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Privacy Policy

September 15, 2008

Purpose:

This notice describes the privacy policy of the Fort Dodge Housing Agency.  We may amend this policy at any time.  We collect personal information only when appropriate.  We may use or disclose your information to provide you with services.  We may also use or disclose it to comply with legal or other obligations.  By filling out an application you agree to allow us to collect information and to use or disclose it as described in this notice.  You can inspect personal information about you that we maintain.  You can also ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information. We will provide a copy of our privacy policy to anyone who asks.  If you have questions or complaints, please address them to the Executive Director at the above address.

What this notice covers:

This notice describes the privacy policy and practices of the Fort Dodge housing Agency.  Our main office is located at:

700 S 17th Street
Fort Dodge, IA  50501
515-573-7751
www.fd-housing.org

The policy and practices in this notice cover the collection and processing of protected personal information for clients of the Fort Dodge Housing Agency.  All person information collected for our Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Family Self Sufficiency, Homeownership, Transitional Housing, Shelter Plus Care, Tenant Protection Voucher, Tenant Based Rental Assistance, and Credit Counseling Programs as well as personal information collected for any properties that we own and/or manage is covered by this policy.

Protected Person Information, (PPI), is any information we maintain about a client that:

  • allows identification of an individual directly or indirectly,
  • can be manipulated by a reasonably foreseeable method to identify a specific individual, or
  • can be linked with other information to identify a specific client.

When this notice refers to personal information, it means PPI.

This notice informs our clients, partners, and the public how we protect personal information. The staff of the Fort Dodge Housing Agency understands and follows the policy and practices described in this notice.

This notice and our policy and practices may be amended at any time. Personal information collected before the date of an amendment may be handled according to the policy in effect at the time the information was collected. The Board of Directors of the Fort Dodge Housing Agency must approve any amendments to this policy.

We will give a written copy of this privacy notice to any individual or organization that requests one.  This policy can also be found on our website at www.fd-housing.org.

How and Why We Collect Personal Information:

The Fort Dodge Housing Agency collects personal information only when appropriate and necessary to provide services or for another specific purpose of our organization, or when required by law. We may collect information for these purposes:

  • to provide or coordinate services to clients,
  • to locate other programs that may be able to assist clients,
  • for functions related to payment or reimbursement from others for services we provide,
  • to operate our organization, including functions such as legal, financial, personnel, compliance, accounting, and management,
  • to comply with HUD and other government reporting obligations, orwhen required by law.

We only use lawful and fair means to collect personal information.

We normally collect personal information with the express knowledge and consent of our clients.  If you seek our assistance under any of our programs or programs we manage for others and provide us with personal information, we assume that you consent to the collection and use of the information as described in this notice.

We may get information about you from the following sources:

  • The application you fill out,
  • Individuals that are with you,
  • Motor Vehicle Registration,
  • Drivers License,
  • Credit Bureaus,
  • Iowa, other states, or federal government crime databases,
  • DHS,
  • Previous landlords,
  • National housing agency databases,
  • Telephone directories and other published sources, and/or
  • Internet websites.

We post a sign at our front desk or other location explaining the reasons we ask for personal information. The sign says:

The Fort Dodge Housing Agency collects personal information directly from you and from other listed sources for the reasons that are discussed in our privacy policy.  We may be required to collect some personal information by law or by organizations that give us funding to operate our programs.  Other personal information that we collect is important to run our programs, to improve services for all of our clients, including homeless individuals, and to better understand the needs of our clients. We collect only the information that we consider to be appropriate.

How We Use and Disclose Personal Information:

We use or disclose personal information for activities described in this part of the policy.  We may or may not make any of these uses or disclosures with your information.  By requesting housing assistance or other services we provide, you have consented to the use and/or disclosure of your personal information for the purposes described here and for other uses and disclosures that we determine to be compatible with these uses or disclosures:

  • to provide housing assistance under any of the programs we provide,
  • to coordinate services with other providers in our Transitional Housing Program,
  • for functions related to payment or reimbursement for services,
  • to carry out administrative functions such as legal, financial, personnel, compliance, accounting, and management,
  • to create anonymous information that can be used for research and statistical purposes without identifying clients,
  • when required by law,
  • to avert a serious threat to health or safety,
  • to report about an individual we reasonably believe to be the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence to a governmental body,
  • for academic research purposes,
  • to a law enforcement official for a law enforcement purpose, and
  • to comply with government reporting obligations.

Before we make any use or disclosure of your personal information that is not described here, we will obtain your written consent.

How To Inspect and Correct Personal Information:

You may inspect and have a copy of your personal information that we maintain.  We will explain any information that you may not understand.

We will consider a written request from you for the correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information that we maintain about you.  If we agree that the information is inaccurate or incomplete, we may delete it or we may choose to mark it as inaccurate or incomplete and to supplement it with additional information.

To inspect, get a copy of, or ask for correction to any of your information, please submit the request in writing to Executive Director at the address listed above.  We may require a reasonable fee for copies of information.

We may deny your request for inspection or copying of personal information if:

  • the information was compiled in reasonable anticipation of litigation or comparable proceedings,
  • the information is about another individual,
  • the information was obtained under a promise of confidentiality and if the disclosure would reveal the source of the information, or
  • the disclosure of the information would be reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.

If we deny a request for access or correction, we will explain the reason for the denial.  We will also include, as part of the personal information that we maintain, documentation of the request and the reason for denial.

We may reject repeated or harassing requests for access or correction.

Data Quality:

We collect only personal information that is relevant to the purposes for which we plan to use it.  To the extent necessary for those purposes, we seek to maintain only personal information that is accurate, complete, and timely.

We are developing and implementing a plan to dispose of personal information not in current use seven years after the information was created or last changed.  As an alternative to disposal, we may choose to remove identifiers from the information.

We may keep information for a longer period if requested to do so by statute, regulation, contract, or other requirement.

Complaints and Accountability:

We accept and consider questions or complaints about our privacy policy and practices. Please submit such questions or complaints to the Executive Director at the address above.

All members of our staff (including employees, volunteers, affiliates, contractors, and associates) are required to comply with this privacy policy.  Each staff member must receive and acknowledge receipt of a copy of the privacy policy.

Change History:

Version 1 – September 15, 2008