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FOIArkansas Project

Public assistance in the use of the federal Freedom of Information Act is available through a branch of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington.

“We are firm in our thought that the act exists for the public and not for the press or any kind of interest,” said Rebecca Daugherty, director of the committee’s FOI Service Center.

The center’s toll-free telephone number is 1-800-366-4243.

The committee also has a fill-in-the-blank FOI request letter on its Web site.

Whether agencies accept FOI requests over the Internet or by fax may vary from agency to agency, according to Daugherty.

“More and more agencies are accepting freedom of information requests in any written form,” she said. Some still insist that requests be filed through the mail, she added.

Federal departments and agencies are required to file annual FOI reports with the Department of Justice, which posts links on its Web site.

An agency’s FOI report lists its Freedom of Information officer and the address where document requests can be sent.

For anyone encountering problems to the point they are considering filing a lawsuit to obtain information, one resource is the Freedom of Information Clearinghouse, an organization in Washington that will guide the public through the process.

The telephone number of the clearinghouse is 202-588-1000. It also is available on the Internet.

Internet links to the federal help sites can be found at these locations:

• http://www.FOIArkansas.com
• http://www.donreydc.com
• A fill-in-the-blank FOI request letter can be found at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Web site: http://www.rcfp.org/foi_lett.html
• The Department of Justice Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/fy98.html
• The Freedom of Information Clearinghouse Web site: http://www.citizen.org/litigation/foic/foic.html