Test Nebraska and Nomi Health records

Good Afternoon:

Thank you for your public records request dated May 8, 2020 seeking records concerning Test Nebraska. Due to the extensiveness of your request and the current workload needs of our staff arising out of the public health crisis, the agency will be unable to provide any response for at least 90 days, or approximately August 12, 2020. Should you wish to modify or prioritize items within your request, please contact our office.

Sincerely,

Erik Fern | Attorney III
LEGAL SERVICES
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
OFFICE: 402-471-3483
DHHS.ne.gov<http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/NEDHHS/> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/NEDHHS> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/nebraska-department-of-health-and-human-services>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Good Afternoon:

Thank you for your follow-up email. There will be a cost associated with the production of the agency's records, and the agency is awaiting one final piece from the program to complete a time and cost estimate. Due to the workload demands of necessary personnel, that estimate will not be completed today, but it should be completed this week. If a time and cost estimate will not be provided to you by August 14, 2020, I will advise you accordingly.

Upon receipt of the time and cost estimate, you will have ten business days to review the time and cost estimate to (1) request the agency to fulfill the original request; (2) negotiate to narrow or simplify the request; or (3) withdraw your request. If no action is taken, our office closes the request. Please be aware that our office requires a 10% deposit on all public records requests that exceed $50.00. See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-712(3)(f).

Should you wish to prioritize or modify items within your request, please contact my office directly.

Thank you,

Erik Fern | Attorney III
LEGAL SERVICES
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
OFFICE: 402-471-8298
DHHS.ne.gov<http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/NEDHHS/> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/NEDHHS> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/nebraska-department-of-health-and-human-services>

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Good Afternoon:

Thank you for your public records request dated May 8, 2020 in relation to TestNebraska. Below is the cost estimate prepared in relation to your request. The first four hours of non-attorney-privilege-review staff time would be at no charge.

Please know that you have ten business days to review the estimated cost, and request the agency fulfill the request, negotiate with the agency to narrow or simplify your request, or withdraw your request. If you do not respond within ten business days, the agency shall not proceed to fulfill your request.

The agency requires payment of a 10% deposit of the expected cost prior to moving forward with responding to the request. Please, only send the amount of the deposit requested as time estimates are just estimates. We will send you the final time and billing amount once it is completed. With the State billing system it is difficult to refund if there is an overpayment because the time ends up being less.

Staff Time
Employee Job Title
Hours
Description of Work Unit
Total Cost
Attorney III
3
Attorney administrative (non-privilege review) migration of data
$33.824 per hour (NO CHARGE)
Attorney III
10
Responsiveness review (non-privilege review) of records
$33.824 per hour (One hour NO CHARGE) - $304.42
Senior IT Support Analyst
1
OCIO email retrieval (actual cost billed to agency)
$80.00 per hour - $80.00
Administrative Assistant II
10
Responsiveness review of records/organize (non-privilege review)
$18.32 per hour - $183.20 total

COPY CHARGES
0 copies 25 cents per page $0.00

TOTAL: $567.62*

* Please be advised the cost is an estimate only. The final cost may be more, or less, depending on the actual time and cost expended in responding to your request.

If you intend to proceed with the foregoing, please send a check in the amount of $56.62 payable to "Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services."

All payments must be sent to Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Attn: Erik Fern, P.O. Box 95026, Lincoln, NE 68509.

Please be advised that the agency has received numerous extensive public records requests related to COVID-19. It is important to note the individuals working on your public records request are the same individuals responsible for responding to the State's public health emergency.

This is a difficult time for many, and the agency is doing its best to balance its interest in continued public health and safety and its duty to timely respond to all public records requests; however, extensive public records requests will require more time to provide a response. The agency prioritizes requests based on the date of receipt. Your request generated over 12,000 potentially relevant emails. Because each email (and any attachment) must be reviewed to determine if it is a responsive record, the agency will require several months to provide a final response to your request. After all responsive records are identified, those records must be reviewed by the program to ensure no improper information is released. Given the volume of your request and the current workloads of our staff, the agency expects to be able to fulfill or provide an answer to your request by December 1, 2020. Based on the expected timeline, please let me know if the agency's expected response remains timely based upon your needs and if your request should be fulfilled. If the information is available prior to the estimated date, it will be promptly sent to you upon payment of the full balance of the costs.

Note: After conferring with members of the agency, some of the information you seek may be within the custody of this agency (in the form of emails); however, the bulk of the TestNebraska information, equipment procurement, and related matters would be in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services (DAS). If you seek records from DAS, you should send your request to AS Legal Services, 1526 K Street, Ste. 140 Lincoln, NE 68508; Tel. (402) 471-1405.

Should you desire to modify or prioritize your request, please contact our office.

Erik Fern | Attorney III
LEGAL SERVICES
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
OFFICE: 402-471-8298
DHHS.ne.gov<http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/NEDHHS/> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/NEDHHS> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/nebraska-department-of-health-and-human-services>

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

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