The New York State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), Article 6 (sections 84-90), of the New York State Public Officers Law, provides the public a right to access records maintained by government agencies, with certain exceptions. As defined in the New York State Public Officers Law section 86, "record" means "any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or disks, rules, regulations, or codes."
Mail a written request to:
Records Access OfficerE-mail a written request to: foil@ccf.ny.gov.
Fax a written request to: (518) 473-2570.
Within five business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably described, we will send you a letter that make such record available, denies such request in writing, or furnishes a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request. If you have not received a letter within five business days, please contact us at (518) 473-3652 or foil@ccf.ny.gov.
An acknowledgment letter will provide you with an estimate of when the record(s) you request will be available, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request. This date is determined by the number of documents you request, their format, their availability, the time it takes to redact any information that cannot be disclosed pursuant to FOIL, the time it takes to assemble the documents, and other factors.
If the record(s) you request require a fee to be paid, you will be notified prior to the records being released to you. Unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, New York State Public Officers Law section 87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of either 25 cents per page for photocopying of records up to 9 x 14 inches or the actual cost of reproducing a record. The actual cost of producing a record may include:
*an amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid Council employee who has the necessary skills to prepare the requested record(s), if at least two hours of employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record(s) requested;
*the actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person making the request in complying with such request; and
*the actual cost to the Council of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when the Council's information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy.
Once the requested record(s) are prepared, you may receive the record(s) via email, fax, paper, CD/DVD, or USB. Records also are available for inspection, by appointment, on business days between 8:30 am and 5 pm. You may schedule an appointment for in-person inspection of records by calling (518) 473-3652.
If you have additional questions, please contact:
Elana Marton
NYS Council on Children and Families
52 Washington Street. West Building, Suite 99
Rensselaer, NY 12144
Telephone: (518) 473-3652
Fax: (518) 473-2570
In accordance with Section 87(3)(c) of the Public Officers Law, below is a list of records maintained by the Council (February 2024).
* Agency reports, publications, research briefs and brochures
* Contracts and memoranda of understanding and related correspondence
* Early Childhood Advisory Council meeting and membership records
* Freedom of information law request records
* Grant award records and related documents
* Hard-to-place/hard-to-serve case files, computer database (confidential - not available for public inspection)
* Head Start Collaboration Project records
* Kids' Well-being Indicators Clearinghouse (web-based interactive data)
* NYS Touchstones/KIDS Count data books
Human resource and financial records are maintained by the Council's host agency, the Office of Children and Family Services.
If your FOIL request is denied, you will be notified in writing and you will have 30 days from the date of such written determination to submit an appeal. Your appeal must be in writing and faxed or mailed to:
Records Access Appeals OfficerFor more information about FOIL, please visit the New York State Committee on Open Government's website. "Your Right to Know: New York's Open Government Laws."
When submitting a FOIL request, please be as specific as possible in describing the requested record(s) and include your e-mail and mailing address, as well as telephone number where you can be reached during regular business hours in case clarification of your request is needed.
Please note that a new record is not required to be created in response to FOIL requests.