Privacy Policy

Families USA has created this Privacy Policy to explain why we collect particular information and how we will protect your personal privacy within our Web site. The statement below discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for the Web site located at the URL www.familiesusa.org.

In order to fully understand your rights, we encourage you to read this Privacy Policy, as well as our Terms of Use. Families USA reserves the right at any time and without notice to change this Privacy Policy simply by posting such changes on our site. Any such change will be effective immediately upon posting.

Because we want to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy, this Privacy Policy notifies you of the following:

1. what personally identifiable information of yours is collected through the site;
2. who collects such information;
3. how such information is used;
4. with whom your information may be shared;
5. what choices you have regarding collection, use, and distribution of your information;
6. what kind of security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under our control; and
7. how you can correct any inaccuracies in your information.

Questions regarding this statement should be directed to Families USA by sending an e-mail to info@familiesusa.org. Please reference this Privacy Policy in your subject line.

What Information We Collect and How We Use That Information
Our registration forms may require users to give us contact information that may include name, email address, street address, interests, format preference (HTML vs. text), and similar information. For those who take action on our alerts, we also store the content of the messages forwarded and the names of the legislators to whom those messages are sent. All of this information is kept strictly confidential, and only site administrators have access to it. Except in cases where we temporarily transfer contact information to a third-party for the strict purpose of conveying Families USA communications, we do not share this information with any other organization or company. For those who sign a Families USA petition or participate in similar online actions, we expect to disclose the name, hometown, and state of petition signers. We do not disclose other personal information such as street address or email address. We also do not request or store sensitive information from our visitors, such as credit card or Social Security numbers. 

Changing Your Contact Information
Users can change their contact information or correct inaccuracies by sending an email to info@familiesusa.org, or following “Remove from List” or “Unsubscribe” instructions from one of our email lists.

Internet Protocol Address
We collect an IP address from all visitors to our site. An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you use the Internet. We use IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our server, administer our site, analyze trends, track users’ movements, gather broad demographic information for aggregate use in order for us to improve the site, and deliver customized, personalized content. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Use of “Cookies”
Our site uses temporary cookies to enhance your experience while using our site. Cookies are pieces of information that some websites transfer to the computer that is browsing that website and are used for record-keeping purposes at many websites. Use of cookies makes web-browsing easier by performing certain functions, such as saving your passwords, your personal preferences regarding your use of the particular website, and to make sure you don’t see the same ad repeatedly. Many consider the use of cookies to be an industry standard.

Your browser is probably set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you can alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies. If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of our site will not function properly when you view them.

Security
Certain information provided to Families USA is transmitted using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption. SSL is a proven coding system that lets your browser automatically encrypt, or scramble, data before you send it to us. We also protect account information by placing it on a secure portion of our site that is only accessible by certain qualified employees of Families USA. Unfortunately, however, no data transmission over the Internet is 100 percent secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of such information. 

Tell-A-Friend
If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask them for the friend’s name and email address. Families USA will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. Families USA stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email. 

Other Websites
Our site contains links to other websites. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are entering another website for which Families USA has no responsibility. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on all such sites, as their policies may be different than ours.

Contacting Families USA
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this site, you can contact:

Families USA
1225 New York Avenue NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005

You can also send an email to: info@familiesusa.org