Disclaimer
Neither the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), nor any employee of VDSS warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or outdated. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, processes or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by VDSS or the Commonwealth of Virginia. The information and statements contained on this server shall not be used for the purposes of advertising, nor to imply the endorsement or recommendation of VDSS or the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The VDSS Web site has links to other Web sites. These include links to Web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you link to another site, you are no longer on the VDSS Web site and this policy will not apply. When you link to another Web site, you are subject to the Department of Social Services (VDSS) only collects of that new site. Reference on those Web sites to any specific commercial product, process or service by trade name, trademark or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation or favoring by VDSS.
Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features or to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution.
VDSS reserves the right to change our Web policy at any time without prior notice.
Cookies
"Cookies" are a standard Web technology consisting of small files placed on your computer by a Web server. The server uses them to both store and retrieve information about your visit.
It is the policy of VDSS to avoid placing cookies on your computer whenever possible. However, some applications on this site require a persistent connection between the server and your computer. This connection is maintained through the use of cookies. VDSS applications do not use these cookies to store or transmit information about you. If your Web browser is not configured to accept cookies, you still will be able to access information on the site, but some features and applications may not be available.
Other sites may use cookies, collect data or solicit personal information. The privacy policies and procedures described here do not apply to external links. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any site you link to from this site, especially if you share any personal information.
Links Policy
This Web site contains hypertext links to external Web sites and pages containing information created and maintained by public and private organizations other than VDSS. VDSS, at its sole discretion, will determine which external Web sites are linked to. The inclusion of a hypertext link to an external Web site is not intended as an endorsement of any product or service offered or referenced on the linked Web site, the organizations sponsoring said Web site, or any views that might be expressed or referenced in the Web site.
Hypertext links to external Web sites and pages may be removed or replaced at the sole discretion of the VITA at any time without notice.
If a hypertext link on the VDSS Web site is not working, please report the problem to our web team.
File Formats
A list of file formats used by this site (e.g. PDF, Word DOC, Excel XLS spreadsheet and PPT PowerPoint presentation) is provided on our page entitled Help Opening Files.
Privacy Policy
About our Privacy Policy
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) only collects personal information to the extent necessary to provide services or benefits. We do not sell or rent user information to any outside company or organization. We do not reveal specific information about users or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use, except if required to do so by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or other law.
VDSS Privacy Policy and Program Manual
If you decide to send us an electronic mail message (e-mail), the message will usually contain your return e-mail address. If you include personally-identifying information in your e-mail because you want us to address issues specific to your situation, we may use that information to respond to your request. Sometimes, we forward your e-mail to other state agencies that may be better able to help you or answer your question. We do not distribute lists of e-mail addresses.
VDSS is pleased to respond to general e-mail inquiries concerning its services, but state and federal laws do not allow us to provide personal, confidential or case-specific information through this forum. Also, e-mail inquiries sent to VDSS are not secure or confidential.
Interactive Forms
On some of our Web pages we offer interactive forms that let you voluntarily submit personal information (such as your e-mail address, name and address). This occurs when you are requesting information, ordering publications, or registering for various conferences, workshops or training sessions offered by VDSS. All submitted information is used only for the expressed purposes for which it is intended and is not made available to any third party.
Statistical Information
If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the Web site, read pages, or download information, our Web site's server may automatically record some general information about your visit, such as:
- the Internet domain for your Internet service, such as "xcompany.com" or "xcompany.net" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a college or university domain and IP address (a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our site;
- the type and version of browser (such as "Chrome version X" or "Internet Explorer version X") that you use and the type of operating system you use (such as Apple/Mac, Unix/Linux, or Windows);
- the date and time and Web pages that you visit our site; and
- the address of the previous Web site you were visiting, if clicked through to us from another Web site.
We use this information for statistical analysis to help us make our site more useful to visitors. This information is only used internally, does not record information about individuals and will be used only for internal management purposes.
Security
The Virginia Department of Social Services uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) as the encryption protocol for all transactions involving personal information on this Web site. SSL protocol has become the universal standard on the Web for authenticating sites and for encrypting communications between users and Web servers.
The user can confirm a Web server's identity on such an encrypted page by clicking on either a padlock or key icon appearing at the bottom of the page.
