Privacy

Durham Children’s Aid Society is committed to promoting privacy and protecting the confidentiality of the personal information we hold about the children, youth, and families we work with.

Ontario has a law that protects your personal information relating to services that you receive from Durham Children’s Aid Society.

1. We are required to follow the privacy rules under the Child Youth and Family Services Act, 2017.
2. We are required to keep your personal information safe and secure.
3. You have the right to know how we may use and give out your service information, and how you can get access to it.
4. We are committed to promoting privacy and protecting the confidentiality of the personal information we hold about you and the services you have received

We collect the information we need to carry out our mandate. We have a written policy describing the purpose and type of personal information gathered. In general, we use the information collected to carry out our functions under the Child Youth and Family Services Act, 2017.

Your choices and who decides

We do not need consent to fulfill our primary role as a child protection agency, to protect children, where we are required by law to collect, use and disclose personal information.

There are situations where you have the right to make your own information privacy decisions. When we require and ask for your permission, you may choose to say no. If you say yes, you may change your mind at any time. Once you say no, we will no longer share your information unless you say so. Your choice to say no may be subject to some limits.

When there is a right to consent, you may make your own decisions if you are “capable”. You may be capable of making some information privacy decisions and not others. If you are not capable – you will have a substitute decision-maker who will make your information decisions for you. Who can act as a substitute decision-maker and what they have to do is also set out in law.

For children, there is no legal age when you become able to make your own decisions about your personal information. If you are capable, you can make your own decisions. If you are under the  age of 16, there are some additional rules to know. We encourage you to ask your worker questions to find out more about privacy and your family.

How we retain and dispose of information

CPIN is a provincial information management system used by CASs. CPIN is the primary tool for storing information needed to deliver CAS services.

CPIN contains information about children and their families who receive child protection services. It also contains information about caregivers and those who seek to provide care to children in  need, such as foster caregivers, adoptive parents and members of a child’s extended family.

We keep the information collected because it might be necessary for future cases. We also keep the information because former clients may ask to see their records. There are some records that  must be disposed of after certain time periods according to the law. Each CAS has a written policy on secure destruction of records.

To whom do we disclose information?

Our collection, use and disclosure (sharing) of personal information is done in accordance with Ontario law. We share client information with:

1. Other CASs through CPIN
2. Service Providers as necessary for service providers to provide services
3. Other Third Parties (i.e. police, government agencies), we only give information to third parties if:
   -We have the client’s consent;
   – There is a court order or a search warrant requiring disclosure; or
   – We are legally permitted or required to provide the information.

Safeguards

Your personal information must be kept private and secure. Everyone here is bound by confidentiality.

We have to protect your information from loss or theft and make sure no one looks at it or does something with your information if they are not involved in providing services to you or allowed as part of their job. If there is a privacy breach, we will tell you (and we are required by law to tell you). This applies equally to what we enter into CPIN and other electronic information systems, as well as paper or electronic copies of records, reports, financial records, administrative notes, voice messages, text messages, and emails (including on laptops and cell phones) and any other ways personal information can be recorded.

Access and Correction

With limited exceptions, you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you that relates to a service provided to you. If you need a copy of your service records, please contact us at informationrequestcw@durhamcas.ca. In rare situations, you may be denied access to some or all of your personal information about service (with any such denial being in accordance with the law).

For more information or to file a complaint

If your privacy questions have not been answered or issues not resolved to your satisfaction, you may wish to make a formal privacy complaint to us. For our Complaints Resolution Process for Service Recipients, please ask us for a copy. We encourage you to contact your case worker with any questions or concerns you might have about our information practices.

You can also reach our privacy lead at:
Jodi Potts, Privacy Lead & Service Relations Supervisor
905-433-1551 ext. 2288
jodi.potts@durhamcas.ca