Freedom of Information Law (FOIL)

The Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”), Article 6 (Sections 84-90) of the NYS Public Officers Law, provides the public right to access records maintained by government agencies with certain exceptions. 

“Record” means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any physical 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.

FOIL requests can be submitted online using the link below or delivered in-person, mailed, faxed, or e-mailed.

Submit A FOIL Request

Mail a written request to:

Records Access Officer
New York State Office for the Aging
Two Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12223-1251

Submit a request for records in person:

Our main office is located at Two Empire State Plaza, 5th Floor, Albany, NY.  Please contact us at (518) 474-0388 to schedule an appointment to submit your request in person. Please be advised records require review prior to disclosure. As a result, documents and records will not be immediately available.

Within five business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably described, we will send you a letter either: making such record available; denying such request in writing; or furnishing a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request. 

An acknowledgment letter will provide you with an estimate of when the records 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 records 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, Public Officers Law §87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of 25¢ per copy for copies of records up 9”x 14”, or the actual cost of reproducing a record. In determining the actual cost of producing a record, an agency may include only:

an amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid agency employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare the requested record(s), if at least two hours of agency 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 agency of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an agency's information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, if such service is used to prepare the copy. 

Once the requested records are prepared, you may receive the records via email, fax, paper, CD/DVD, or USB.  Upon appointment, public records maintained by the New York State Office for the Aging are available for inspection or copying on weekdays between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the New York State Office for the Aging, Two Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223.  Please contact the agency’s FOIL Officer to schedule an appointment.

Under provisions of the Public Officers Law you may appeal a FOIL determination.  If you desire to submit such an appeal, you must do so within 30 days of the written response to your FOIL request. Please include a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response letter you received along with your appeal letter to: 

Record Appeal Officer  New York State Office for the Aging Two Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12223

E-mail:  [email protected]

You will be informed in writing of the decision within ten business days of our receipt of such an appeal.  Please indicate the FOIL Request Number when corresponding on this subject.

The following is a current list of records, by subject matter, that are maintained by this agency.  Some of the listed records may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law. This list was last updated on November 8, 2023.

• Caregiver's Resource Centers
• Chronic Disease Self-Management Education Program (CDSMP)
• Community Services for the Elderly Program (CSE)
• Congregate Services Initiative (CSI)
• Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Program
• Elder Abuse Education and Outreach Program (EAEOP)
• Enhanced Multidisciplinary Teams (E-MDTs)
• Expanded In-home Services for the Elderly Program (EISEP)
• Foster Grandparent Program
• Health Insurance Information, Counseling and Assistance Program (HIICAP)
• Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)
• Legal Assistance for the Elderly Program
• Legal Services Initiative
• Livable NY
• Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP)
• Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (MCCAP)
• Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs)
• Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NNORCs)
• Nutrition Programs for Older Adults under the Congregate Meals Program, the Home Delivered Meals Program and the Farmer's Market Nutrition Program
• NY Connects: Your Link to Long Term Services and Supports Program
• Older Americans Act - Title V Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
• Private Pay Program
• Respite Programs for Caregivers of Older Adults
• Senior Companion Program
• Social Model Adult Day Services Program (SADS)
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-ED)
• Transportation.

Other:

• New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) Four Year Plan
• Area Agency on Aging Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) and Four-Year Plan
• Language Access Plan
• Audits and Evaluations
• Issuances (Program Instructions, Technical Assistance Memorandums, Information Memorandums)
• Contracts and MOUs
• Reports and Statistics
• Press Releases
• Pamphlets and brochures on aging services programs and supports

Learn more about Office for the Aging FOIL Regulations. 

For more information about FOIL, please visit the New York State Committee on Open Government’s website.
When submitting a FOIL request:

• Be as specific as possible in describing the requested records. Include relevant dates, names, descriptions, etc. See suggested language for a FOIL request from the Committee on Open Government.
• Specify whether you would like to inspect the records or have copies of the records sent to you.
• If records are available, specify how you want them sent, i.e., via US mail, e-mail or fax. We may choose to send the records by U.S. mail, if you have requested a large volume of records, for security or other important reasons. We will notify you of any charge for reproducing such records before they are sent to you.
• Include your e-mail, mailing address and fax number, as well as a telephone number where you can be reached during business hours, if it is necessary to clarify your request.

Please note that the agency is not required to create a new record in response to FOIL requests.

Additional Information about FOIL requests (PDF)