Privacy

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The Washington Community Living Connections (CLC) website is published by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) through a contract with RTZ Associates on behalf of the state’s Area Agencies on Aging and a collaborative of service providers, to be called the CLC Collaborative. These providers are a mix of state and local government agencies, federal, state, and grant-funded non-profit organizations, local non-profit organizations, for-profit healthcare and social service businesses, and professional associations. CLC does not charge organizations any fees to participate in the resource directory and do not recommend one organization’s services over another’s. All organizations and the services listed in the CLC resource directory must meet the CLC Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria.

The following privacy policy applies to www.waclc.org; and https://washingtoncommunitylivingconnections.org. Please review the individual privacy policies of other websites you visit to ensure protection.

The CLC Collaborative reserves the right, at its discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of the policies and terms at any time. Please check these terms periodically for any changes.

Your privacy is very important to us. As a user of the Community Living Connections website (referred to as CLC)), you will have access to comprehensive information and accurate, in-depth details about local services and providers. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible visiting CLC and using the services offered therein. This Privacy Statement tells you what information we collect, how we protect it, and what choices you have about how that information is used. We urge you to read the following Privacy Statement so that you will understand both our commitment to you and your privacy, and how you can participate in that commitment.

General Privacy Policy

It is our policy to preserve the privacy of personal records and to protect confidential or privileged information in accordance with federal and state law, and DSHS policies. Such information will be disclosed publicly only as required by the Public Information Act or as necessary and permissible to carry out official duties. Under State law, these policies do not apply to information gathered for certain specified purposes, such as the investigation of a possible violation of law. Questions or comments about these Website Policies should be sent to the Washington State CLC Team via our Email Your Local CLC Office Directly page.

Web-browsing Information Collected and How it is Used

When you browse these web sites, read pages, or download information, certain information about your visit may be automatically gathered and stored. This information does not identify you personally and includes the following:

• The internet domain (example: aol.com) and the IP address (the number automatically assigned to your computer when surfing the Web) from which you access our portal;
• The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
• The date and time you access our site;
• The pages you visit;
• The address from which you linked to our website.

This information is used to make this web site more useful to visitors, to learn about the number of visitors to our site, and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record identifying information about individuals and their visits.

Use of Cookies

These websites may use "temporary cookies" to track user navigation in order to make the user experience more useful. A temporary cookie is erased when the user closes the Web browser. The "temporary cookie", also called a session cookie, is stored in temporary memory in the form of a text file on your computer, and is erased after the browser session is ended. No identifying user information is collected and stored on other computers anywhere. We store no personal information based on your visit to the web site.

Personal Information We Collect

If you are seeking individualized information or assistance, the personal information provided by you will be used to better assist you with accessing services and supports that match with your individual preferences and needs. It will also be used to meet federal and state funding requirements for reporting aggregate demographic information. Neither your name nor any identifying information will be shared with these funders.

E-mail

If you send us e-mail, we use the information you send us to respond to your inquiry, just as we do with written correspondence. E-mail correspondence, like mailed correspondence, may become a public record. As a public record, your correspondence could be disclosed to other parties upon their request, in accordance with Washington State's public records law.

Contact Form

If you choose to communicate with us through our "Contact" form, we will collect your name and email address, together with any comments or feedback you may have. Identifying information collected through our Contact Form is used only to facilitate our ability to respond to you by return email, and is not otherwise used.

The CLC Online Consumer Care Record

• You do not have to create a CLC Consumer Care Record in order to use CLC. You will still have full access to the resource directory, access to an anonymous self-assessment, and the ability to contact your local CLC office. If you choose to create a care record, you will have the ability to collect and maintain your personal health information and information on services and service providers on a secure site that meets state and federal privacy and legal requirements and ethical standards.
• When you create a CLC Care Record, we will collect the following information from you, which will be stored in your file (which we call your "Profile") on CLC. The following indicates each item that is required as part of the CLC Consumer Care Record:
• Email address (required)
• Password (required)
• Security Question (required)
• Security Answer (required)
• First Name (required)
• You are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that no unauthorized person shall have access to your member name or Profile. It is your sole responsibility to (1) control the dissemination and use of your email address; (2) to authorize, monitor and control access to your password; and (3) to promptly notify us of any need to deactivate your password.
• The CLC Consumer Care Record allows visitors the ability to share select personal information with family member, friends, and third-party service providers in the form of what we call a "self-referral". The information will be used by the provider in a manner designated by the consumer (e.g., send an e-packet, contact the consumer, etc.) This personalized self-referral service is offered free of charge. The following list includes each item of personal information that a consumer may provide to CLC and third parties via the self-referral, with required fields indicated:
• Last Name (required)
• First Name (required)
• Date of Birth
• Email Address (required)
• Phone Number (optional)

Internal Consumer Records:

• In the course of providing individualized one-on-one services to you, CLC specialists will gather information and enter it into the internal CLC consumer management system. This information is maintained to assist CLC personnel in assuring you receive information, assistance, and referrals that match your expressed needs and preferences. There is no need to repeat your story or other the information with everyone you come in contact with.
• It is required that individuals and agencies with access to this information meet all state and federal privacy and confidentiality standards required by law, including not accessing or sharing any Personal Information, except with the express knowledge and permission of the person being served.

Disclosure of Information We Collect

• Except as set forth in this section, we will not disclose to marketers or advertisers any information we gather from you that could be used to contact you (your "Personal Information"). We will consider, and may release, Personal Information to third parties to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order. If you request our assistance in making a referral to another organization in order to receive services, we will inform you of any referrals made and the information provided to them in order to streamline your access to that service. They in turn are required to follow federal and state privacy requirements. For example, in order to process your request for an Independent Living Assessment, we will provide a local community-based provider with your information so they can make an appointment. We will request that each of these service providers not further use or disclose Personal Information for any purpose other than providing you with products or services. If you do not want your information shared beyond their staff and organization, please discuss this with each service provider organization you work with.
• We may provide information about you that does not allow you to be identified to, or contacted by, third parties ("Aggregate Information"). For example, we might inform third parties regarding the number of users of our site and the activities they conduct while on our site. We also might share information regarding the demographics of our members, such as their year of birth, gender or zip code. This type of information is often provided to federal and state funders in order for them to assess the value of their investment.
• We do not compile, buy, sell, rent or trade consumer mailing lists.

How We Handle Privacy Internally

• CLC is a HIPAA compliant secure website to protect the Personal Information you submit to it and any Personal Information retained internally.
• Online CLC Consumer Care Record: We will store your Personal Information in our database for a time period reasonable enough to ensure that the information remains current. We will update our database periodically to ensure that it remains current, and will purge your Personal Information when we believe it is no longer valid or current.
• Our site includes links to other sites. If you chose to visit another site, we cannot assume responsibility for its content or information handling practices. We encourage you to review each site's privacy policy prior to entering into transactions with it.
• Internal Consumer Records: Washington State data share agreements with service providers accessing CLC, must meet all federal and state privacy laws, including participating in training and signing an affidavit agreeing to meet state and federal privacy laws. In turn, any subcontractors of these agencies must do the same. The following statement is displayed to CLC specialists before they access any internal consumer records:
  
  This system contains Protected Identifying and/or Health Information. All federal and state laws protecting confidential client information apply. You are authorized to view only those records of clients who are being served by you and your program. Violation of patient privacy may subject you to substantial monetary penalties and/or civil or criminal action pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 70.02,RCW 74.04.060, and other federal and state privacy laws.

Your Privacy Choices

• Online Consumer Care Record:
• When you create an online CLC Consumer Care Record, you will provide certain required identifying information which will help us better serve you and will help us better design and maintain our Website.
• You have the right and ability to access your online Record and edit its contents at any time.
• Internal Consumer Records:
• In the course of providing individualized one-on-one services to you, CLC specialists will gather information and enter it into the internal CLC consumer management system. This information is maintained to assist CLC personnel in assuring you receive information, assistance, and referrals that match your needs and preferences, without you having to repeat the information every time you speak with someone.
• It is required that individuals and agencies with access to this information meet all state and federal privacy and confidentiality standards required by law, thereby ensuring Personal Information is not shared, except for with those with a need to know, in order to serve you.
• You may submit inquiries about the accuracy of Personal Information that you have shared with us. You may also request to have information removed. When practical, we will, upon your request, modify or delete your Personal Information. If you would like to review and/or revise your Personal Information, you may email or write your local CLC office.
• We are committed to providing reasonable and practical access to allow you to identify inaccuracies in your Personal Information.

We may change this Privacy Policy at any time by posting revisions to our Website. Your use of this Website constitutes acceptance of the provisions of this Privacy Policy and your continued usage after such changes are posted constitutes acceptance of each revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy or any revised Privacy Policy, please exit the Website immediately.

Contact Us with Any Questions

Questions or comments about these Website Policies should be sent to the Washington State CLC Team via our Email Your Local CLC Office Directly page.