I aimed to FOIA the DC government each day for February 2018. I came close, with 25 FOIAs. The goal was to, as a data journalist and open data advocate returning to DC, learn more about specific facets of DC government, answer curiosities, and see what I could find. It was fun! I learned a lot along the way.
Below is a table of FOIAs I filed in February and their status. I used DC's FOIA platform.
| Agency | Request in brief | Response | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Office of the Mayor | 2017 FOIA requests | Filled | Only Executive Office of Mayor. I requested all DC gov't, which is published at a summary level. |
| Metropolitan Police Department | Incident reports for officer-involved shootings | ||
| DC Public Library | 2017 book circulation | Closed. Referred to Quarterly Performance Reports | |
| Office of the Chief Financial Officer | Recipients of Qualified High Tech Companies (QHTC) incentives and FR-399 for each year of program. | Rejected | Rejected because FR-399 contains income information |
| Department of Health | Mobile food vending applications and renewals | Filled | |
| Fire and Emergency Services | Emergency Response Times | Filled with summary data and closed | Specifically asked for trip-level data |
| Office of the State Superintendent of Education | Child care center complaints | ||
| Fire and Emergency Services | Emergency Response Times | Repeat of 2/6 request. FOIA shared a publicly available data singly monthly statistic. Refiled and clarified. Paid $17.16 for processing. | |
| Department of Corrections | DC residents currently incarerated for marijuana-related offenses | ||
| DC Public Schools | DCPS technology inventory | Filled | Does not include most valuable information - date of purchase and quality |
| DC Public Schools | DCPS kitchen equipment inventory | Filled | Does not include most valuable information - date of purchase and quality |
| Metropolitan Police Department | Marijuana-related arrests and arrestee demographics since decriminalization | ||
| Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development | DMPED project monitoring compliance data for real estate projects | ||
| Office of Disability Rights | ADA complaints for DC government buildings | Filled | Does not include text of complaint, location complaint refers to, or outcome, as requested. ODR states it would be a privacy violation. |
| Department of Education Services | First Source tracking data | ||
| Office of the Chief Financial Officer | Qualified High Tech Companies (QHTC) new hire and relocation credits | Rejected | Made a more general complaint, but rejected for reasons of trade secret / private financials |
| DC Public Schools | Position vacancies at DCPS schools | ||
| DC Regulatory Authority | Reports of suspected housing code violations | ||
| Office of the Chief Technology Officer | Contracts related to the Movement Analytics program | ||
| DC Office of Human Rights | Fair housing complaints | ||
| Office of the State Superintendent of Education | Daily performance of student transportation | ||
| Office of the State Superintendent of Education | Complaints filed to OSSE related to student transportation | ||
| Department of Motor Vehicles | Suspended drivers licenses and reason | Rejected | Would require a new document to be created |
| Department of Motor Vehicles | Tickets given for driving without license | Rejected | DMV doesn't keep this data. MPD would. |
| Office of the Chief Technology Officer | Contracts related to the PA 2040 Phase I and II projects |