Search

Privacy Policy

California Child Support is committed to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of individuals, as enumerated in Article 1 of the California Constitution, the Information Practices Act of 1977, the Social Security Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), 42 United States Code (USC 654(26), 42 USC 654a(d)(1)-(5), and 45 CFR 303.21.

California Child Support limits the collection and safeguards the privacy of personal information it maintains. Information management practices conform to the requirements of the Information Practices Act (Civil Code Section 1798 et seq.), the Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.), Government Code Sections 11015.5 and 11019.9, California Family Code Section 17212, and other applicable laws pertaining to information privacy. This policy only applies to California Child Support Services.

"Personal information" as defined in the Information Practices Act of 1977, is information that identifies or describes an individual, including, but not limited to, his or her name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history that is 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."

According to Government Code Section 11015.5, "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, personal information as described above; information that reveals any network location or identity, but excludes any information manually submitted to a state agency by a user 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.

"Electronically collected personal information" is information that is automatically collected, such as your domain name or Internet Protocol address and statistical information about which Web pages you visit. More detail will be collected if you voluntarily provide information using a form available on any of our webpages, complete a request for assistance, send an e-mail, or participate in a survey. 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 Web site.

If any type of personal information is requested on the website or volunteered by the user, it will be governed by state laws, including the Information Practices Act of 1977, Government Code Section 11015.5, California Public Records Act, California Family Code Section 17212, and the federal Privacy Act of 1974. This information becomes a public record once provided, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not otherwise protected by federal or State law. However, any information provided while filling out an application or form for child support services (online or on paper) is confidential and will not be disclosed without a court ordered subpoena.

California Child Support adheres to the following principles in connection with the collection and management of personal information:

  1. Collects personal information on individuals only as allowed by law and limits the collection of personal information to what is relevant and necessary to accomplish the lawful purpose. For example, Child Support Services may need to know an individual's home address, e-mail address, or telephone number in order to answer the individual's questions or to provide requested assistance.
  2. Does not collect private or business e-mail addresses, or any type of account information from persons who simply browse the California Child Support website. Only collects personal information an individual voluntarily provides through the public website (e.g. sending an e-mail, completing registration forms, or responding to a directed request). The information that Child Support Services automatically collects is general information when users visit the website includes, but may not be limited to, the client internet protocol address, date and time when the website is visited, website pages displayed, and forms that are uploaded.
  3. Uses encrypted and unencrypted session cookies (text files stored temporarily on a visitor's computer by a web browser) to enable easy movement through the site. The default locale is US English and you can prefer to switch to Spanish as your locale. We do not store any personal data in the cookie nor do we share or sell any of the information with other parties or affiliates. The information collected in this manner is not personal information and site visitors may request to have their information discarded without reuse or distribution by submitting an on-line feedback form at https://childsupport.ca.gov/accessibility/. This information is not subject to requests made pursuant to the Public Records Act.
  4. Uses Google Analytics to help improve the website and understand how visitors interact with it. Child Support Services allows Google to use only anonymous data of the type described above. You may read the privacy policy for Google Analytics and can choose to prevent your data from being collected by Google Analytics by downloading the opt-out browser add-on.
  5. Endeavors to tell customers the purpose of personal information collected. With each request for personal information, Child Support Services provides information about the authority under which the request is made, the intended principal uses of the information, and the possible disclosure is obligated to make to other government agencies and to the public. This is done at the time of collection.
  6. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations or as required by law, Child Support Services does not share your e-mail with any other organization. Child Support Services may respond to your e-mail to address issues you identify, to further improve our website, or to forward it to another state agency for authorized action.
  7. Submission of an email to Child Support Services and/or communication through the website does not create any attorney-client or other privileged or confidential relationship. Accordingly, do not disclose any information that you wish to remain private or confidential.
  8. Individuals who provide personal information to Child Support Services are allowed to review the information for accuracy and completeness. To request a review of your personal information, visit https://childsupport.ca.gov/contact-us/
  9. The Public Records Act exists to ensure that California government is open and that the public has the right to have access to appropriate records and information possessed by many state and local government agencies. In the event of a conflict between this policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act, or any other law governing the disclosure of records, the most applicable law will prevail.
  10. Cookies created on your computer when using the Child Support Services website do not contain personal information and do not compromise your privacy or security. We use the cookie feature only to store a randomly generated identifying temporary tag on your computer. You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer by using any of the widely available methods in your browser. However, if you turn your cookie option off, you may not be able to access some of the features in our interactive applications.
  11. Personal information is collected directly from individuals who volunteer to use some of our services. Collection of this information is required to deliver the specific services, but use of these services is voluntary.

If you only browse or download information, we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

  1. Your Internet Protocol Address and domain name used. The Internet Protocol Address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you and generate statistics used in the management of this site.
  2. The type of browser and operating system you used.
  3. The date and time you visited the Child Support Services website.
  4. The services you accessed.
  5. The website you visited prior to the Child Support Services website.
  6. The website you visit after the Child Support Services website.
  7. The name of any form downloaded from the Child Support Services website.

The information automatically collected or stored is used to improve the content of the Child Support Services website and to help understand how services are used. This information does not identify you personally and is used for gathering website statistics.The information automatically collected and stored about your visit helps the analysis of the website and enables continuous improvement and value to the materials available.

Government Code Section 11015.5 prohibits all state agencies from distributing or selling any electronically collected personal information about users to any third party without the permission of the user. Child Support Services does not sell any "electronically collected personal information." Any distribution of electronically collected personal information will be solely for the purposes for which it was provided.

Child Support Services may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as required by law, but no personal information is sold or distributed, and all relevant legal protections still apply to the state's websites. Child Support Services will provide additional explanations of this privacy policy, if requested. For further questions about this policy, individuals are encouraged to contact Child Support Services by e-mail at Info.Security@DCSS.CA.GOV, or by mail at:

California Department of Child Support Services 
P. O. Box 419064 
Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-9064 
ATTN: Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer