Privacy Statement

Our Policy and Commitment to Privacy

Child Trends, Incorporated (aka Child Trends), has created this privacy policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to the privacy of information associated with our partners, participants and visitors to our website. This statement discloses Child Trends’ practices for gathering, using, disseminating, and protecting any personal information shared on its website, www.childtrends.org, or through any other form of communication with Child Trends. All privacy practices and methods described in this policy apply only insofar as permitted by the applicable standards, laws, and requirements.

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13 we do not knowingly collect any information from children under the age of 13. Should we learn that a child under the age of 13 has provided personal information to us without obtaining consent from their parent or guardian, we will delete that information from our database.

YOUR USE OF THE CHILD TRENDS WEBSITE CONSTITUTES YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS POLICY.

What Information We Collect and How We Use It

Email Use and Security

Through the Child Trends website, we have access to and may use your Internet Protocol (IP) or email address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our website. This information is used solely to evaluate and improve the functioning of our website. Our site’s E-News requires visitors to submit their email addresses, and that information may be used to contact a visitor when necessary.  Child Trends does not sell, rent, or distribute email addresses or any other contact information.

Our website site has up-to-date security measures in place to control the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control.

Cookies

A “cookie” is a small data file transferred by a website to your computer’s hard drive. The Child Trends website sends cookies when you browse our site, request information, or register yourself for certain services. Accepting the cookies used on our site does not give us access to your personally identifiable information, but we may use the cookies to identify your computer. Many cookies are “session-only” cookies, meaning the cookie does not stay on your computer after you leave our website or close your internet browser. The aggregate information collected permits us to analyze traffic patterns at our site. This information can enable us to make additional improvements to the site over time. Cookies that remain on your computer are often called “permanent” cookies. We use these types of cookies to facilitate personalization and registration services.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually refuse all cookies or selectively accept certain cookies by adjusting preferences in your internet browser. If you turn off cookies, there may be some features of our site that will not be available to you, and some web pages may not display properly.

E-News

Child Trends provides visitors the opportunity to receive regular communications from us by subscribing to our E-News. Subscribers may opt out of these emails or correct or update their contact information by replying to a specific E-News or by sending an email to webmaster@childtrends.org.

Links

Our website site contains links to other sites. Child Trends is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of other websites.

Research and Evaluation

Child Trends regularly collects information in order to conduct research and evaluation about children, families and the programs that serve them. All data collected for our research and evaluation activities are voluntary and all participants are told why their data are being collected and how it will be used. All data collected under our research and evaluation activities is kept confidential, to the degree allowable by the law, and kept secure following all applicable data security laws and regulations.

What We Do With Your Information

Your information may be used for a variety of purposes related to our business operations including:

• if you volunteer to participate in one of our studies, to conduct research and evaluation related to children and families and programs that serve them;
• to analyze website data to make improvements to our operations;
• responding to inquires of employment, our services, comments/complaints, or partnering with us;
• records maintenance;
• compliance with the any applicable law.

Your information may be disclosed to trusted third parties for a variety of purposes related to our business operations including:

• if you volunteer to participate in one of our studies and grant your permission, as required by our funders and government clients for the purposes of our research provided that such third parties treat such information confidentially and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and any applicable laws;
• consultants, agents and advisors working with our staff when there is an appropriate business need and subject to confidentiality agreements;
• as required by law.

Your information will not be used for reasons other than described in this Policy.  Further, your information collected will be stored for as long as Child Trends has your consent to do so, or is required to do pursuant with applicable laws regulations.

How We Protect Your Information

Child Trends maintains appropriate technical, administrative and physical safeguards to protect information disclosed or collected by Child Trends. Child Trends reviews, monitors and evaluates its privacy practices and protection systems on a regular basis. For any research and evaluation data, we use only encrypted secure forms of transmission of data. For data collected through our website, since transmissions over the Internet and/or a mobile network are not one hundred percent (100%) secure and Child Trends does not guarantee of the security of transmissions. Please be apprised all Internet-based communication is subject to the remote likelihood of tampering from an outside source.

Notifiable Data Breaches

We will comply with applicable laws requiring us to notify you of any loss, unauthorized access to, or disclosure of your personal information.

Notification of Changes

We may update this privacy policy periodically without prior notice to reflect changes in our practice. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post these changes on our website and other places deemed appropriate so our users are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

Contacting Child Trends with Questions or Concerns

We welcome your comments. If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices or use of our site, or request access to your personal information, or to request corrections or removal of your personal information, please contact us at privacy@childtrends.org or 240-223-9200.