Easter Seals Disability Services

Easter Seals Online Network Privacy Policy

Notification of Change
The Information We Collect
Opting Out
Your California Privacy Rights
Correct/Update Your Profile
Aggregate Information
Cookies
Security of Your Information
Tell-A-Friend, Ecards and Personal Fundraising Pages
Links to Other Web Sites
Information from Children
Transmission of Health-Related Data

Welcome to the Easter Seals Online Network, the Web site of Easter Seals, Inc. (Easter Seals headquarters) and participating Easter Seals affiliates across the country.

Because Easter Seals values the privacy of constituents visiting the Easter Seals Online Network, users of the Easter Seals Online Network have the right to manage their own personal information.

You can contact Easter Seals for more information related to the privacy of the information you provide online:

Mail:  233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60606.
Phone:  312-726-6200
Online:  Click here to contact Easter Seals via email. Your request will be answered within 2-3 business days.

Notification of Change
Easter Seals reserves the right to change this policy at any time. Easter Seals privacy policy will be kept up-to-date and clearly posted on our Web site.

The Information We Collect
On many pages of the Easter Seals Online Network -- in particular when donating online, completing an action alert, registering for a special event, purchasing a product, or completing various feedback forms -- visitors are asked to list name, address, and other personal contact information. Information collected is specifically and knowingly provided by site visitors and may include name, email address, format preference (HTML vs. text), address, telephone number, interests and other similar information. Collecting this information helps Easter Seals to better provide site visitors with relevant and useful content.

Easter Seals has partnered with Convio, Inc. to power the Web content, email and transaction processing capabilities to serve our constituents and fulfill our mission on the Internet. Convio, Inc. is an Internet software and services company that provides online electronic Constituent Relationship Management (eCRM) solutions for nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions. Convio will not disclose your name or other personally identifiable information (such as your e-mail address or phone number) to any party other than Easter Seals.

Neither Easter Seals nor Convio store sensitive information such as credit card numbers. When an online transaction is completed through the Easter Seals Online Network, such as a charitable contribution, credit card information is used solely for the purpose of completing that specific transaction and is not retained in the Easter Seals or Convio database.

Easter Seals will not sell, share or exchange personal contact information collected from this Web site with other organizations. If a user has a previous relationship with Easter Seals through another channel (i.e., mail, phone), Easter Seals will occasionally rent or exchange those names and addresses with other organizations as a way of providing extra funds to help support services. If you do not want to participate in this program, please let us know.

Visitors to the Easter Seals Online Network are not required to share any personally identifiable information. Users who do not wish to share personal information when visiting the Easter Seals Online Network can still access the Network's Web pages and the valuable information provided.

Opting Out
Easter Seals provides site visitors with the opportunity to opt-out of receiving our online and offline communications.

If you would like to opt-out of receiving email communications please update your user profile. Email unsubscribe requests are processed immediately.

To discontinue the receipt of postal mail, please contact Easter Seals. Shortly, Easter Seals will be adding the capability to remove your name from our postal mailing list online. You'll need to register as user of the Easter Seals Online Network. Please note: there is a 8-12 week lapse period due to the fact that a subsequent mailing may already be in production. If you do receive another mailing, please disregard it.

Your California Privacy Rights
To review a special notice for California residents only per California Privacy Law (SB27): Exchanging, Renting, Reselling Personal Information, please visit the "Your California Privacy Rights" section. 

Correct/Update Your Profile
Easter Seals offers the option to change and modify personally identifiable information. Upon your request, Easter Seals will remove personally identifying information retained in organizational databases. If you are a registered user of this site, you can access your Easter Seals profile and update your contact information and user preferences by clicking here.

Easter Seals reserves the right to maintain information on users who have had their access to the Easter Seals Online Network blocked.

Aggregate Information
Demographic and profile data (i.e., age, gender, browser usage) is also collected via the Easter Seals Online Network. Easter Seals uses such data to improve marketing and promotional efforts, statistically analyze site usage, improve content and product offerings and to customize site content, layout, and services. Additionally, this data may be shared with third parties on an aggregated basis. Easter Seals does not share personally identifying information with third parties, except to a court or governmental agency if required by law and as stated above in the section titled "The Information We Collect."

Cookies
A cookie is a small text file a Web site places on a site visitor’s computer hard drive. Its purpose is to let the site know when a user visits and to perform certain functions such as saving passwords and personal preferences.
 
Cookies help evaluate visitors' use of a Web site, such as what viewers want to see and what they never read. This information allows Easter Seals to better focus online information and to concentrate on information people are using.

Your browser is probably set to accept cookies. If you would like to turn this feature off, you will need to change the settings of your Internet browser.

Security of Your Information
All credit card and personal profile information provided to Easter Seals or our Internet software partner, Convio, Inc., is transmitted using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption using Verisign as a payment gateway. SSL is a proven coding system that allows a browser to automatically encrypt, or scramble, data before it is sent.

Easter Seals also protects account information by placing it on a secure portion of the Easter Seals Online Network that is only accessible by certain qualified employees of Easter Seals. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. Easter Seals strives to protect your information, however cannot ensure or warrant the security of such information.

Tell-A-Friend, Ecards and Personal Fundraising Pages
If you elect to use the referral service to inform a friend about a page on the Easter Seals Online Network, send an ecard, or raise funds for Easter Seals by soliciting friends and family, you will be asked for the friend's name and email address. Easter Seals will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. Easter Seals stores this information to send this one-time email only. In addition, the contact information will be maintained solely for the future convenience of the individual who provided the information -- to send subsequent ecards or fundraising reminders/updates.

Links to Other Web Sites
Easter Seals has links to other Web sites outside of the Easter Seals Online Network. Easter Seals is not responsible for the content of any linked Web site, or any link contained in a linked Web site, or any changes or updates to such Web sites. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Easter Seals of that Web site.

In addition, please be aware that Easter Seals is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other Web sites. Easter Seals encourages you to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that requests personal information from you.

Information from Children
Easter Seals does not seek to collect personal information about children through the Easter Seals Online Network. If a child submits information through any part of the Network, and Easter Seals is aware that the user submitting the information is a child, the information is not used for any purpose, nor is it disclosed to third parties. Easter Seals will comply with all regulations set forward by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). To learn more about COPPA, visit the Federal Trade Commission.

Transmission of Health-Related Data
Easter Seals understands the sensitivity of collecting and using health-related data. Personally identifiable health-related data collected on the Easter Seals Online Network will not be shared with entities other than Easter Seals, Inc., and Easter Seals affiliates. Any transfer of personally identifiable health-related data between Easter Seals organizations will take place in a secure environment with access allowed only to certain qualified employees of Easter Seals. Easter Seals will comply with all regulations set forward by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). To learn more about HIPAA, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

Easter Seals Michigan, Inc.
Notice of Privacy Practices   

“THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU CAN BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.  PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY”…               OCR/HIPAA           

                     
           Privacy Regulation Text
               October 2002

We value you as a consumer of our agency and we take the privacy of your personal health information (PHI) seriously.  A number of laws and regulations, including HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and Public Act 258 of the Michigan Mental Health Code, protect your health.

1. This document gives you a summary of important information about your personal health information and privacy.
2. More detailed information about how health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information is available from the program from which you receive services.  Or, you may contact our Privacy Officer at 248-475-6400 for this information.
3. If you are receiving services funded by the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority, you may also contact the Authority’s Privacy Officer at 248-858-1210.
4. During the time that you are using services at our agency, we will collect and keep different kinds of information about you.  This information is called Protected Health Information (PHI).  We want you to understand how we might use the information we collect.

The following is some information that gives you a summary of your privacy rights:
“Protected Health Information” means:

• Information about you that may identify you and
• Relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition, and
• Health care services related to your health or condition.

Examples of this may include:

• Your name, address, telephone number and date of birth
• Your diagnosis (the condition for which you are receiving treatment)
• Your treatment plan and goals
• Your progress toward those goals.

Your information will be used to help us to provide you health care services.

• We will use your information when we are giving you services.  We may disclose your information when we are helping you get other services you need.
• We will disclose parts of your information to get payment for your health care services.
• We may use your information to do the business of this agency.
• We may use parts of your information to send you newsletters and other information.
• We may use or disclose your health information to obtain help for you in an emergency.

We may sometimes use or disclose your information without your permission when the law requires it.

• We may disclose parts of your information for public health uses.
• We may disclose your information to make sure our services meet quality standards.
• We may disclose your information if the Food and Drug Administration requires it.
• We may disclose your information to follow rules for workers’ compensation and other programs like it.
• We may disclose your information for court or law enforcement uses.
• In certain situations, we will disclose your information to the police.
• If you are in jail, we may use or disclose your information that we created or received while we provided services to you.
• We will disclose your information if we think a child or an adult who is disabled is being abused or neglected.

• You have the right to look at and make copies of your protected health care information.
• You have the right to ask us to not disclose parts of your protected health care information.
• You have the right to be told when we disclose your protected health care information and to whom.
• You have a right to tell us how we may contact you.  We will record your request on the Consumer Information Form.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE PARTS OF YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH CARE INFORMATION IF YOU THINK THEY ARE WRONG.

BUSINESS ASSOCIATES:
This “Notice of Privacy Practices” applies to all services provided to you by Easter Seals Michigan, Inc.  In accordance to HIPAA requirements, our agency also has “Business Associate” agreements with each organization with which we do business that may relate to your personal health care information.  Each Business Associate must also comply with the requirements of HIPAA, and where applicable, the Michigan Mental Health Code or other federal or state laws and regulations.

ADDITIONAL RIGHTS:
Depending on your services received from Easter Seals, you may have additional privacy protection under existing or future state laws.  We are committed to complying with all applicable laws when we use or disclose your health information.

PRIVACY COMPLAINTS:
If you have any concerns about our privacy    
practices, or if you feel your rights have been
compromised, you have a right to file a complaint  

QUESTIONS:
We want to make it easy for you to make informed health care decisions.  Your Easter Seals service staff are more than happy to assist you with any questions that you may have about your services.  If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact our Privacy Officer at the number provided in the Notice.

Updated 03/02/2010