OCS: Freedom of Information Act Requests

About

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

The Office of Children’s Services (OCS) is committed to openness and transparency and strictly complies with FOIA (§2.2-3700 through §2.2-3714 of the Code of Virginia). In the interest of open government, OCS works in a spirit of cooperation with FOIA requesters.

FOIA and Access to OCS Information
The Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council
OCS’s Response to Your Request
Cost and Exemptions
Request Records

To request records from OCS, contact:

Office of Children's Services
ATTN: FOIA Request
1604 Santa Rosa Rd., Suite 137
Richmond, Virginia 23229
Phone: 804-662-9815
e-mail: please click here

FOIA and Access to OCS Information

FOIA guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public meetings and public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees.
A public record is any writing or recording – regardless of whether it is in a paper, electronic, audio, video or other format – that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees, or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open and may only be withheld if a specific, statutory exemption applies.
FOIA provides for the right to: request to inspect and/or receive copies of public records, request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance, file a petition in district or circuit court regarding FOIA violations.
You may request records by U.S. mail, fax, email, in person, or over the phone. FOIA does not require that your request be in writing, nor do you need to specifically state that you are requesting records under FOIA. Your request must ask for existing records or documents and identify the records you are seeking with "reasonable specificity."
FOIA gives you a right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to a situation where you are asking general questions about the work of OCS.

OCS’s Response to Your Request

OCS must respond to your request within five working days of receiving it. The five-day period does not include the day the request is received, weekends, or holidays.
The reason behind your request for public records from OCS is not relevant, and public bodies cannot ask you why you want the records before we respond to your request. FOIA however, does allow OCS to ask you to provide your name and legal address.
FOIA requires that OCS make one of the following responses to your request within the five-day time period:
1. We provide you with the records that you have requested in their entirety.
2. We withhold all of the records that you have requested, because all of the records are subject to a specific statutory exemption. If all of the records are being withheld, we must send you a response in writing. That writing must identify the volume and subject matter of the records being withheld, and state the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows us to withhold the records.
3. We provide some of the records that you have requested, but withhold other records. We cannot withhold an entire record if only a portion of it is subject to an exemption. In that instance, we may redact the portion of the record that may be withheld, and must provide you with the remainder of the record. We must provide you with a written response stating the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows portions of the requested records to be withheld.
4. If it is practically impossible for OCS to respond to your request within the five-day period, we must state this in writing, explaining the conditions that make the response impossible. This will allow us seven additional working days to respond to your request, giving us a total of 12 working days to respond to your request.
If you make a request for a very large number of records, and we feel that we cannot provide the records to you within 12 days without disrupting our other organizational responsibilities, we may petition the court for additional time to respond to your request. However, FOIA requires that we make a reasonable effort to reach an agreement with you concerning the production or the records before we go to court to ask for more time.

Cost and Exemptions

Cost

You may have to pay for the records that you request from OCS. FOIA allows public bodies to charge for the actual costs of responding to FOIA requests. This would include items like staff time spent searching for the requested records, copying costs, or any other costs directly related to supplying the requested records. It cannot include general overhead costs.
If we estimate that it will cost more than $200 to respond to your request, we may require you to pay a deposit before proceeding with your request.
You may request that we estimate in advance the charges for supplying the records that you have requested. This will allow you to know about any costs upfront, or give you the opportunity to modify your request in an attempt to lower the estimated costs.

Exemptions

The Code of Virginia allows any public body to withhold certain records from public disclosure based upon certain legal exemptions. OCS commonly withholds records subject to the following exemptions:

Personnel records (§ 2.2-3705.1 (1) of the Code of Virginia)
Records subject to attorney-client privilege (§ 2.2-3705.1 (2)) or attorney work product (§ 2.2-3705.1 (3))
Vendor proprietary information (§ 2.2-3705.1 (6))
Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded (§ 2.2-3705.1 (12))
Records generated by local FAPT teams and temporarily in the possession of the Office (§ 2.2-3703.3) unless related to aggregate data that does not identify individual children or families.
Medical and Mental records (§ 2.2-3705 (5)) unless related to aggregate data that does not identify individual children or families.

About

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

Request Records

FOIA and Access to OCS Information

OCS’s Response to Your Request

Cost and Exemptions