How are Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) contacts and officers created and retained? What impact does their career paths have on open government principles such as FOIA directives, policies and guidelines communicated by the President of the United States and the Attorney General?

Abstract

The Freedom of Information Act is a federal law that allows US citizens access to records and this act is enforceable in court. There are FOIA professionals that are full-time dedicated employees and others that are part-time or executing FOIA duties as collateral duty. Scholarly literature exist on FOIA operations, FOIA processes and even about the history of FOIA as well as legal issues of FOIA; however, there has been no scholarly discussion about the FOIA officer and the duties, challenges and life of a FOIA professional. The purpose of this study is to identify what trends or conclusions can be made about federal agencies' struggles executing President Obama's guidance on increased access to public records by looking at the human resource perspective of the FOIA government official by exploring the research questions centering on human resource issues such as recruitment, training, retention, career progression and even resources.