Privacy policy
This explains what personal information West Coast In-Home collects, why we collect it, who we share it with, and what you can ask us to do about it. It covers our website, our staff and family apps, and our hiring process.
Who we are
West Coast In-Home provides in-home childcare in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Seattle area. You can reach us at hello@westcoastinhome.com about anything on this page.
What we collect
If you apply to work with us
- Your name, email address, phone number and general location
- Your résumé, work history and answers to screening questions
- Records of our conversations with you, including text messages
- Interview scheduling, offer and onboarding records
- References you name, and the responses those referees give us
If you work with us
- Everything above, plus your credentials and their expiry dates
- Your availability, your assignments and your submitted hours
- Policies you have read and signed, including the date, the version, and the device and network connection you signed from
If you are a client family
- Your name, contact details and service address
- Information about the children in your care arrangement that you choose to give us — ages, routines, allergies, medical notes, and access instructions for your home
- Your bookings, visit records and billing history
If you just visit the website
Our public pages do not use advertising or analytics trackers. We keep ordinary web server logs. If you email us or use a form, we keep what you send.
Mobile information and text messages
Mobile information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All categories of the above exclusions apply: we do not sell, rent, or share mobile numbers, text message content, or consent records with anyone for their own marketing.
Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third party, other than the messaging provider that delivers the message on our behalf.
We text caregivers who have agreed to receive messages, about their own work. Our text message terms set out what we send, how often, and how to stop. Reply STOP to any message to stop it, or HELP for help. Message and data rates may apply.
We record who agreed, when, and which version of the consent they were shown — and, if someone stops, the date they asked us to. We keep that record because we have to be able to show a carrier or a regulator that we had permission before we sent anything.
Why we use it
- To match caregivers with families, and to run shifts
- To assess people who apply to work with us
- To keep children safe — including background checks, credential verification and investigating concerns that are reported to us
- To bill for services and keep our own financial records
- To meet our legal obligations, including mandated reporting
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it to build advertising profiles.
Who we share it with
We share personal information only with:
- Service providers who run parts of our system for us — cloud hosting, email delivery, text message delivery, background check providers and payment processing. They may use it only to provide that service to us.
- Families and caregivers, as needed to run an assignment. A family sees the caregiver assigned to them; a caregiver sees what they need in order to do the job.
- Authorities, where the law requires it — most importantly child protective services and law enforcement where there is a reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect. We will make those reports whether or not you consent to them.
Reporting a concern anonymously
Our concern reporting channel can be used anonymously, and when it is, we deliberately store nothing that identifies the reporter — no name, no contact detail, no account link, and no record of the device or network the report came from. That is a design decision we hold to even where it would be convenient not to. See Report a concern.
How long we keep it
Employment and assignment records are kept for as long as we are required to hold them, and generally for seven years after a working relationship ends. Signed policies and consent records are kept for as long as they may need to be evidenced. Applicant records for people we do not hire are kept while there is a realistic prospect of a future role, and deleted on request.
How we protect it
Information is held on managed cloud infrastructure with encrypted transport and access limited to people who need it for their work. Access to reported concerns is individually logged. No system is perfectly secure, and we do not claim otherwise.
Children's information
We hold information about children because it is necessary to care for them safely. We collect it from their parents or guardians, not from the children themselves, and our services are not directed to children. A parent or guardian may ask us for a copy of what we hold about their child, or ask us to correct it, at any time.
Your choices
- Text messages — agree or decline in the staff app, or reply STOP to any message.
- Email — every non-essential email has an unsubscribe link.
- Access and correction — ask us for a copy of what we hold about you, or to correct it.
- Deletion — ask us to delete it. We will, unless we are required to keep it, in which case we will tell you which part and why.
California and Washington residents have specific rights over their personal information under state law, including the right to know what is collected, to request deletion, and not to be treated worse for exercising those rights. Ask us and we will honour them.
Changes
If this policy changes we will update the effective date above. Changes that materially affect how we use text messages will also be reflected in the consent caregivers are asked to give.