Privacy Policy

The not-for-profit agencies that operate this Web site are committed to maintaining your confidence and trust. We recognize that protecting your privacy is an essential part of our commitment to quality service. As part of this commitment we believe that our clients should know what personal information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and how to contact us if you have questions about the handling or your personal information.

Respiteservices.com Web site is owned by Geneva Centre for Autism (the host agency for the respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca site in Toronto). However, other respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca local websites are operated by local host agencies in many Ontario communities. Local host agency(ies) have custody and control over information within their local site. Local host agency(ies) are responsible for maintaining confidentiality and ensuring that they are in compliance with all applicable privacy laws. Geneva Centre has designated “superuser(s)” that will have access to all local respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca websites in order to support local host agencies in developing their sites and to provide technical support.

Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. It includes such items as your name, address, gender, age, health status (physical, behavioural, emotional, and developmental), and personal/family information. This information can include your opinions about services.

You can visit our Web site to read about our services without telling us who you are or revealing any personal information. respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca will only collect statistical information on visits to specific pages of the web site (e.g. hits to the web site) and the frequency of visits. This information is used in an aggregate form to help us understand the level of interest in the information provided. We also note the type and version of browsers that are used to ensure that our site is technically accessible. 

If you choose to provide us with personal information (such as your name, address, e-mail or telephone number, it will (i) be treated as being private and confidential, (ii) be kept in a secure location accessible only by designated staff and (iii) be used only for the purposes outlined in the consent form and the privacy notice statement. A consent form (outlining the purposes for collecting the information) is required to be completed before submitting the information. 

Visitors who have authorized access to particular applications are designated by the host agency(ies). Under these policies, respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca reserves the right to verify the identity of the visitors who have access to “restricted access” applications and to conduct a post-audit review of clients/users who use restricted access applications. 

 

respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca collects personal information for the following purposes:

•    to facilitate the process of matching a Direct Support Provider with a family or agency requiring a respite Direct Support Provider;

·         to determine Direct Support Provider(s) suitability for providing respite services to families;

•    to facilitate the process of referring you to, or applying for, respite programs and option(s);

•   to facilitate the processes above;

•    to contact you regarding upcoming events, activities and programs that may be of interest;

•    to send you information, documents or forms required to keep your information up-to-date; and

•    for quality assurance purposes, including feedback on how effective and helpful our services have been, to allow us to improve our services

In cases where you would like to be connected to respite programs or options, there will be a need to disclose the information to other respite agencies/service providers. Your request implies consent to forward your information to these agencies.

We may use anonymous information for reporting to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and/or Ministry of Community and Social Services. We may also use anonymous information for planning, research, and program evaluation purposes, and for education and professional development of our staff. Such information summaries will not include personal identifiers (e.g., name, address, phone number, etc.). If we should want to use your specific information, or to identify you in any way, we will only do so if we have your permission and consent.

We will obtain appropriately informed consent, as required by law, for any collections, uses or disclosures of personal information obtained via this Web site. 

Personal information will not be disclosed to third parties except (i) to further the purpose for which you have provided the information, such as forwarding your request to an appropriate party for action and/or sharing the information with the appropriate local single point of access to services (ii) to support host agencies through a designated provincial super user(s) that will provide technical support and (iii) to share information with other host agencies to avoid duplication of profiles and to provide better services. There are no circumstances under which we will disclose personal information to third parties, except where required to by law. 

By submitting your information, your request for service implies consent for respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca local host agency(ies) to collect, use and disclose your personal information for purposes related to responding to your needs. This includes sharing your information with the single point of access to services (in communities where an agency has been designated to be a single point of access to services) in order to support your request for services.   

We do not share your personal information with anyone outside of the local host agency(ies) of respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca, our agents, and (where required) the single point of access agency in your community without your consent, unless necessary for legal reasons.

Consent may be implied or express. Consent may be provided orally, electronically or in writing.

With your consent, we may share information with third parties including:

•    other agencies and professionals who provide services and supports that may be able to respond to your needs.

•    other individuals you identify as contacts, such as family members

We may disclose information without your consent:

•    for legally necessary disclosures ordered by a subpoena or required to notify authorities in situations of suspected abuse, neglect, or imminent harm; or

•    if required by The Ministry of Community and Social Services or the Ministry of Child and Youth Services

Should you register for the Direct Support Provider Database, you are agreeing to keep any Direct Support Provider profile information you receive confidential, unless you receive consent by the Direct Support Provider to share the information. You acknowledge that the Direct Support Provider screening processes vary across the province and when registering to a specific respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca local host agency(ies), you are agreeing to receive Direct Support Provider profiles that have been screened according to that community’s screening process.  

This Web site does not issue or use cookies or other technological means to collect or distribute personal information about site visitors. We track the number of visits to our Web site and compile statistics that show the daily numbers of visitors and daily requests received for particular services. In addition, we gather aggregate data from profiles. These aggregates statistics are used internally by designated staff, the local community planning table and the provincial network of host agencies to identify service gaps and better provide services. However, the statistics contain no personal information and cannot be uses to produce such information.

Information collected electronically is stored, protected & secured by Amazon Web Services CANADA. Any third party that obtains personal information from us is contractually required to protect your confidentiality and personal information in a manner consistent with this policy, and/or as required by law. Amazon Web Services Privacy Policy can be found here: https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/

While your information is stored, protected and secured in Canada, it may be transferred cross-border for internet processing which may therefore be subject to data protection laws in that country, such as the US, that may differ from those of Canada. As a result, personal information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in those jurisdictions according to the laws in those jurisdictions. Subject to applicable laws in such other jurisdictions, we will use reasonable efforts to ensure that appropriate protections are in place to maintain protections on personal information that are equivalent to those that apply in Canada.

The disposal and destruction of personal and health information will be performed with care. Precautions to prevent unauthorized parties from gaining access to information will be taken through the Super user(s) providing access to appropriate users via a user name and password. 

Paper records are normally destroyed by secure means seven years after they are no longer required. Given that respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca can provide service throughout an individual’s lifetime, all electronic data holdings are held indefinitely (up to 99 years) in order to provide service and for longitudinal analyses.

You have the right to request a change or amendment to your personal information if you believe the information in your file is inaccurate or incomplete. Please call our privacy contact (information below) to request these changes.

You have the right to access your personal information and to correct the information if it is shown to be inaccurate. You may also request access to your information by making a written request to the privacy contact at the local host agency. If you request copies of reports or information in your file, you may be required to pay a fee, depending upon the nature and extent of the information requested. For more information about your right to access, please contact the host agency privacy contact in your local area. (Privacy contact information can be found in the privacy statement on local community sites.)

This site contains links to other Web sites. When you click on links that take you to third party Web sites, you will be subject to the third parties’ privacy practices and policies. While we support the protection of privacy on the Internet, we are not responsible for the contents of third party web sites or for their privacy practices. We encourage our users to be mindful of this fact when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site with which they interact. 

 

You have the right to inquire or complain if you have concerns about the way we handle your personal information. If you have questions or concerns about privacy at respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca, please contact:

Respiteservices.com Provincial

112 Merton St, Toronto, ON, M4S 2Z8

416 322 7877

ontario@respiteservices.com

If your inquiry or complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction by us, you may wish to contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

Information & Privacy Commissioner/Ontario

80 Bloor Street West, Suite 1700

Toronto, Ontario

M5S 2V1

1-800-387-0073

(416) 326 – 3333

commissioner@ipc.on.ca

We reserve the right to modify or supplement this Privacy Policy. A revised Privacy Policy will only apply to personal information collected subsequent to its effective date.
 

Please note that this Web site is also governed by the respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca Terms of Use, which can be accessed by clicking on the link in this sentence. We urge you to review the respiteservices.com & supportyourway.ca Terms of Use before proceeding further on this Web site. 

Effective Date of this Privacy Policy: April 1, 2008