Privacy Policy

Last Updated December 2024

Our Commitment to Privacy

The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (“DECAL”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) strives to provide online resources in a safe, secure manner that respects your privacy when you visit our site. This privacy notice explains our online information practices and can be found in the footer of every page throughout the DECAL website.

Information Collected

This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on the DECAL website. We do not collect any personal information on the DECAL website.

The DECAL website uses Google Analytics to capture analytical information about the effectiveness of its websites. No user demographic data is collected. When users visit the DECAL website, we may collect some or all of the following information:

• IP addresses, which are numbers automatically assigned to a computer when using the internet;
• The type of browser and operating system used to access the site;
• The internet address of the website from which users linked directly to the site;
• The search terms used to get to the website, in addition to search terms used in the site’s search engine;
• The location (city and state) from where the site is being accessed;
• The dates and times users access the site;
• The type of device used to access the site;
• How often users visit the site;
• The pages users visit within the site; and
• The links made to other websites through this site.

This information is not identifiable by person and is only used cumulatively for statistical purposes to help make our websites more user friendly.

Google Analytics plants a cookie on your web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit this site, but this cookie cannot be used by anyone but Google. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use (as amended for government websites) and the Google Privacy Policy. You can prevent Google Analytics from recognizing you on return visits to this site by disabling cookies on your browser.

For site security purposes, the servers housing these sites use programs to monitor network traffic. Anyone using these sites consents to the monitoring of their use by these programs and the analysis of traffic to recognize possible security breaches.

How Information is Used

We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design the DECAL website. For example, we may report that X number of individuals from a certain county visited a certain area on our website or that Y number of Microsoft Edge users and Z number of Firefox users visited the site during a period of time. We will not disclose anything that could be used to identify those individuals.

Aggregate information for statistical purposes may be shared with third parties. For example, we may share with child care providers how many people have visited a particular page on DECAL’s website.

If you choose to provide information to DECAL, such as through email, we may use that information to contact you, respond to your message, or provide the information or services you requested. Sometimes we forward your email to other state employees who may be better able to help you, and this staff may be employed by a different agency within the state.

Email

Email is not a secure form of transmission. DECAL does not recommend that you submit sensitive or personally identifiable information via email. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations or as required by law, we do not share our email with any other organizations outside of the public sector.

Protection of Children's Personal Information

The DECAL website is intended for business use and does not knowingly collect any personal information from children.

Sharing Information

Information that you choose to share with DECAL may be treated as a public record under Georgia Open Records Act O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.

Within DECAL, we restrict access to personally identifiable information to staff who require access to this information in order to perform their official duties, and we exercise controls to limit what data employees can view based on the specific needs of their role at DECAL.

Use of Cookies

Cookies are small data files that contain information about the user and are stored on the user's browsing device when they visit a website. The DECAL website uses user session cookies that record how long a user was active on the website. Google Analytics creates a cookie to determine whether the website user has visited the site before. These cookies are stored directly on the user’s device but are removed once the browser is closed or on demand based on browser settings or user preferences.

If cookies are not accepted on the device used to access DECAL’s website, a cookie is not stored when visiting the DECAL website.

For more information about protecting your privacy online, including limiting the collection of cookies, you can review the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division information on Protecting Your Privacy Online.

Our Commitment to Data Security

Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of the DECAL website as part of our continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as the electronic transmission of information.

The DECAL website does not require passwords or collect credit card information. To further secure your privacy, do not divulge any passwords or sensitive information (e.g. credit card number) to anyone in a phone call or email.

Changes to this Statement

DECAL’s Privacy Policy may be updated periodically. When this policy is updated, DECAL will revise the "last updated" date at the top of the privacy statement. For material changes to this statement, a prominent notice will be placed on the website.

How To Contact Us

If you have other questions or concerns about this privacy notice, please send us an email at applicationsupport@decal.ga.gov.