GetCalFresh.org is a non-profit website run by Code for America Labs, Inc. (“Code for America”, “we”, “us”, “our”). This Privacy Policy describes how the GetCalFresh.org website (the “Site”) collects, uses, and protects your personal information. By submitting your personal information on the Site, you agree to the terms in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use the Site. You can go to www.benefitscal.org to find other websites where you can apply for CalFresh and other California benefit programs.
Overview
We will only use your personal information to:
Help you get and keep CalFresh and any other benefit programs that you apply for on future versions of the Site ("CalFresh" herein refers to all such programs).
Suggest other services or assistance programs that may be useful to you. We will only use your personal information in order to present those services or programs to you as an option, but will never send your personal information to any other services or programs without your permission.
We will not knowingly disclose or sell your personal information to any third party, except as provided in this privacy policy.
We will take all reasonable measures to protect your personal information.
The personal information we collect
We collect and store
All information that you provide through the Site, including your name, address, contact information, social security number, financial information, and similar information for other individuals that you include on your CalFresh application
Copies of any documents you upload, like pictures of your driver’s license, pay stubs, birth certifications, rent receipts, etc.
Any messages you send us through SMS, email, or live chat
Any answers or comments you provide in response to a survey we send you
In addition to the information you provide, we automatically collect and store information about your visit to the Site:
Domain from which you access the Internet.
IP address (an IP or internet protocol address is a number that is automatically given to a computer connected to the Web).
Operating system on your computer and information about the browser you used when visiting the site.
Date and time of your visit.
Pages you visited.
Address of the website that connected you to the Site (such as google.com or bing.com).
We use this information to understand how the Site is used, improve the Site, and monitor usage for security purposes. This data is stored separately from the personal information you submit in the CalFresh application.
We will not collect personal information from you without your knowledge and consent, except in a few limited circumstances as described in this policy.
We currently retain all data for 24 months after you submit your application unless you specifically request that we delete it. You can make this request by emailing us at hello@getcalfresh.org
How we use your information
We only use your personal information to help you get and keep CalFresh. For example:
We submit your CalFresh application, documents, and case renewals and recertifications to the appropriate department in your County.
We remind you to complete your CalFresh phone interview and submit CalFresh documents, depending on your contact preferences.
We may provide ongoing support to help you keep CalFresh by reminding you when you have to submit income changes, complete your Semi-Annual Report, or complete your annual Recertification.
To provide these services, we may access an account linked to your case in your county’s online system.
We will send you a confirmation message when we have successfully submitted your CalFresh information to your county. We may also send you a message if there is a problem submitting your CalFresh information to your county and additional information is needed. Outside of those cases:
We will not send you an email unless you consent to email communication in the application or you email us first. Every automated email will include a link to unsubscribe.
We will not send you a text message unless you consent to text message communication in the application or you text us first. You can reply 'STOP' to 80620 or to any text message to unsubscribe.
How we share your information
Once you submit your CalFresh application on the Site, we share this information with the Human Services Agency (HSA) in the County where you live. Each California County has their own HSA, which processes CalFresh applications and administers CalFresh benefits. Once your personal information is received by the HSA it is then subject to their respective privacy policies. All California HSAs are listed here: www.cwda.org/links/chsa.php
We also disclose your personal information to Code for America employees, contractors, and affiliated organizations that need to know the information in order to provide the services of the Site.
We learn from and share comments that you have in the application, Live Chat, SMS, email, and surveys to better understand CalFresh enrollment in order to reduce barriers in the safety net system. This may include sharing your information with your county to help them provide better service to you and improve the services they provide. It may also include sharing anonymized quotes in the course of our work with partners.
We do not share your personal information with any other individuals or organizations, except to the minimal extent required by law.
How we protect your information
Protecting your personal information is extremely important to us and we take all reasonable measures to do so. Here are some specific security practices we use:
When you enter your information on our site we encrypt the transmission of that information using transport layer security (TLS).
We store your personal information on Amazon Web Services (AWS), a trusted third party data storage service. For more information on AWS security, see: https://aws.amazon.com/security/
Although we try our best to protect the privacy of your personal information, we cannot guarantee complete security. The transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of user information at any time.
Changes
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. Please check this page frequently for updates as your continued use of this site after any changes in this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of the changes.
Effective Date
This version of the policy is effective December 10, 2019.
Questions
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or complaints with the Site, please contact us by email at hello@getcalfresh.org, by text message at (833) 361-4939, or by mail at:
GetCalFresh
c/o Code for America
972 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
We will do our best to resolve the issue.
To report a security issue, email security@getcalfresh.org.