As a practitioner in this field I can attest to the fact that most FOIA/ Access to Information requests crises don’t begin when the request is filed—they start years earlier, when no one is watching. They start when records are scattered across inboxes, personal drives, messaging apps, and aging servers with no clear retention or disposition plan. By the time a contentious request arrives, the story has already been written in how the organization has managed (or neglected) its information. If you want FOIA to feel manageable instead of catastrophic, you have to start with the everyday habits that shape your records.

Having been a practitioner of fulfilling FOIA/ ATI requests in two jurisdictions Jamaica/ USA I can confidently say that conclusion drawn in my opening statement is absoultely true in both jurisdictions. The fact is that, if proper structures, habits and policies are not in place in anticipation of access requests, what may well be a simple response can spark a full on crisis and lead to unpleasant meltdowns both behind the scenes and sometimes in public if not controlled properly.

I have found that during my time in this role in two different jurisdictions has given me a wide understanding as to the types of requests that applicants make and how to effectively and successfully deal with the challenges that are presented and in my experience there are many. So below I have put together a snippett of how they are treated and the short listing is by no means an exhaustive overview of the laws and policies surrounding FOIA/ ATI.

Here are some of my favorite tips that has helped me avoid common problems that often affects ATI/ FOIA requests.

In Jamaica

1. In Jamaica under the Access to Information Act 2002 the understanding that all public bodies must designate an ATI officer.
2. A public body must acknowledge receipt of application in the designated manner.
3. A public officer must respond as soon as practicable but no longer than thirty(30) business days after receipt of a request.
4. Where an application is made to one public body for an official document – which is held by another public authority; or the subject body is most closely connected to another public authority the first mentioned authority shall transfer the application or such part as it may be appropriate to that other public body and shall inform the applicant immediately of the transfer.

In the state of Illinois

• For the State of Illinois under the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140), the understanding that all public bodies must designate a FOIA/ ATI officer and post contact information on their website and office.
• Respond within 5 business days); commercial requests get 21 days
• First 50 printed pages free and no fees must be charged for electronic records.
• Log every request immediately (date received, requester contact , description and forward to FOIA officer
• Search all relevant offices systems and custodians; document all searches thoroughly.
• Review for exemptions (e.g private information, attorney client privilege, redact and release promptly .

Proactive prevention

1. Align with records retention schedules to make searches faster and more complete.
2. Review FOIA log quarterly and improve process accordingly.
3. Submit monthly and quarterly reports to supervisor or higher management in a timely manner.
4. Publish FAQs and responses in the approprate section on your agencies website, also review and update this frequently.
5. Check for updates on FOIA/ ATI and train and update records custodians as necessary.

In my opinion the most important means of proactive prevention is to keep your ears to the ground. By that I mean, keeping up with the latest news, whether online or government/ agency bulletins. Many questions often come in based on happenings in the world surrounding your agencies with limited time for you to understand it and may require you to advise and beware of sudden changes that may not come in by any formal channels.