Statement of Privacy Practices

Your privacy is important to the State of Florida and the Florida Statewide Advocacy Council and its network of the Florida Local Advocacy Councils. This is why, as Gubernatorial Appointees charged to investigate and monitor the State's health and human services and programs and to safeguard the health, safety, welfare and rights of the consumers of the state's services and programs, we are committed to the Privacy Promise for Clients, which is as follows:

Privacy Promise for Clients

While information is the cornerstone of our ability to provide superior service, our most important asset is our Clients' trust. Keeping client information secure, and using it only as our client would want us to, is a top priority for all of us at the Florida Statewide Advocacy Council. Here then, is our promise to our individual clients:

1. We will safeguard, according to strict standards of security and confidentiality, any information our client share with us.
2. We will limit the collection and use of client information to the minimum we require to deliver superior service to our client, which includes advising our client about our services and other opportunities, and to administer our state agency.
3. We will permit only authorized persons and consultants, who are trained in the proper handling of client information, to have access to that information. Authorized persons and consultants who violate our Privacy Promise will be subject to our normal disciplinary process or criminal and civil action by the State of Florida.
4. We will not reveal client information to any external organization unless we have previously informed the client in disclosures or agreements, have been authorized by the client, or are required by law.
5. We will always maintain control over the confidentiality of our client information. We may, however, facilitate relevant information to law enforcement and federal and state governmental agencies that partner with us in protecting and advocating for Floridians with unique needs. These other governmental entities are not permitted to retain any client information unless the client has specifically expressed interest in their product or services.
6. Whenever we contract with other organizations or persons to provide support services, we will require them to conform to our privacy standards and to allow us to audit them for compliance.
7. For purposes of verification and risk management, we will exchange information about our client with reputable reference sources and clearinghouse services.
8. We will not use or share - internally or externally - personally identifiable medical information for any purpose other than the administration of government oversight and investigation authority of any State Plan on file with the federal government or as disclosed to the client when the information is collected, or to which the client consents.
9. We will attempt to keep client files complete, up-to-date, and accurate. We will tell our client how and where to conveniently access information about them that has been provided to us by a healthcare provider (except when we're prohibited by law) and how to notify us about errors, which we will promptly, correct.

We will continuously assess ourselves to ensure that client privacy is respected. We will conduct our business in a manner that fulfills our Promise to safeguard your constitutional and human right to privacy.