Privacy Policy

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The FASD Center for Excellence is a service of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As such, we offer you a clear statement of a privacy policy. Please contact us if you have any questions about our Privacy Policy.

Your right to privacy is a priority to us, and as such there are aspects about visiting our (and most) Web sites we think you should know. We collect no personal information about you when you visit our Web site unless you choose to provide that information to us. However, when you visit our site, statistical information about your visit will be logged and temporarily stored. Please read “Information Automatically Collected and Stored” to learn the details of this practice.

Information Automatically Collected and Stored

When you visit our Web site, our Web server’s log temporarily collects statistical information about your visit and basic information about you. This is the only information that is automatically collected when you visit our site. Any other information we collect is done so because you have chosen to provide it to us. Please see “Your Personal Information” below.

When you browse through any Web site, certain personal information about you can be collected. We automatically collect and temporarily store the following information about your visit:

• The name of the domain you use to access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are using an America Online account, or stanford.edu, if you are connecting from Stanford University's domain);
• The type of browser and operating system you used when visiting our site;
• The date and time of your visit;
• The searches you made;
• The pages you visited; and
• The address of the Web site you came from before visiting our Web site.

We use this information for statistical and enhancement purposes only. Collecting this information helps us create a more useful site for you. We can determine how many users visit our site, which pages and sections users are interested in, where users come from before entering our site, how long users stay on our site, and what types of technology our users have. We do not permanently store this information nor do we track or record information about the identity of individuals or their visits. We do sometimes write a small file on your computer – a "cookie."

A cookie is a small text file we write on your hard drive so that we can follow your journey through our site. Cookies help us evaluate what pages you like and what pages you never go to. Cookies cannot scan any information on your drive and allow us to know nothing more about you than the pages you visit while on our site. Cookies expire 60 days after your last visit to our site. Other than this cookie and the items described above, we do not obtain any information from you or the computer you use when you visit the FASD Center for Excellence.

Your Personal Information

There are two pages on the FASD Center for Excellence Web site into which you may enter identifying information. You need only provide the requested information if you are interested in 1) registering as an expert FASD Consultant, or 2) requesting technical assistance for your FASD education, prevention, or treatment program. You do not have to give us personal information to visit our Web sites. If you choose to provide us with this information about yourself through e-mail, forms, questionnaires, etc., we will maintain the information for only as long as it is needed to respond to your question or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication. The information you provide is covered by The Privacy Act with the assurance that:

• The information will not be shared with anyone not on the staff of the FASD Center for Excellence.
• Your e-mail address will not be provided to any third party or used for any electronic mailing lists, Government or private.
• We do not create individual profiles with the e-mail information you provide or give it to any other organizations.
• The e-mail material, including your e-mail address and/or name, will in no way be correlated or linked to the material that is automatically collected as described above.
• The FASD Center for Excellence does not collect information for commercial marketing.

Disclosure

HHS and SAMHSA do not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personal information about our visitors, unless required for law enforcement or by statute.

Intrusion Detection

This Web site is maintained by the U.S. Government. It is protected by various provisions of Title 18, U.S. Code. Violations of Title 18 are subject to criminal prosecution in Federal court. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, we employ software programs to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage. In the event of authorized law enforcement investigations, and pursuant to any required legal process, information from these sources may be used to help identify an individual.

Use of Information

Unless otherwise noted, all text materials contained on the FASD Center for Excellence site are in the public domain. SAMHSA encourages copying or any other use of the text. Some graphic materials are in the public domain and other graphics are used with permission, but the permission does not apply to all. Please contact us if you have any questions about permission to use graphics.

The information on this site is intended to help our visitors learn about fetal alcohol syndrome and alcohol-related birth defects education, prevention, and treatment. It is not intended to provide medical advice, counseling, or other health-related services to replace the advice of a trained professional. Nor is any information on this site intended to replace academic degrees, licenses, or other credentials. Finally, any contact information provided is current as of the date of posting.

Disclaimer of Endorsements

Reference herein to any specific products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favor by the U.S. Government. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government and shall not be used for advertising or for product endorsement purposes.

Systems of Records

Information originally collected in traditional paper systems can be submitted electronically (e.g., electronic commerce transactions and information updates about eligibility benefits). Electronically submitted information is maintained and destroyed pursuant to the Federal Records Act and in some cases may be subject to the Privacy Act. If information that you submit is to be used in a Privacy Act system of records, there will be a Privacy Act Notice provided.