Delta Community Living Society Privacy Policy

Principle 1: Be Accountable

At DCLS, we are accountable and responsible for all personal information in our possession or control, including any personal information transferred to third parties.

• DCLS policies and procedures are in place for the protection of personal information, to receive and respond to complaints and inquiries in a confidential manner; to train staff regarding the policies and procedures, and to communicate the policies and procedures to our staff and individuals we support.
• The DCLS Privacy Officer is accountable for DCLS compliance with the principles described in the Privacy Code.

Principle 2: Identify the Purpose for Collection of Personal Information.

DCLS will identify and document the purpose for which personal information is collected at or before the time the information is collected, and explain the purposes for which it is being collected. DCLS collects and uses personal information for the following purposes:

• To develop, enhance and provide appropriate service delivery plans to assist the Individuals we support meet their personal goals.
• To incorporate the ideas and concerns of those closest to the Individual we support.
• To enable every Individual receiving services to have the best possible health given his or her own health status.
• To ensure that employees meet the DCLS established criteria.
• To establish and maintain communication with existing and prospective donors.
• To develop, enhance and provide services to our membership and families of the individuals we support.

Principle 3: Obtain Consent for Collection, Use or Disclosure of Personal Information.

DCLS will obtain consent before collecting, using or disclosing personal information, except where permitted by law.

• DCLS will ensure that the person clearly understands what they are consenting to and explain the consequences of their withholding or withdrawing consent. Withdrawal of consent may affect conditions of employment.
• Forms, which request personal information, completed by people we support, personal network members or employees will have a section which describes the purposes for which the information will be used and a place for the person to sign consenting to those uses.
• Where the information collected is to be used for a different purpose the consent of the person will be sought prior to that use.

Principle 4: Limit Collection of Personal Information.

DCLS will take reasonable steps to limit the amount and type of personal information collected to that which it is necessary to achieve the stated purposes before the time of collection or permitted by law. DCLS will collect personal information by fair and lawful means.

Principle 5: Limit Use, Disclosure and Retention of Personal Information.

DCLS will ensure that procedures are in place for the use, disclosure and retention of personal information. The information will be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes, except as otherwise permitted or required by law or MCFD regulations. Sensitive documents on disposal will be shredded.

• DCLS will only disclose personal information to a third party with the written consent of the person.

Principle 6: Be Accurate.

DCLS will make every effort to ensure that personal information in its possession or control is accurate, complete, and up-to-date as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

Principle 7: Use Appropriate Safeguards.

DCLS is committed to the protection of personal information in its possession or control from loss or theft and from unauthorized access, use disclosure, copying or modification through utilizing safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information such as:

• Security alarmed office, locked filing cabinets, technological tools, passwords, virus protection and firewall.
• Any DCLS employee with access to personal information will be required to respect the confidentiality of such information.
• Personnel files will be kept confidential and access will be given only to those personnel that require the information in the course of their duties.
• DCLS will use care when destroying or disposing of personal information to prevent unauthorized access, use or disclosure of any personal information.

Principle 8: Be Open.

DCLS policies and procedures regarding the management of personal information are written in an understandable format in the Standard Operating Procedures Manual. This manual is constantly under review and is available at all DCLS sites. All employees have been informed of the Privacy Policy. New employees receive orientation and training and are informed of the Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy is posted on the DCLS web site www.dcls.ca and is available in a brochure form upon request.

Principle 9: Providing Access to Personal Information.

DCLS will inform individuals of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or her personal information and will provide access to that information, except where the law requires DCLS to deny access. All written requests for personal information by an individual will be responded to within a reasonable length of time to a maximum of 30 working days. In the case of employees access will be granted within five working days.

• When advised of errors in personal information which has been collected DCLS will immediately correct the information and advise users of the correction.

Principle 10: Provide Recourse.

DCLS Privacy Officer is accountable for DCLS compliance with the principles described in the Privacy Code. If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about the way in which personal information is collected or used, please direct them to the attention of:

• Patti Ellis
• DCLS Privacy Officer
• 1-3800-72nd Street
• Delta, BC V4K 3N2
• Telephone: 604-946-9508
• Email:

All questions, concerns or complaints will be acknowledged within five business days. All challenges will be investigated and appropriate corrective measure will be undertaken.