Regarding the FOIA
requests:
(UPDATED APRIL 17th, 2009, SO CHECK
BELOW FOR MORE INFO AND AMMO!)
The problem is NOT so much in actually getting the
information delivered from county agent...
The problem is in HOW to start contacting all
of the people, once you get the information...
You will be provided, for each "child support
obligor" (i.e., noncustodial parent), with at least the person's full name, last known address,
and last known telephone number. You *may* also be
provided with last known employment address and/or phone number.
However, even many of the smaller counties in this
country still have **thousands** of Title IV-D "obligors" in their child support
database, which 95-99% should be in electronic form by now (as has
been required by the federal OCSE [Office of Child Support Enforcement] for
several years...).
The larger counties in this country will have
**tens of thousands** of Title IV-D obligors in their child support
database.
YOU MUST ORGANIZE WITH
OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR STATE AND IN YOUR OWN COUNTIES!!!
Again, you will receive thousands and thousands of contact
information records. You will never be able to contact all of
these noncustodial parents by yourself, whether by calling,
writing, visiting door-to-door, or even doing Internet searches trying to locate
new telephone numbers and addresses for people listed (like, at http://www.zabasearch.com).
Since there is no reason for
**multiple** people to inundate any one particular county with several FOIA
requests for the exact same information dump, the suggested start
of organization is to volunteer to "handle" the FOIA request
for a given county (like, your county...), by becoming a "county coordinator".
Please feel free to contact our coordinator for your state (see http://www.unitedcivilrights.org/statechapters.html), and "register" yourself for handling the FOIA request for a
certain county, or maybe a couple of counties... One of the state Directors can help
coordinate this process, so that it does not get redundant, wasteful, and
basically crazy! If there is any leadership openings for *your* state yet, please
volunteer!
For many of you, simply start by filing your FOIA
requests with a couple/few of your local counties. Once you start receiving back
the information, then begin spreading the word, and enlisting those you have
contacted to help you spread the word. It's like the old Calgon commercial
slogan from years ago: "I told two friends, and they told two friends, and so
on, and so on..."
With only 20 days allowed for the state (county)
Title IV-D agents (i.e., federal agents, that's why
the FOIA works!), and with some diligent amount of initial phone calls, a
realistic 70-80% of this nation's noncustodial parents (i.e., 70-80% of some 25
million noncustodials!!) can be awakened to support our collective causes, and
actually win this war, within a matter of only several weeks!!!
Step 1: DOWNLOAD THIS FOIA TEMPLATE,
IN MICROSOFT WORD FORMAT:
(right-click on the above link, and "Save Target
As")
You may also download this official 30-some page
FOIA manual, in Adobe PDF format, obtained from govt sources:
(right-click on the above link, and "Save Target
As")
Step 2: CUSTOMIZE THE TEMPLATE PER
YOU AND YOUR COUNTY:
(A) locate the name and address of the person in
charge of administering Title IV-D in your county. This person, whomever it is,
actually has a federal agent ID#. See this webpage for an example of the people
responsible in the Indiana counties. Their federal agent ID#s are on the left
side of this page:
Here is the official start page, from the federal
Office of Child Support Enforcement, to help you locate your own county's
information (starting at the state level, drill down to find your own county
information somewhere on that next website):
Put their name, address, etc. at the top,
substituting in the template where indicated.
(B) change the bottom of the template per your
name, address, phone, and email... Remember, you want to provide that person
with every way to contact you, so as to facilitate the process for receiving the
information as fast as possible.
(C) put your certified mail number on the top of
the FOIA request, so they know they are being tracked for the
record.
Step 3: SEND THE FOIA REQUEST BY
CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED:
It is very highly recommended that you send your
FOIA request by certified mail, return receipt requested, so that you have your
proof of mailing, your proof of their receipt, and etc.... you may need this
later, if they try to delay, refuse, or etc... The envelope containing
the written request should be marked `Freedom of Information Act Request' in the
lower left-hand corner.
Step 4: START CONTACTING NONCUSTODIAL
PARENTS:
When you get the information, just start your local
network, by beginning to contact (almost exclusively by phone, or maybe
email if you get 'em) the "obligors" in your data dump provided by your friendly
county Title IV-D agent.
The CORE
MESSAGE to spread to every NCP: they must learn that the basic, instinctive, common sense that
they had already suspected about their own "custodial/noncustodial"
roles are, in fact, the actual USSC law (and, which law the state
court judges routinely violate every day of the week, all over the country) -
that they **already** had custody of each of their
children from the moment of births, and, unless
the state court judge already found them "unfit" to parent -
first, and only by "clear and
convincing" evidence (i.e., the same level of proof that it takes the state to
bring criminal abuse and neglect charges against them... i.e., only
serious child neglect and/or child abuse qualifies to
establish "unfitness"...) - then the state court judge unlawfully and
unconstitutionally **took away** their preexisting
custody, without establishing the USSC-demanded due process
prior to doing that (doing the taking away of
their equal, preexisting share of custody to their children)... this
is well over 50 years (actually, now more like 75+ years) of rock-solid,
consistent rulings made by the United States Supreme Court... and every state
court judge is bound to follow that law, and *must* obey
that law, or that state court judge is acting in violation of the US
Constitution!!
In most probably 98%, or
more, of the custody "decisions" made by state court judges in this country, it
was done wrong, unlawfully, and unconstitutionally... It was (legally,
constitutionally) **never** about which parent would get AWARDED
custody of the children (because, legally, BOTH parents *already* HAD
custody)... The state court judge simply TOOK AWAY custody of only one
parent or the other (i.e., committing gender discrimination, and violation of
equal protection), and did it **without** the constitutionally-required "clear
and convincing" evidence findings of parental unfitness... or even, in almost
all custody cases in this country - without even any suggestions of parental
unfitness, at all!!
THIS is the core
message that must be spread out to the masses, as fast as can be humanly
done, for therein lies the base of the horrific nightmare that continues across
this country... simply because 98% of the people, the lawyers, and even the
judges themselves do not know the real law... and have just been accepting and
"doing it the way it's always been done"... because they all thought/think it is
about a he-said/she-said game to get *awarded* custody...
wrong!!
Another great
way to contact many NCPs:
Almost every county newspaper in this country has
it's own local "legal" or "court" section(s). Typically, these sections list
names of people (the parties) involved in the past week's divorce, marriage
separation, paternity, child support, protective order, and etc. cases handled
by the county's courts recently.
Even **better** - most county
newspapers now have their weekly/biweekly/whatever newspapers ONLINE, and here
is a GREAT way to see a complete list on links to every county newspaper in your
state:
http://www.disastercenter.com/indiana/media.html (substitute
yourstate for "indiana" in the preceding link, or, if your
statename is either one of the longer statenames, use the 1st 4 characters, like
"conn" for connecticut, or "newhamp" for New Hampshire... or, simply go to the
main webpage, http://www.disastercenter.com, and
choose your state in the drop-down list, and click the Go! button next to Newspapers, Television, Radio Links for every
State (about a few inches down on that page).
Almost every single one of these county court
cases involves a "noncustodial" parent who is being victimized unlawfully in one
way or another. If only these NCPs knew there were channels of support
online!!!
READ your local county newspaper(s) EVERY WEEK, and
contact them!!!
WHAT TO DO IF THE COUNTY
AGENTS REFUSE/DECLINE TO PROVIDE THE FOIA INFORMATION:
If they do refuse/decline, they are in very serious
trouble, because there are no applicable exemptions under the law for them to
try and use to keep you from having the information. However, it is expected
that a few counties will, in fact, balk at the very prospect, so we will be
providing more detailed information on THIS PAGE in the near future (i.e., at
about that time range, to be available if needed), for how to deal
with that. There are two appeal processes: (1) a formal appeal
letter, addressed to the head of the "agency", which, in this case, will
actually be the same person or persons that you filed the initial FOIA request
with; and, (2) a federal lawsuit to compel them to "give it up", as the law
mandates. There are very serious penalties for non-compliance with the Freedom
of Information Act, including damages ($$$) in some cases, and so it is really
not very likely that many counties will refuse or delay in complying with the
law.
MORE INFORMATION ON **WHY**
THEY CANNOT DENY THESE FOIA REQUESTS:
You are correct in your thinking that if they try
to deny the FOIA requests, that they are simply out of their minds - (1) they
ARE federal agents, with even an actual federal agent ID #, (2) they give out
this same information - and even more private
information - to various private C$ collection firms, and to private attorneys,
and similar persons/entities, and not **only** do they distribute this same
information for **free** to these other types of **private** persons and
entities, but they actually sometimes **pay the recipients** to receive that
same information and do their "collection" work for them, and, of course,
charging us poor taxpayers for the privilege to boot!!, (3) they post various
and similar personal information on "most wanted" NCPs on public billboards, in
newspapers, and also on their own websites, and (4) none of it matters,
anyway, because federal law trumps anything that they want to try and "suggest"
regarding denials of these requests ostensibly under "state law", or "local
rules", or any other irrelevant nonsense...
**HERE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF
AN FOIA APPEAL LETTER
(right-click on the above link, and "Save Target
As")
If you received a denial letter, check first to see
if he/she/they included *anything* they were required to include by federal law,
like what federal (federal, not state!!) law exceptions under the FOIA they are
claiming to support their attempt at denial, who is in charge at their end,
providing you with specific appeal instructions, and etc., etc., as per the
original FOIA request template located farther up on this webpage. You
should be able to copy and use the majority of this example appeal letter
in your action.
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More information on using this FOIA:
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), enacted in
1966, generally provides that any person has the right to request access to
federal agency records or information. Federal agencies are required to disclose
records upon receiving a written request for them, except for those records that
are protected from disclosure by any of the nine exemptions or three exclusions
of the FOIA. This right of access is enforceable in court.
Under the FOIA, you may request and receive a copy
of any record that is contained within any federal agency’s files and is not
covered by one of the exemptions or exclusions, which are listed just below for
reference.
The exemptions cover:
(1) classified national
defense and foreign relations information,
(2) internal agency rules and
practices,
(3) information that is prohibited from disclosure by another
law,
(4) trade secrets and other confidential business information,
(5)
inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal
privileges,
(6) information involving matters of personal privacy,
(7)
certain information compiled for law enforcement purposes,
(8) information
relating to the supervision of financial institutions, and
(9) geological
information on wells.
The three exclusions, which are rarely used,
pertain to especially sensitive law enforcement and national security
matters.
In 1996, Congress revised the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) by passing the Electronic Freedom of Information Act
Amendments (E-FOIA). The E-FOIA amendments provide for public access to
information in an electronic format and for the establishment of electronic FOIA
reading rooms through agency FOIA sites on the Internet. The primary source of
FOIA-related information on the Internet is the Justice Department’s FOIA
website (http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/index.html), which
contains links to the FOIA websites of other federal agencies.
When you make a FOIA request, you must describe the
records that you want as clearly and specifically as possible. If the agency
cannot identify and locate records that you have requested with a reasonable
amount of effort, it will not be able to assist you. While agencies strive to
handle all FOIA requests in a customer-friendly fashion, the FOIA does not
require them to do research for you, analyze data, answer written questions, or
in any other way create records in order to respond to a request.
There is no one office of the federal government
that handles all FOIA requests. Each FOIA request must be made to the particular
agency that has the records that you want.
For the quickest possible handling, mark both your
letter and the envelope “Freedom of Information Act Request.”
As a general rule, FOIA requesters are not required
to state the reasons why they are making their requests.
If you request records that already exist in an
electronic format, the FOIA requires agencies in almost all cases to provide
these records to you in that same format, if that is what you
prefer.
For noncommercial requests, agencies will not
charge for the first two hours of search time or for the first 100 pages of
document copying. Agencies also will not charge if the total cost is minimal. An
agency should notify you before proceeding with a request that will involve
large fees, unless your request letter already states your willingness to pay
fees as large as that amount. If fees are charged, you may request a waiver of
those fees if you can show that the records, when disclosed to you, will
contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of the operations or
activities of the government.
In order to appeal a denial, promptly send a letter
to the agency. Most agencies require that appeals be made within 30 to 60 days
after you receive notification of a denial. The denial letter should tell you
the office to which your appeal letter should be addressed. For the quickest
possible handling, you should mark both your request letter and the envelope
“Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”
Simply ask the agency to review your FOIA request
and its denial decision. It is a good idea also to give your reason(s) for
believing that the denial was wrong. Be sure to refer to any pertinent
communications you have had with the agency on the request and include any
number the agency may have assigned to your request. Under the FOIA, the agency
has 20 working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays) to
decide your appeal. Under certain circumstances, it may also take an extension
of up to 10 working days.
If the agency denies your appeal, or does not
respond within the statutory time period, you may take the matter to court. You
can file a FOIA lawsuit in the U.S. District Court where you live, where you
have your principal place of business, where the documents are kept, or in the
District of Columbia. In court, the agency will have to prove that any withheld
information is covered by one of the exemptions listed in the law.
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STATE
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT OFFICES
Alabama (205)
242-9300
Montana (406)
444-4614
Alaska (907)
276-3441
Nebraska (402)
471-9125
Arizona (602)
252-0236
Nevada (702)
687-4744
Arkansas (501)
682-8398 New Hampshire (603)
271-4426
California (916)
654-1556 New Jersey (609)
588-2361
Colorado (303)
866-5994 New Mexico (505)
827-7200
Connecticut (203)
566-3053 New
York (518)
474-9081
Delaware (302)
577-4863 North Carolina (919)
571-4120
DC
(202) 724-8800 North Dakota (701)
224-3582
Florida (904)
488-9900
Ohio (614)
752-6561
Georgia (404)
657-3851
Oklahoma (405)
522-5871
Guam
(671) 475-3360
Oregon (503)
986-2417
Hawaii (808)
587-3700 Pennsylvania (717)
787-3672
Idaho (208)
334-5710 Puerto Rico (809)
722-4731
Illinois (217)
782-8768 Rhode Island (401)
277-2409
Indiana (317)
232-4894 South Carolina (803)
737-5870
Iowa (515)
281-5580 South Dakota (605)
773-3641
Kansas (913)
296-3237 Tennessee
(615) 741-1820
Kentucky (502)
564-2285
Texas (512)
463-2181
Louisiana (504)
342-4780
Utah (801)
538-4400
Maine (207)
287-2886
Vermont (802)
241-2319
Maryland (410)
333-3979 Virgin Islands (809)
774-5666
Massachusetts (617) 727-4200
Virginia (804)
692-2458
Michigan (517)
373-7570 Washington (206)
586-3162
Minnesota (612)
296-2542 West Virginia (304)
558-3780
Mississippi (601)
359-4500 Wisconsin
(608)
266-9909
Missouri (314)
751-4301
Wyoming (307)
777-6948
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