WoodGreen’s Privacy Statement
WoodGreen is committed to keeping the personal information clients, volunteers, donors, corporate members and community members give us safe and confidential.
We follow strict rules set out by law about protecting this information so that:
- it remains private
- it is only collected and used for the purposes described
- it is accurate
This means that WoodGreen will ensure that all personal information is properly collected, used only for the purposes for which it is collected, stored securely and disposed of in a safe and timely manner when no longer required.
Use of Information
With consent, WoodGreen collects uses and shares personal information about our clients (including personal health information as required), donors and members in order to:
- provide quality programs and services to clients
- provide information to other people or organizations with client consent (for example, making a referral for service)
- contact clients, donors and members to evaluate WoodGreen’s programs and services
- conduct program evaluations and to do research to understand the kinds of issues our clients are facing
- contact individuals about our fundraising and membership activities
- recognize donor contributions
- review client files to ensure high quality of service and documentation.
WoodGreen may also collect, use and share personal information with an individual’s consent or as permitted or required by law. WoodGreen does not sell, rent or lease this information to third parties.
Client Privacy
WoodGreen keeps client files on computers and files on paper with information including:
- how to contact clients (e.g., name, address, phone number)
- a description of clients (e.g., age, languages spoken)
- client personal health information (as required)
- information about the issues clients are facing
- a description of the services WoodGreen provided to each client
Only people who are directly involved in client service and supervision at WoodGreen are allowed to look at a client’s record. We have security, passwords and policies to make sure that client information stays private.
There are times when WoodGreen is required or permitted by law, to release information about a client without asking for consent. We will release information if:
- we believe someone is in danger of immediate harm
- a child under the age of 16 is at risk of or has been abused or neglected
- we have been subpoenaed by the court
- we have to obey a summons, warrant or similar order and
- other times when we are permitted or required by law
Clients have rights regarding their confidential record. Clients can:
- ask to see a copy of their record
- ask for help in understanding their record
- ask to have errors or omissions in their record corrected
- refuse to give their consent to share or use their information
- change their mind about sharing or using their information
- ask to have WoodGreen’s privacy and confidentiality policies explained
- complain to WoodGreen’s Privacy Officer if they think their privacy is not being protected
If clients want to see their record or discuss some part of it, they can speak to their staff member, a manager or WoodGreen’s Privacy Officer.
Donor and Member Information
We collect donor and member contact information (e.g., name, address, phone number, e-mail address) and information about donor/member history (e.g., history of giving; year membership was first obtained). WoodGreen does not trade or sell any of its donor information. A list of donors is published annually and donors may remain anonymous if they wish. For more information about our donor information practices, please contact the Executive Director of the WoodGreen Foundation at 416-645-6000 x 4004.
Internet Use
WoodGreen gathers two basic types of information through our Website: “Aggregate Information”, being information from which an individual cannot be identified, and “Personal Information,” from which an individual can be identified.
Aggregate Information: When you visit and interact with the website, WoodGreen and third parties with whom WoodGreen has contracted to provide services to WoodGreen, may collect anonymous information from “cookies” or other automated sources.
Use of Cookies
The WoodGreen Community Services website uses “cookies” to help you personalize your online experience. A “cookie” is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. “Cookies” cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. “Cookies” are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
One of the primary purposes of “cookies” is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a “cookie” is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize WoodGreen Community Services pages, or register with WoodGreen Community Services site or services, a “cookie” helps WoodGreen Community Services to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same WoodGreen Community Services website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the WoodGreen Community Services features that you customized.
You have the ability to accept or decline “cookies.” Most web browsers automatically accept “cookies”, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline “cookies” if you prefer. If you choose to decline “cookies,” you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the WoodGreen Community Services website or other affiliated websites you visit.
Automated Sources
There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by WoodGreen Community Services when you visit our website. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring website addresses. This information is used by WoodGreen Community Services for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the WoodGreen Community Services website.
Personal Information collected through our website:
You are not ordinarily required to register or provide Personal Information in order to access our Website, though certain functionalities may require you to provide personal information (such as registering for a program or service on-line through the website). We collect Personal Information from you only when you voluntarily provide it to us – for example, in contacting us through the website or signing up for email updates and announcements concerning our organization.
Personal Information may include your contact information (such as your name, address, postal code, telephone numbers and/or e-mail address), as well as your payment information, such as credit card number and expiration date, which we collect if you wish to pay fees for services you have accessed through the Website using a credit card.
WoodGreen Community Services secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. WoodGreen Community Services secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other websites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
WoodGreen Community Services may also use your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from WoodGreen Community Services and its affiliates. WoodGreen Community Services may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.
WoodGreen Community Services may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, WoodGreen Community Services may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to WoodGreen Community Services, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.
WoodGreen Community Services keeps track of the websites and pages our customers visit within WoodGreen Community Services, in order to determine what WoodGreen services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within WoodGreen Community Services to customers whose behaviour indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.
Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through WoodGreen Community Services public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: WoodGreen Community Services does not read any of your private online communications.
WoodGreen Community Services encourages you to review the privacy statements of websites you choose to link to from WoodGreen Community Services so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information. WoodGreen Community Services is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on websites outside of the WoodGreen Community Services and WoodGreen Community Services family of websites.
Changes to this Statement
WoodGreen Community Services may occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect changes in legislation, feedback from clients or improvements to our processes. WoodGreen Community Services encourages you to periodically review this statement to be informed of how WoodGreen Community Services is protecting your information.
How to Reach Us
To Contact WoodGreen’s Privacy Officer:
If you have any questions or concerns about how your personal information has been collected or used, please call WoodGreen’s Privacy Officer at 416-645-6000 ext.4455 or by e-mail at privacyofficer@woodgreen.org.
Complaint Process
If you want to complain about how your personal information has been collected or used, you can contact WoodGreen’s Privacy Officer, as above, to register a complaint. Failing satisfactory resolution, you may choose to contact The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario at 416-326-3333.
