This Privacy Policy explains how Early Childhood Intervention (“ECI,” “we,” “us”) collects, uses, and protects information when you use ecibillings.org, including information you send through our online contact form.
Who we are
ECI provides early intervention supports for families with children from birth to age 3 in south-central Montana, including Big Horn, Carbon, Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Wheatland, and Yellowstone counties. We are a Montana Milestones Part C provider. Program records about a child and family are also governed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and Montana Milestones procedures. Those rules are described in the Parent Handbook. This website policy covers information collected through the website.
Information we collect
Information you send through the online form
Our contact form at https://ecibillings.org/contact/ asks for your name and a message (up to 600 characters). You may also include, in the message or in a follow-up call or email:
- Your phone number, email address, or mailing address
- A child’s name, date of birth, or age
- Information about a child’s development, disability, health, hearing, vision, behavior, or special health needs
- Family concerns and other details you choose to share so we can respond or start a referral
We treat developmental, disability, and health information about a child as sensitive information, even when you type it into a general contact form.
Do not use the website form for a medical emergency. Call 911. For a program referral, you may also use the Montana Milestones referral link on our Contact page. That form is hosted by Montana Milestones / the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, not by this website, and is covered by their privacy practices.
Information collected automatically
When you visit the site, our host and the systems that run the site may collect your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, pages viewed, referring website, and the date and time of the visit, plus cookie or similar identifiers used to keep the site working, remember form progress, or understand site use. We do not require an account to use the public pages of this site.
How we use information
We use information from the website and the contact form to reply to questions, follow up about a possible screening, evaluation, or referral, route your message to the right staff member, protect the site from spam, maintain the website, and meet legal and program requirements.
Submitting the form does not by itself enroll a child in services. Eligibility, evaluation, and services require the separate consent steps described in the Parent Handbook.
Sensitive information
If you include information about a child’s health, disability, development, or family circumstances in the form, we use it only to respond to you and, if you want services, to begin the early intervention process.
We ask that you share only what we need to call you back. You do not have to include a child’s full medical history, insurance numbers, Social Security number, or diagnosis in the website form. Please do not send Social Security numbers or full insurance ID numbers through the website form.
Official early intervention records, once a family enters the program, are kept confidential. With limited exceptions, we do not release personally identifiable information to outside agencies or professionals without written parent consent. Exceptions can include disclosures required by law and administrative reporting to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services for program monitoring, as described in the Parent Handbook.
How we share information
We do not sell personal information. We do not share contact-form submissions for advertising. We may share information with ECI staff who need it to respond, with our website host, form provider, and email provider so they can deliver the message, with Montana Milestones / DPHHS when a referral or program record is created, with another provider only with parent consent or when law requires it, and if disclosure is needed to prevent serious harm or to comply with a lawful request.
The “Montana Milestones Referral” button leaves this website. Information entered on that site is collected by that system.
Cookies
The site may use necessary cookies to operate pages and forms, and may use analytics cookies to see which pages are used. You can block cookies in your browser. Blocking necessary cookies may stop the contact form from submitting.
Children
Our services are for infants and toddlers, but this website is meant for parents, caregivers, and professionals. We do not knowingly collect information directly from a child. A parent or guardian should be the person who submits the contact form. If you believe a child submitted information, contact us and we will delete it if we are not required to keep it.
Security
We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards appropriate to a website contact form. No online form is completely secure. For especially sensitive details, call us at (406) 281-5885 during office hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
How long we keep it
Messages sent only to ask a general question are kept only as long as needed to respond and for ordinary administrative records, unless they become part of a child’s early intervention record.
If the information becomes part of a child’s program record, ECI retains that record as required by Montana Milestones and applicable law. The Parent Handbook states that ECI keeps a child’s records for 8 years after the child leaves the program, then destroys them, while a permanent record of the child’s name, address, and telephone number is kept.
Your choices and rights
You may ask what website information we have about you, ask us to correct it, and ask us to delete a website inquiry that has not become a program record. You may refuse optional cookies in your browser. Rights related to a child’s early intervention record, including review, correction, and consent to release, are described in the Parent Handbook and under IDEA Part C and FERPA.
Changes
We may update this policy. The effective date at the top will change when we do. The current version will be posted on this page.
Contact us
Early Childhood Intervention
2016 Grand Avenue
Billings, MT 59102
Phone: (406) 281-5885
Fax: (406) 245-1149
Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
