Privacy Policy

Reviewed: August 4, 2020

PURPOSE

This document states the Web Security and Privacy Policy for the County of Tulare in support of its continued commitment to provide quality and timely information and delivery of services to the public while conducting business and operations in an open, transparent manner.

AUTHORITY

County Public Information Officer

SCOPE

Information collected, stored, and transmitted as a result of public interactions with County web sites. County employee-related policy may be found in the County-Wide Technology Security Program.

SECURITY AND PRIVACY POLICY

Thank you for visiting the Tulare County website and reviewing our Security and Privacy Policy (Policy). The County of Tulare (County) wants you to know about the collection, use, security, and access to information that may be obtained through use of the County's website or any web portal contained within this site. By visiting this website, you are accepting the policies and practices described in this Policy.

Please note that this Policy is subject to change without notice and that it reflects the County's current business practices. Also note that each department within the County may have additional privacy and use policies specific to the mission and needs of its work. Be sure to review those policies as you access additional sites within the County.

PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CHOICE

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that identifies or describes an individual, including but not limited to the individual’s name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history, readily identifiable to that specific individual. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information; however, it is considered "electronically collected personal information."

Electronically collected personal information means any information that is maintained by an agency that identifies or describes an individual user, including but not limited to the individual’s social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical or employment history, password, electronic mail address, and information that reveals any network location or identity but excludes any information manually submitted to a County agency by a user, whether electronically or in written form, and information on or relating to individuals who are users serving in a business capacity, including but not limited to business owners, officers, or principals of that business.

If you choose to submit information to us, the information will be transmitted through secure lines to our departmental database. Any private information will only be used for the purposes for which it was provided and will not be shared with another entity except as prescribed by law. If you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for specific information (i.e., completing a request for assistance, personalizing the content of the website, sending an e-mail, or participating in a survey), more detailed data will be collected. If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the website.

INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE

The County does collect personal information directly from individuals who volunteer to use some of our services. We use the information to improve our service to you or to respond to your request. Collection of this information is required to deliver specific services, but use of these services is voluntary.

If, during your visit to County’s website, you send an e-mail, participate in a survey, complete a form, or use the search engine, the following additional information will be collected:

The e-mail address and contents of the e-mail

Information volunteered in response to the survey

Information provided when submitting a form

Keywords or search terms entered into our search engine

Sometimes we forward your e-mail to other County employees who may be better able to help you, and this staff may be employed by a different agency within the County. We use your e-mail address to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our website, or to forward the e-mail to another agency for appropriate action.

Except for authorized law enforcement investigations or as required by law, we do not share our e-mail with any other organizations.

AUTOMATICALLY COLLECTED INFORMATION AND USE

The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. Electronically collected personal information that we automatically collect includes your domain name or Internet Protocol address, the type of browser and operating system used, the date and time you visited the site, the website you visited prior to coming to this site, and statistical information about which web pages you visit. This information does not identify you personally and is used for gathering website statistics. The information we automatically collect and store in our logs about your visit helps us to analyze our website to continually improve the value of the materials available. Our website logs do not identify a visitor by personal information, and we make no attempt to link other websites with the individuals that browse the County’s website.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT CHILDREN

Children are not eligible to use services that require submission of personal information, and we require that minors (under the age of 18) do not submit any personal information to us. This includes submitting personal information to the County as part of a user profile or personalization profile. If you are a minor, you can use these services only if used together with your parents or guardians. If you are a minor, you should seek guidance from your parents.

If the County decides to begin collecting personal information from children, it will notify parents that it is being requested, disclose the reasons for collecting it, and disclose our intended use of it. The County will seek parental consent before collecting any personally identifiable information. If it does collect it, parents may request information on the type of data being collected, view their child's information, and, if they choose, prohibit the County from making further use of their child's information. The County will not provide personal information about children to third parties.

DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION

The County does not sell any electronically collected personal information. Any distribution of electronically collected personal information will be used solely for the purposes for which it was provided to us.

The County may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as provided by law, but no personal information is sold or distributed, and all relevant legal protections still apply to the County’s website.

USE OF COOKIES

When you visit the County’s website, you should be aware that data linking your computer to a particular website (a "cookie") may be created. Temporary cookies may be used when necessary to complete a transaction, to process data submitted to us online, to facilitate an ongoing internet interaction, or to understand trends in the use of websites. Cookies do not compromise your privacy or security. Using web browser settings, you can refuse the cookies or delete the cookie file from your computer by using any of the widely available methods.

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

In the county of Tulare, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by county government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs, including maintaining the privacy of individuals. Both county and federal laws provide exceptions.

If any type of personal information is requested on the website or volunteered by the user, that information may be protected by applicable law. However, this information may be a public record once you provide it, and it may be subject to public inspection and copying if not otherwise protected by federal or county law. In the event of a conflict between this Security and Privacy Policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act, or other law governing the disclosure of records, the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act, or other applicable law will control.

SECURITY

The County has taken steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure, including but not limited to authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day practices of the entire operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to risk management. This information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as failproof the security of information provided via the County’s supported website.

This website and the information it contains are provided as a public service by the County. This system is monitored to ensure proper operation, to verify the functioning of applicable security features, and for comparable purposes. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring. Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features, or to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Our website has links to sites we feel might be useful to you and that may provide services. When you link to another site, you are no longer on our site and are subject to the privacy policy of the new site. This includes links to social media platforms, including but not limited to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo.

The County accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of the external websites or external documents linked to from this website.

ONLINE PAYMENTS

The County strives to make conducting County business as convenient as possible by allowing you to submit electronic payments for certain County products and services. Some of the County’s e-commerce services require you to provide personally identifiable information, such as your name, mailing address, credit card information, and bank account information. Wherever possible, financial information is not collected by the County. Rather, designated financial partners route the data, transfer the funds, and confirm payment to both you and the County. E-commerce transactions are performed only under tightly controlled circumstances, where there are appropriate technological and other safeguards in place to protect financial and other sensitive data.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

The County attempts to maintain the highest accuracy of content on its website. Any errors or omissions should be reported for investigation.

The County makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this website and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this website. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third-party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the contents of this website or its hyperlinks to other internet resources. References or links in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name are for the information and convenience of the public and do not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the County or its employees or agents.

This Security and Privacy Policy is subject to change without notice.

OWNERSHIP

In general, information presented on this website, unless otherwise indicated, is considered in the public domain. It may be distributed or copied as permitted by law. However, the County does make use of copyrighted data (e.g., photographs) that may require additional permissions prior to your use. In order to use any information on this website not owned or created by the County, you must seek permission directly from the owning (or holding) sources. The County shall have the unlimited right to use for any purpose, free of any charge, all information submitted via this site except those submissions made under separate legal contract. The County shall be free to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts, or techniques contained in information provided through this site.

REVIEW

Biennially

Effective January 1, 2020

This web compliance portal applies to the County of Tulare government agencies including https://tccso.org and a number of other County of Tulare service and program websites. Users can find links to this compliance portal in the footer of each County of Tulare website.