Privacy Policy | Póliza de privacidad

Clients

The Board of Directors recognizes that clients and those persons who apply for legal services from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. have the right to discuss their legal problems in an atmosphere that protects the confidentiality of all communications and that preserves the attorney-client privilege from inadvertent or unintended breaches. To preserve those privileges and to protect confidential communications, the Board hereby declares as a matter of program policy that:

  1. Only TRLA employees may request or solicit information from clients or applicants for legal services that may pertain to their legal problems, eligibility, or any identifying information, including names, addresses, or social security numbers. Exceptions to this policy may be made for an attorney in private practice who is providing legal services under a Private Attorney Involvement arrangement with TRLA, a consultant working under contract with TRLA or under the supervision of TRLA staff, or authorized volunteers engaged in the delivery of legal services under the supervision of a TRLA employee.

  2. No member of the public or of the TRLA Board of Directors nor any member of a Board committee, an advisory committee, or similar body shall have access to confidential or privileged communications between TRLA employees and clients or applicants for legal services, including identity information, nor may a Board or committee member solicit information regarding a clients case from a client or applicant, unless such client or applicant voluntarily consents to provide confidential or privileged information after a TRLA attorney has fully explained the rights that might be waived or jeopardized by providing confidential or privileged information to any person or entity not subject to the attorney-client relationship.

  3. A member of the Board of Directors who seeks to obtain information or documents regarding program operations beyond that information provided generally to all members in their official governing capacities shall first submit such requests to the President of the Corporation. The President shall determine whether such request is appropriate, including the time and expense to program staff in responding to the requests, and if deemed appropriate, he or she may direct management to produce all or part of the requested information or documents, provided that no documents or information that is subject to the attorney-client privilege or that would tend to reveal the secrets or confidences of clients or applicants for legal services shall be released. The determination of the President may be appealed to the Executive Committee by program management or the requesting Board member.

  4. TRLA requests social security numbers of applicants for legal services in order to better identify those applicants and to assist in complying with funding regulations. In certain instances the social security number is needed in order to resolve the clients case. Such information is collected at time of intake, and entered into the client database. Access to the personal information is limited to those persons referenced in number 1 above.

  5. Client files may be destroyed after having been closed for at least five years. This applies to all files, regardless of the type of service provided. However, if the documents have been scanned into the client record on the CTS, the originals can be destroyed upon file closing. Any documents being destroyed which include a clients or an applicants identifying information must be shredded.

  6. This policy shall be made available to TRLA applicants and clients.

La Mesa Directiva reconoce que clientes y solicitantes de servicios legales de Texas Riogrande Legal Aid (TRLA) tienen el derecho a discutir sus problemas legales en un ambiente que proteje la confidencialidad de toda comunicación entrel el abogado y su cliente contra indiscreciones que resulten por inadvertencia o error. Esta pagina describe esas pólizas que nos ayudan a protejer su privacidad. La Mesa Directiva por este medio ordena como póliza del programa que:

  1. Se permite unicamente al personal de TRLA pedir o solicitar datos personales relacionados con los problemas legales, calificación, u otra información indentificadora, incluso los nombres, las direcciones y los números de seguro social, etc, de nuestros clientes o solicitantes de servicios legales. Excepciones a esta póliza pueden hacerse para abogados en practica privada que proveen servicios legales bajo un acuerdo de Participación por Letrados Independientes con TRLA, consultores contratados por TRLA y supervisados por nuestros abogados, o a los voluntarios autorizados a colaborar en la provisión de servicios legales bajo la supervisión del personal de TRLA.

  2. A ningún particular, ni miembro de la Mesa Directiva de TRLA, ni a ningún miembro de alguna comisión de la Mesa Directiva, comisión asesora, o cualquier semejante, se le permite el acceso a las comunicaciones confidenciales o privilegiadas, inclusive datos personales identificadores entre el personal de la TRLA y los clientes o solicitantes de servicios legales. Tampoco puede ningún miembro de la Mesa Directiva, ni algun miembro de ninguna de sus comisiones solicitarle a ninún cliente o solicitante de servicios legales ninguna información referente a su caso, a menos que este voluntariamente acceda a proveer dicha información después de que un abogado de TRLA le haya explicado plenamente los derechos que se podran renunciar o empeligrar al proveerse tal informacin a alguna persona no sujeta a las limitaciones de la relación privilegiada entre el abogado y el cliente.

  3. Un miembro de la Mesa Directiva que pretenda obtener información o documentos pertinentes a las operaciones del programa que vayan más allá de la informacion generalmente proveída a todos los titulares de la Mesa Directiva en sus capacidades oficiales, debe primero someter su solicitud al Presidente de la Corporación. El Presidente determinara si la solicitud es apropiada, tomando en cuenta el tiempo y los gastos del personal involucrados en la respuesta. Si la petición se considera apropiada, el(ella) podrá ordenar a la administración del programa a que produzca la información solicitada total o parcialmente. En ningún caso se revelara el contenido de ningún documento sujeto al privilegio de confidencialidad entre el cliente y el abogado, o entre TRLA y solicitantes de asistencia legal. La determinación del Presidente puede ser sujeta a apelación al Comité Ejecutivo por parte de la administració del programa o el personal directivo solicitante.

  4. TRLA requiere el número de seguro social de todos sus aplicantes para establecer la identidad del solicitante y para cumplir con los requisitos de los patrocinadores financieros del programa. En algunos casos, se necesita el número para resolver los asuntos judiciales del solicitante. Esta información se solicita al momento de inscripcion al programa y se anota en el registro electrónico de clientes. El acceso a los datos personales se limita al personal nombrado en el numero 1 de este documento.

  5. Los expedientes de los clientes se pueden destruir después de haber sido archivados por cinco años. Esto se aplica a todos los expedientes, sin consideració a la categoría de servicios proveidos. Sin embargo, si una imagen electrónica de un documento ha sido captada por el sistema CTS, se puede destruir el original al ser cerrado el archivo. La destrucción de cualquier documento que incluya los datos identificadores de un cliente o un solicitante de servicios legales va a ser por medio de la trituración.

  6. Esta póliza se hace disponible a todos los clientes y solicitantes de los servicios de TRLA.

Donors, Partners

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. Privacy Policy for Donors and Partners 

INTRODUCTION

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. is committed to protecting the privacy of our donors and partners. We collect certain personal information from donors and partners to process donations, provide updates on our work, and build relationships. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose donor and partner information. 

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect the following types of information from donors and partners: 

  • Name and contact information (such as address, email address, and phone number) 

  • Credit Card or Bank information for donations   

  • Donation history 

  • Communication preferences 

  • Event attendance history 

  • Volunteer hours 

  • Other information that you voluntarily provide to us 

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use donor and partner information for the following purposes: 

  • To process donations and provide thank-you letters 

  • To send updates on our work and upcoming events 

  • To build relationships with donors and partners 

  • To comply with legal requirements 

HOW WE DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION

We do not sell, rent, or lease donor or partner information to third parties for any purpose. We may share donor or partner information with third-party service providers who help us to process donations, send communications, and manage our events. These service providers are contractually obligated to keep your information confidential and to use it only for the purposes for which it was shared. Additionally, limited staff have access to the data we store on the third-party platforms. We may also disclose donor or partner information as required by law or in the good faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or property, or the rights or property of others. 

YOUR CHOICES

You have the right to opt out of receiving communications from us at any time. You can also request to access or update your personal information. To do so, please contact us at donations@trla.org. 

DATA SECURITY

We take reasonable steps to protect donor and partner information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. We use a variety of security measures, including physical security measures, technical security measures, and administrative security measures. For more information on how we protect your information, please review privacy policies from some of our third-party partners (Bloomerang, Kindful, MailChimp, Stripe). 

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. If we make any material changes to this privacy policy, we will post the revised policy on our website and notify you by email or mail. 

CONTACT US

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at donations@trla.org. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

This privacy policy is effective as of November 2023.