Privacy Policy

Village Family Collective Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 25, 2025

At Village Family Collective, we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information of our clients, their children, and our caregivers. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information in accordance with British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and other applicable privacy laws in Canada.

1. Who We Are

Village Family Collective provides Nanny and Granny on-the-go childcare services in Vernon, BC, offering temporary, occasional, and part-time childcare solutions directly to families in their homes.

2. What is Personal Information?

Personal information means information about an identifiable individual. It includes, but is not limited to:

• For Families/Parents/Guardians: Name, contact information (address, phone number, email), payment information, emergency contact details, health information about the children (allergies, medications, special needs), family dynamics relevant to childcare, schedules, and specific childcare requirements.

• For Children: Name, age, date of birth, health information (as provided by parents/guardians), developmental information relevant to childcare.

• For Caregivers (Nannies & Grannies): Name, contact information, resume, background check results (criminal record checks, vulnerable sector checks), references, qualifications, certifications (e.g., First Aid, CPR), availability, payment details.

• Website Usage Data: IP addresses, browser types, usage patterns on our website (collected via cookies or analytics tools).

Personal information does not include business contact information (e.g., a caregiver's business email address or phone number when used for professional communication).

3. Purposes for Collecting, Using, and Disclosing Personal Information

We collect, use, and disclose personal information solely for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances and that are necessary to provide our services. These purposes include:

• Providing Childcare Services: To match families with suitable caregivers, understand the specific needs of children, manage scheduling, and ensure the safety and well-being of children in our care.

• Client Management: To establish and maintain client relationships, process bookings, manage accounts, and communicate effectively.

• Caregiver Management: To assess caregiver suitability, conduct background checks, verify qualifications, manage schedules, and process payroll.

• Billing and Payment: To process payments for services rendered.

• Emergency Situations: To respond to emergencies involving a child or caregiver, including contacting emergency services or designated emergency contacts.

• Legal and Regulatory Compliance: To meet legal obligations (e.g., duty to report child in need of protection, tax requirements), and comply with any applicable licensing or regulatory requirements for childcare services in BC.

• Service Improvement: To analyze usage patterns (anonymized where possible) and feedback to improve our services.

• Marketing (with consent): To send updates, promotions, or newsletters about our services, only with your express consent.

4. Consent

We will obtain your consent to collect, use, or disclose your personal information, except where authorized or required by law to do so without consent (e.g., in an emergency threatening life, health, or security, or for law enforcement purposes).

• Express Consent: We will seek express consent (e.g., signed forms, clicked checkboxes on our website) for sensitive information (like health details) or for purposes that are not immediately obvious or integral to the service (e.g., marketing communications).

• Implied Consent: In some cases, your consent may be implied by your actions or inaction (e.g., providing your contact information to book a service implies consent for us to use it for that booking).

• Withdrawal of Consent: You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide certain services.

For Children's Information: We require the express consent of parents or legal guardians for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information about their children. We will use age-appropriate language when communicating with children where applicable and will always prioritize their best interests.

5. Limiting Collection, Use, and Disclosure

We will only collect personal information that is necessary for the purposes identified. We will not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with your consent or as required/permitted by law.

6. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the identified purposes or as required by law. Once the information is no longer needed, it will be securely destroyed, erased, or made anonymous. For example, we may retain childcare records for a certain period after services conclude as required by childcare regulations or for our business records.

7. Accuracy of Personal Information

We strive to keep your personal information accurate, complete, and up-to-date. We rely on you to provide us with accurate information and to inform us of any changes.

8. Safeguards

We employ various physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect personal information from loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification. These include:

• Physical: Secure storage of paper records in locked cabinets, restricted access to our office premises.

• Technical: Encryption for online data transmission, password-protected systems, firewalls, regular security updates, secure cloud storage for electronic data.

• Administrative: Employee training on privacy principles, confidentiality agreements with all staff and caregivers, clear internal policies and procedures for handling personal information, appointment of a Privacy Officer.

While we take reasonable measures to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Openness

This Privacy Policy is available on our website villagefamilycollective.ca and upon request. We are committed to transparency about our privacy practices.

10. Individual Access and Correction

You have the right to request access to your personal information held by Village Family Collective. You can also request corrections to any inaccuracies. To make an access or correction request, please contact our Privacy Officer (details below). We will respond to your request within 30 days, or provide written notice if additional time is required. We may charge a reasonable fee for providing information in response to an access request.

11. Disclosure to Third Parties and Cross-Border Transfers

We may disclose your personal information to third-party service providers who assist us in operating our business (e.g., payment processors, background check agencies, scheduling software providers, IT support). We ensure these third parties are bound by confidentiality agreements and adhere to privacy standards consistent with this policy.

Please note that some of our service providers may store or process data outside of Canada. In such cases, your personal information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where it is stored or processed. We will ensure appropriate contractual measures are in place to protect your information.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The updated policy will be posted on our website, and the "Effective Date" will be revised. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Challenging Compliance / Contacting Our Privacy Officer

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about our privacy practices or this Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer:  Anne McMeeking, Owner/Privacy Officer Email:  support@villagefamilycollective.ca] Phone: 250-309-3064 

Vernon BC

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia:

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia PO Box 9038 Stn. Prov. Govt. Victoria B.C. V8W 9A4 Telephone: (250) 387-5629 Email: info@oipc.bc.ca Website: www.oipc.bc.ca