• Staff members at the Georgia Law Center for the homeless (GLCH), a law firm covered by the attorney client privilege, will be exposed to confidential client information through interviews and conversations with and about clients as well as from questionnaires and other documents completed by clients during the course of services provided by GLCH. All information obtained from any client during the course of services provided by GLCH is strictly confidential and protected by the attorney client privilege and may not be disclosed to anyone not affiliated with GLCH without the direction from the Executive Director or the Senior Attorney.

• As a client receiving services from the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless, you must understand that the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless is a part of the Pathways Community Network, a computer network designed to reduce the amount of time and effort it takes you to obtain the social services. You will need to give the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless permission to:

• Look at information about you in the Pathways system.
• Enter in the system information concerning your situation and need for assistance.

1. Agencies in the Pathways system will keep this information confidential.
2. Other agencies will be able to look at this information only if you give each of these agencies your permission.
3. Staff at each agency receives regular training on client confidentiality and their legal responsibility to keep your information private.
4. The Pathways system uses passwords and computerized codes to protect your privacy.
5. Shared information may include your name, age gender, marital status, veteran status, address, housing status and basic information about my goals and the services I receive.
6. You can obtain a copy of information about you collected by the Pathways system, except for psychotherapy notes and other information kept private by law.

• As a client of the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless, you must understand that even if you give permission for Georgia Law Center for the Homeless to access your information in the Pathways system, you can revoke that permission at any time without penalty. The permission you are giving this agency to view your information and to place information about you in the Pathways system will expire on one year after you sign an agreement.

• You must also understand that under certain circumstances, the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless or Pathways may be legally required to disclose some or all of your confidential information. This may happen if there is any evidence of child abuse, if there is evidence you may harm others or yourself or if a court orders that your information be disclosed.

• In order to improve services for persons in need, experts may study data from the Pathways system and other sources. As a result, an independent researcher may need to view personal information, such as names and Social Security Numbers, to make sure that records are not counted twice. This researcher will remove all personally identifiable information before anyone else examines the data, so that the privacy of those who received services is protected. This procedure is done in accordance with professional standards, under strict government and research institution supervision, and in compliance with all regulations that specifically address those who have received services for mental health, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and domestic violence.

• Other uses and disclosures will be made one with your written authorization. You may cancel an authorization at any time by notifying the Georgia Law Center staff in writing of your desire to cancel it. If you cancel an authorization it will not have any affect on information that we have already disclosed. Example of uses or disclosure that may require your written authorization include the following:

• A request to provide your private personal information to an attorney for use in a civil law suit.

• We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your private personal information. We are also required to give you this notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning you private personal information. We mist follow the privacy practices that are described in this notice while it is in effect. This notice will take effect immediately and will remain in effect until we replace it.

• We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our notice effective for all private personal information that we maintain, including private personal information we created or received before me made the changes. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this notice and make the new notice available upon request.

• You may request a copy of our notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practice, or additional copies of this notice, please, contact us using the information listed at the end of this notice.

• You have the right to complain to us and to the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development if you believe we have violated your privacy rights. There is no risk in filing a complaint.

• If you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, you disagree with a decision we made about access to your private personal information or in response to a request you made to amend or restrict the use or disclosure of your private personal information, or have us communicate with you by alternative locations, you may complain to us using the contact information listed in this notice.

• To file a complaint with us, contact by phone or by mail:

 

© 2010 Georgia Law Center for the Homeless. All Rights Reserved.