excellent example of the need for stronger FOIA compliance. Washington's DSHS has seen the dire effects caused by FOIA non-compliance, after their $525,001 settlement for this case. This settlement alone could have more than covered the cost of implementing a centralized records-request tracking system, which can greatly increase the efficiency of the operation to address the ever-increasing number of FOIA requests made each year.

Chicago - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has stated that as of January 1, 2010, the state courts will have the ability to impose penalties of $2,500-$5,000 on public agencies who withhold public information or close meetings unnecessarily. Previously, there were no real consequences to a lack of FOIA compliance in Chicago, but due to revisions to the state's Freedom of Information (FOIA) and Open Meetings Acts, the penalties could tally up significantly.

While these instances show a slow progression towards actual FOIA compliance, many agencies on all levels are making no effort to modernize their FOIA processing systems. Instead of wasting money and time with legal issues, while also maintaining huge backlogs, agencies need to make the transition to digital FOIA processing.

Privasoft, a company out of Arlington, VA, offers an easily integrated solution that can help ensure FOIA compliance across the board. Privasoft's AccessPro Suite provides a management system designed to eliminate lost FOIA requests as well as delays. The AccessPro Suite can be custom tailored to fit the unique process of any office by Privasoft's FOIA experts.

AccessPro Case Management is an automated case management system that allows agencies to easily track FOIA requests, ensure accountability, and maintain an adequate time-line to fill the request. AccessPro Redaction is document imaging and manipulation software used to electronically redact exempted content from documents being released to the public. When combined with the rest of Privasoft's AccessPro Suite, agencies utilizing this new technology can drastically increase their efficiency when addressing FOIA requests. The AccessPro Suite also generates reports instantly, saving an agency's management team a considerable amount of time and increasing accountability.

In addition to speeding up an agency's ability to process FOIA requests, there are also environmental advantages to utilizing Privasoft's AccessPro Suite. Ontario's Ministry of the Environment (MoE) has been recognized multiple times for their application of Privasoft's AccessPro Suite, and the resulting environmental benefits. The MoE was recently awarded both the "Green Technology Award" and the "Diamond Award" at Showcase Ontario 2009. The Canadian Governmental agency was able to drastically increase their FOIA compliance and reduce their paper usage by 90%, from nearly 1 million sheets to less than 100,000 annually.

Privasoft regularly provides free web seminars and software demonstrations. Government agencies, private companies that deal with FOIA, and interested tax-payers can take part in these web seminars for a better understanding of the software's capabilities, and how it can be customized to fit any business process.

About Privasoft

For nearly 20 years, Privasoft has been delivering software and services to automate case management in the 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 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.