Page:Title 3 CFR 2005 Compilation.djvu/230

 Executive Orders EO 13392 (ii) monitor FOIA implementation throughout the agency, including through the use of meetings with the public to the extent deemed appro- priate by the agency's Chief FOIA Officer, and keep the head of the agen- cy, the chief legal officer of the agency, and the Attorney General appro- priately informed of the agency's performance in implementing the FOIA, including the extent to which the agency meets the milestones in the agency's plan under section 3(b) of this order and training and re- porting standards established consistent with applicable law and this order; (iii) recommend to the head of the agency such adjustments to agency practices, policies, personnel, and funding as may be necessary to carry out the policy set forth in section 1 of this order; (iv) review and report, through the head of the agency, at such times and in such formats as the Attorney General may direct, on the agency's per- formance in implementing the FOIA; and (v) facilitate public understanding of the purposes of the FOIA's statutory exemptions by including concise descriptions of the exemptions in both the agency's FOIA handbook issued under section 552(g) of title 5, United States Code, and the agency's annual FOIA report, and by pro- viding an overview, where appropriate, of certain general categories of agency records to which those exemptions apply. (c) FOIA Bequester Service Center and FOIA Public Liaisons. In order to ensure appropriate communication with FOIA requesters: (i) Each agency shall establish one or more FOIA Requester Service Cen- ters (Center), as appropriate, which shall serve as the first place that a FOIA requester can contact to seek information concerning the status of the person's FOIA request and appropriate information about the agen- cy's FOIA response. The Center shall include appropriate staff to receive and respond to inquiries from FOIA requesters; (ii) The agency Chief FOIA Officer shall designate one or more agency officials, as appropriate, as FOIA Public Liaisons, who may serve in the Center or who may serve in a separate office. FOIA Public Liaisons shall serve as supervisory officials to whom a FOIA requester can raise con- cerns about the service the FOIA requester has received from the Center, following an initial response from the Center staff. FOIA Public Liaisons shall seek to ensure a service-oriented response to FOIA requests and FOIA-related inquiries. For example, the FOIA Public Liaison shall as- sist, as appropriate, in reducing delays, increasing transparency and un- derstanding of the status of requests, and resolving disputes. FOIA Public Liaisons shall report to the agency Chief FOIA Officer on their activities and shall perform their duties consistent with applicable law and agency regulations; (iii) In addition to the services to FOIA requesters provided by the Center and FOIA Public Liaisons, the agency Chief FOIA Officer shall also con- sider what other FOIA-related assistance to the public should appro- priately be provided by the agency; (iv) In establishing the Centers and designating FOIA Public Liaisons, the agency shall use, as appropriate, existing agency staff and resources. A Center shall have appropriate staff to receive and respond to inquiries from FOIA requesters; 217

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