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Fifth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan
Commitment Tracker

Commitment:

Strengthening Implementation of FOIA

Full Commitment Text OGP Commitment Page

Progress for this commitment is tracked based on the following sub-commitment(s). You can also view the full text of this commitment.

US0139.1	Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Justice commits to the following additional steps to bolster openness and transparency through the FOIA... Issuance of an updated FOIA Self-Assessment Toolkit, originally issued in 2017, to reflect, among other things, additional milestones for proactive disclosures, use of technology, and requirements of the Attorney 16 General’s new FOIA Guidelines.
Agency & Subagency	U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy
Sub-Commitment Status	Complete
February 2024 Progress	Progress Update: This commitment has been completed Evidence: See previous progress update
August 2023 Progress	On March 9, 2023 the Department of Justice released an updated FOIA self-assessment toolkit. It can be accessed here.

US0139.2	Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Justice commits to the following additional steps to bolster openness and transparency through the FOIA... Leading a Chief FOIA Officer Council working group that will collaborate with the Office of Government Information Services at the National Archives and Records Administration, the Office of Shared Services & Performance Improvement at the Government Services Administration, and the Business Standards Council to develop shared FOIA business standards. The shared business standards will make it easier for agencies to acquire FOIA technology and, in turn, improve efficiency and consistency in processing requests across the Federal Government.
Agency & Subagency	U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy
Sub-Commitment Status	In Progress
February 2024 Progress	Progress Update: The Chief FOIA Officers Council established a working group to draft baseline standards (functional areas, activities, and business capabilities). These standards were drafted, circulated to agency Chief FOIA Officers, and are will soon be made available for public comment on Regulations.gov and announced in the Federal Register. Evidence: Federal Register Notice for public comment on FOIA Business Standards - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/18/2024-05663/request-for-information-regarding-federal-integrated-business-framework-standards Regulations.gov public comment collectioin - https://www.regulations.gov/docket/BSC-FOI-2024-0001
August 2023 Progress	The Chief FOIA Officer Council's established a working group to finalize standard business functions and capabilties for FOIA case management. Our progress is being publicly tracked here – https://ussm.gsa.gov/fibf/#end-to-end-business-table.

US0139.3	Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Justice commits to the following additional steps to bolster openness and transparency through the FOIA... Enhancement of the user experience on FOIA.gov, the Federal Government’s central website for FOIA, by developing an interactive tool to help members of the public more easily locate records that are already available online or find the right agency to submit their FOIA requests when information is not already posted online.
Agency & Subagency	U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy
Sub-Commitment Status	Complete
February 2024 Progress	Progress Update: The new FOIA Search Tool was released on FOIA.gov in October 2023. The FOIA.gov homepage was also redesigned to incorporate the new tool. We will continue to make iterative improvements based on public usage and feedback from agencies and requesters. Evidence: FOIA URL: https://www.foia.gov/ FOIA Search Tool: https://www.foia.gov/wizard.html
August 2023 Progress	After a robust discovery phase, OIP is now in a development phase aimed at releasing an initial product on FOIA.gov this fall. After release, OIP plans to continue to refine the tool and improve its functionality based on user feedback.