Andrew Fleck Child Care Services (AFCCS) has always been committed to the protection of the personal information of its clients, partners and other stakeholders. On January 1, 2004, the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) began to apply to provincially regulated organizations that collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of commercial activity. AFCCS has developed the following Privacy Policy in order to ensure compliance with PIPEDA, as well as to inform individuals of our continuing commitment to the protection of their personal information.

What is personal information?

Personal information includes any factual or subjective information, recorded or not, about an identifiable individual. This includes information in any form such as a person’s e-mail address, food allergies, person’s age, home address and so on. It does not include the name, title or business address or business telephone number of an employee of an organization.

Who is responsible for protecting the personal information collected, used and disclosed by AFCCS?

The Executive Director of AFCCS is the Privacy Officer for the organization and is responsible for ensuring compliance with PIPEDA and with this Privacy Policy. Other individuals, such as program managers and certain staff may be delegated to either act on behalf of the Privacy Officer or to take responsibility for occasional collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

Why does AFCCS collect or use personal information?

AFCCS is committed to providing quality, dependable and inclusive child care, support and information services to meet the diverse child care and early years needs of families and children. In order to meet these goals, AFCCS collects, uses and discloses personal information for the following purposes:

Provision of services

To determine eligibility for our programs and services.
To assess the needs of each child and to ensure that these needs are met.
To ensure the health and safety of all children who participate in our programs and services.
To identify the children and their families (“clients”) who use the services of AFCCS.
To ensure we communicate with the appropriate parent/guardian for each child in our care.
To aid in the placement of children in our Home Child Care program.
To promote new and existing programs and services to our clients.
To assist Children’s Integration Support Services (CISS) in determining the level of support that may be provided to eligible children.
To develop, implement and monitor plans to meet the needs of children eligible for the services of CISS.
To maintain the Child Care Information Centralized Waiting List and refer families to child care programs across the City of Ottawa.
To provide families with information and referrals to community support services in Ottawa.
To ensure timely communication between parents/guardians, caregivers, child care community partners, referring agencies and AFCCS staff.

Administration

To administer our programs and services (e.g. time sheets, attendance reports, etc.).
To collect payment for services provided.
To ascertain the qualifications and suitability of applicants to provide child care.
To facilitate the recruitment of Program Assistants for children with special needs.
To ascertain the qualifications and suitability of volunteer applicants.
To distribute limited municipal subsidies for children with disabilities.

Reporting

To generate statistics on services and programs provided by the Agency.
To generate statistics on the child care needs of families in Ottawa.
To report use of child care subsidies to the City of Ottawa.

Other

To periodically undertake fundraising activities to enhance programs and services for children and families.
To meet statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements relating to the services and programs provided to our clients.

Does AFCCS disclose personal information?

We disclose personal information:

To caregivers in our Home Child Care program to enable them to provide services to the children in their care, to ensure the health and safety of those children, with parental consent.
To the Licensed Child Care Centres and Licensed Home Child Care Agencies within the City of Ottawa who are participating in the Child Care Information Centralized Waiting List to enable them to offer spaces to children in the event that spaces become available.
To child care programs working with Children’s Integration Support Services to develop individual support plans and team service plans for eligible children, with parental consent.
To institutions providing the Agency with payroll and banking services.
To our auditors, and
To third parties for processing of data (e.g. hardware and software support).

Unless required to do so by law, AFCCS does not currently disclose the personal information under its control to any other parties. It does not trade, sell, barter, or give away its client information to anyone. Should it be necessary in the future to make such a disclosure, AFCCS will not do so without the express consent of the individuals involved.

How do individuals provide AFCCS with their consent for the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information?

When families seek the services of AFCCS they provide their personal information expressly through a registration/referral process. AFCCS then has access only to the personal information provided by the client that is required to fulfill the purposes stated above. A client may withdraw their consent at any time upon reasonable notice, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. Please note however, that due to our statutory and regulatory obligations withdrawing consent may affect our ability to continue to provide a client with the services they have or would like to receive.

How much personal information does AFCCS collect, use or disclose?

AFCCS makes every effort to ensure the personal information it collects, uses and discloses is as accurate and up-to-date as is required to fulfill the purposes listed above. If an individual’s personal information requires amendment, they need only contact AFCCS to ensure that the correction is made. When a file is not longer needed it is either destroyed or all personal identifiers are removed in such a way as to prevent accidental disclosure.

How secure is the personal information stored at AFCCS?

AFCCS is committed to ensuring that personal information is protected from unauthorized access, unintended disclosures or theft. This protection is provided by firewalls in the computer system, passwords to protect databases, encrypted e-mail, locked filing cabinets and limited access to certain work areas. Only the Privacy Officer and delegated individuals have access to this information.

How can individuals learn more about AFCCS’s Privacy Policy?

Updated versions of this Privacy Policy will be posted on the AFCCS web site at www.afchildcare.on.ca. This Policy is also available in hard-copy at the AFCCS administration office, a copy of which can be requested by contacting AFCCS at:
Andrew Fleck Child Care Services
700 Industrial Ave., Suite 600
Ottawa, ON
K1G 0Y9

Phone: (613) 736-5355
Fax: (613) 736-8378
E-mail: admin@afchildcare.on.ca

How can individuals access their personal information held by AFCCS?

Individuals have a right to access their own personal information in the possession and control of AFCCS. They also have a right to know if their information has been disclosed to any third parties. If individuals wish to access their personal information, they need to contact AFCCS in writing at the above mailing or e-mail address. AFCCS reserves the right to charge a reasonable fee for the copying of this information.

How can individuals relay their concerns about their personal information held by AFCCS?

If individuals have a complaint related to the AFCCS Privacy Policy, they can contact the Privacy Officer using any of the above contact information. If the Privacy Officer is unable to resolve the concern, individuals can contact the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at www.privcom.gc.ca or at:

112 Kent Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 1H3

Tel: (613) 995-8210
Toll free: 1-800-282-1376
Fax: (613) 947-6850

La version française de cette Politique relative aux renseignements personnels est disponible.

Approved by the Andrew Fleck Child Care Services Board of Directors on March 24, 2004. Updated April 2007.