SOUTHWEST MINORITY ECONOMIC DREVELOMENT ASSOCIATION (SMEDA) -2015

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Regulations: The Agency will uphold all relevant Federal and California State confidentiality regulations to protect client records and privacy. In addition, the Agency will only release client records with written consent by the client, unless otherwise provided for in the regulations. Specifically, but not limited to, the following: A. The Agency will abide specifically by the federal confidentiality rules as contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 42 Part 2 Confidentiality of Alcohol slid Drug Abuse Patient Records, regarding disclosure of alcohol and/or drug abuse records. In general terms, the Federal regulation prohibits the disclosure of alcohol and/or drug abuse records unless disclosure is expressly permitted by written consent of the person to whom it pertains or as otherwise permitted by CFR 42 Part 2, A general authorization for the release of medical or other information is not sufficient for this purpose. The Agency understands that the Federal rules restrict any use of the information to criminally investigate or prosecute any alcohol or drug abuse patients. B. The Agency will abide specifically with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and corresponding regulations passed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In general, the regulations provide consumers with new rights to control the release of medical information, including advance consent for most disclosures of health information, the right to see a copy of health records, the right to request a correction to health records, the right to obtain documentation of disclosures of information may be used or disclosed. The current regulation provides protection for paper, oral, and electronic information. C. The Agency will abide specifically with the California Government Code 11015.5 regarding Personal Information Collected on the Internet. In general, the Government Code ensures that any electronically collected personal information about clients cannot be shared with any third parry without the client's written consent. Postings: Privacy and Mandatory Collection notices must be posted at the agency. A. The Agency must post Privacy and Mandatory Collection notices at each intake desk or comparable location. B. Privacy and Mandatory Collection notices must be made available in writing at the client's request. C. If the Agency maintains an agency website, a link to the privacy notice must be on the homepage of the agency's website. IV. Data Use Data contained in the LA/OC HMIS will only be used to support the delivery of homeless services in the Los Angeles and Orange County region. Each User will affirm the principles of ethical data use and client confidentiality as noted below and contained in the LA/OC HMIS User Agreement. L The Agency will not solicit or input information from clients unless it is essential to provide services, or conduct evaluation or research. 2. The Agency understands that all client data will be maintained on a central server, which will contain all client information in an encrypted state. All client identifiable data is inaccessible to unauthorized users. 3. The Agency shall not be denied access to client data entered by the Agency. Agencies are bound by all restrictions placed upon the data by the client of any Participating Agency, The Agency shall diligently record in the LAiOC HMIS all restrictions requested. 4. The Agency shall not knowingly enter false or misleading data under any circumstances. 5. The Agency shall maintain appropriate documentation of client consent to participate in the LAIOC HMIS. 6. If a client withdraws consent for release of information, the Agency remains responsible to ensure that the client's information is unavailable to all other Agencies. HMIS Agency Agreement Page 2 of 5 Revised 02101108