Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests
FOIA and Access to OCS Information
Request Records
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
- 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.