2026 Chief FOIA Officer Report HHS

Introduction

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or Department) is the federal government’s principal agency for protecting the health and well-being of all Americans and providing essential human services, particularly for those who are least able to help themselves.

The Department’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) program historically operated on a decentralized basis; currently, seven Operating Divisions (OpDivs) and two Staff Divisions (StaffDivs) administering the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in accordance with statutory and regulatory requirements.  Significant steps were taken during 2025 to streamline the program and create efficiency, including consolidation of multiple FOIA offices into the Office of the Secretary (OS) FOIA program portfolio.

The FOIA program remains a critical component of HHS’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and public trust. By ensuring timely access to government records and promoting proactive disclosures, the Department strengthens its ability to achieve strategic objectives and serve the American people effectively. I am pleased to submit the 2026 Chief FOIA Officer Report to the Attorney General of the United States, which highlights the Department’s continued efforts to comply with the Act, improve processing efficiencies, enhance customer service, and support open government principles.

During the 2025 reporting period, HHS made meaningful progress in modernizing FOIA operations, strengthening program oversight, and reinforcing a culture of openness across the Department. We remain steadfast in our commitment to administering FOIA in a fair, efficient, and responsible manner.

HHS will continue to identify and implement high standards, deploy technology and data-driven strategies, and foster collaboration across Divisions to further improve our FOIA processes. Through these efforts, the Department reaffirms its dedication to transparency and to upholding both the letter and the spirit of FOIA.

Headshot of Rich Danker

Rich Danker
Agency Chief FOIA Officer
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
Department of Health and Human Services

FOIA at the Department of Health and Human Services

The HHS FOIA enterprise currently consists of nine FOIA Requester Service Centers (RSCs)/FOIA Offices – all of which receive and respond to FOIA requests.

The RSCs/FOIA Offices include the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H); Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); Indian Health Service (IHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); Office of Inspector General (OIG); the Office of the Secretary (OS); and Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) serves concurrently as the Agency Chief FOIA Officer (ACFO). The ASPA FOIA Division is a subcomponent of the Office of the Secretary and is referred to hereafter as “OS FOIA.”

OS FOIA processes initial FOIA requests for records in the custody of the Office of the Secretary (OS) StaffDivs, the Administration for Children and Families; the Administration for Community Living; the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FOIA appeals on behalf of ACF, ACL, ARPA-H, and the following Public Health Service agencies – AHRQ, ASPR, OASH, CDC, HRSA, IHS, NIH and SAMHSA. The OIG is the only OS StaffDiv that operates an independent FOIA office for initial requests and appeals.

OS FOIA provides services under the supervision of the ACFO, responding to requests and appeals while establishing Departmental FOIA policies and monitoring FOIA implementation throughout the Department.  The ACFO ensures the Secretary of HHS and the U.S. Attorney General are appropriately informed of the Department’s implementation of and compliance with FOIA.

The following HHS OpDivs and StaffDivs provided information in response to the FOIA compliance and transparency sections of this report:

Operating Divisions

  • Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
  • Indian Health Service (IHS)
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Staff Divisions

  • Office of Inspector General (OIG)
  • Office of the Secretary (OS)

This Department is consistently amongst the top 5 Federal agencies by volume of requests received and processed annually.

During Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, HHS received approximately 55,000 FOIA requests, a 6% increase from the previous fiscal year.  The number of FOIA requests submitted to each of the HHS OpDivs varied widely, ranging from a low of 41 (ARPA-H) to a high of 33,003 (CMS). Though the workload continued to increase, we are proud the Department also closed over 47,000 FOIA requests in FY 2025.

Currently, 302 HHS employees support FOIA on a full-time basis. Although this reflects a 10% decrease from FY 2024 staffing levels, the Department achieved significant programmatic improvements during the reporting period. These efforts included consolidating RSCs to streamline processing, enhance operational consistency, and improve efficiency, as well as investing in technological solutions to strengthen review capabilities and reduce processing times.

As the average age of federal workers rises and increasingly larger numbers of federal employees are eligible for retirement, the Department is preparing for the impact of this demographic trend on the HHS FOIA community through planning to maintain the necessary critical skills in the agency workforce, so that we may continue to serve the public in the best manner possible.

Content last reviewed