Arkansas DHS Privacy Statement

This notice addresses how DHS collects and uses statistical and personal information from visitors to DHS’s web site.

Information collected about your visit to DHS’s web site

1.  Statistical Information

Upon opening DHS’s web site, certain information is automatically collected about your visit.  It is used for statistical purposes and does not identify you personally.  The number of people visiting our site changes over time, as does the Internet access software used by our visitors.   We use such data to improve our site and make it fit the needs of our user population.  We collect the following information when you visit our site:

• The Internet Protocol (IP) address of your PC and Domain Name, but not your Email address.  The IP address is an identifier assigned to your computer when you access the Internet.   The Domain Name is the Internet name of the host service through which you access the Internet (eg. MyInternetProvider.com).
• The type of browser software and operating system used to access our site.
• The date and time you access our site.
• The pages in our site that you visit.
• If you linked to our site from another site, the address of the originating web site.

2.  Cookies

Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by a web site.  Not all web sites or web pages you visit generate cookies.  Cookie text files are not executable and cannot carry viruses or worms.  Cookies can contain any string of text but typically they are used to remember your browser preferences, to record your browsing behavior, to identify you to a web site, and to improve the convenience of interacting with web sites.  Although you can prevent web sites from placing cookies on your computer, disabling cookies can adversely affect your ability to view or interact with some web sites.   DHS’s web site may use cookies to allow visitors to interact with online applications.  DHS does not use cookies to store a user’s personal information.

3.  Logging

DHS employs a hosting service for its DHS web site.  The hosting service, as an agent of DHS, writes to server log files to record user transactions and utilizes analysis software to collect site usage information.   Server log files are transient and used only for database maintenance.  Site analysis software is utilized as described in Statistical Information, above.

Personal Information

“Personal Information” is any information that identifies, represents, and directly associates to a specific person.  Personal information may include such things as a person’s name, address, phone number, Email address, social security number, etc.

We collect no personal information about you unless you voluntarily participate in an activity, on our web site, that asks for that information.   Some DHS’s web pages may include such activities which offer users the opportunity to: (1) communicate with us by Email; (2) to submit requests for information about DHS services; (3) to report information about service requests or service applications already initiated with a DHS office; (4)  to respond to surveys; (5) to complete an online transaction.

If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will not affect your ability to use any other features of DHS’s web site.  If you do choose to participate and you voluntarily provide personal information, that information may be protected by state and federal laws; if not protected, once submitted to us it becomes public record.

Information Collected through Email

If you choose to participate in an activity, as described above, that offers the opportunity to communicate with us by Email, we will collect the following information:

• The Email address you use in sending us the Email
• The contents of your Email message

We use this information to respond to you, to address the issues you identify, or to forward your message to another agency for appropriate response.   Your Email address and the contents of your Email message are not collected for commercial marketing purposes.  If your Email address and the contents of your Email message are not protected by state or federal law, the information is releasable as public record.

Type of data shared, purposes for sharing, option to opt out

We only share statistical or personal information with other government agencies if your inquiry relates to that agency and sharing is required by law or regulation.  For example, if you participate in an activity on DHS’s web site and voluntarily provide personal information relating to a DHS service you have applied for or are receiving, that information will be collected and made available to government agencies as required by law or regulation.

We do not create individual profiles with the information you provide or give it to private organizations.  We do not knowingly collect personal information from children or create profiles on children.  We do not collect information for commercial marketing. 

Visitors to the DHS web site may not opt out from the collection of statistical data, as defined above.  Additionally, the collection and sharing of personal information, as defined above, is governed by law or regulation and visitors participating in DHS web site activities requiring the voluntary provision of personal information may not opt out.

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act

Statistical information and personal information is subject to disclosure, with certain restrictions pertaining to access and confidentiality, under provisions of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.