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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(AID) 21 DAYS TO RESPOND TO ARCHIVE; OUTSTANDING REQUESTS
AS OLD AS 6 YEARS
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Recordkeeping Issues - AID reported that its database
was not designed in a manner that permitted it to easily identify
its oldest FOIA requests. |
Ten Oldest - AID responded approximately 21 business
days after the request was made; it reported ten FOIA requests
ranging from October 14, 1997 to October 19, 1998. Of these,
six were news media requests from the Chicago Tribune
relating to Save the Children's Mali operations, itemized
contracts and records regarding international food programs,
and related material, including performance evaluations and
financial analyses concerning grants. The remaining four requests
are requests for proposals and contracts entered into by AID,
and related materials, possibly filed by unsuccessful contract
bidders. |
Workload Statistics - Although AID's reported statistics
from 1998 through 2002 indicate that the agency has received
a diminishing number of FOIA requests (down 28% from 294 in
1998 to 212 in 2002), the number processed each year also
has decreased (down 16% from 263 processed in 1998 to 222
processed in 2002). AID's processing rate per year - a comparison
of the number processed to the number received - dipped from
89.46% in 1998 down to 81.50% in 2001 and then up again to
104.72% in 2002. |
Backlog Statistics - AID's backlog of pending FOIA
requests has increased (from 99 FOIA requests pending at the
end of 1998 to 148 FOIA requests pending at the end of 2002).
AID's backlog as a percentage of FOIA requests processed each
year has increased from 37.64% in 1998 to 66.67% in 2002.
Its backlog rate by year - a comparison of those requests
pending at the end of the year to those received during that
year - has increased from 31.29% in 1998 to 69.81% in 2002.
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Processing Time - While its median days to process
has ranged from 36-52 days over the 1998-2002 period, AID
reports that the median days that backlogged requests have
been pending has increased from 149 to 356 days. The 5-6 year
backlog for the Ten Oldest FOIA Requests described above show
that some requests suffer a much more extensive wait, as those
have been pending between 1250 to 1500 business days. No processing
times are reported for expedited requests. |
TEN
OLDEST REQUESTS
AID
Response Letter
AID
October 14, 1997 Letter
AID
October 21, 1997 Letter
AID
November 4, 1997 Letter
AID
April 6, 1998 Letter
AID
July 6, 1998 Letter
AID
July 23, 1998 Letter
AID
October 2, 1998 Letter
AID
October 5, 1998 Letter
AID October
7, 1998 Letter
AID
October 19, 1998 Letter
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