Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 13 - AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES › Sub-Agency 000 - GENERAL › Chapter 002 - CONSUMER INFORMATION AND PRIVACY › Section 13 000 002 - CONSUMER INFORMATION AND PRIVACY

Current through June, 2024
Section 1
				Definitions
1.1 "Agency" means the Vermont
				Agency of Human Services or any of its departments, offices, or
				divisions.
1.2 "Consumer" means an
				individual or family who is served, voluntarily or involuntarily, by the
				Agency. A Consumer served by any department, office, division, or program of
				the Agency, or its Contractors or Grantees, is considered to be a Consumer of
				the entire Agency.
1.3 "Contractor"
				means an individual or entity with whom the Agency has a contract to provide
				services. This rule only applies to such individuals or entities when they are
				providing these services under the contract.
1.4 "Disclose" or "Disclosure" means a
				communication of a Consumer's Individually Identifiable Information, an
				affirmation of another person's communication of Individually Identifiable
				Information, or an acknowledgment of an individual's status as a recipient of
				services or benefits, outside the Agency.
1.5 "Employee" means any person who works in
				a full-time, part-time, or temporary position for the Agency. Volunteers and
				interns of the Agency are considered Employees and have the same obligations
				under this rule as Employees.
1.6
				"Grantee" means an individual or entity with whom the Agency has a grant to
				provide services. This rule only applies to such individuals or entities when
				they are providing these services under the grant.
1.7 "Individually Identifiable Information"
				means information created or received by the Agency or its Contractors and
				Grantees that identifies a Consumer, or where there is a reasonable basis to
				believe the information can be used to identify a Consumer.
1.8 "Inter-Disciplinary Team" means a group
				of Employees, Contractors, Grantees, or other individuals who are engaged in
				identifying, coordinating, planning, arranging, and providing support or
				services to a Consumer in order to carry out the Agency's legal
				obligations.
1.9 "Need-to-Know"
				means a Contractor, Grantee, or Employee has an actual need to access the
				information to perform his or her work on behalf of the Agency.
1.10 "Program Administration" means
				activities necessary to carry out the operations of the Agency. This consists
				of establishing eligibility and scope of services and assistance for which a
				Consumer has applied including the identification and coordination of those
				services within the Agency and its Contractors and Grantees; planning,
				arranging, providing, funding, or paying for services and assistance for
				individuals and families; coordination of benefits; detecting fraud and abuse;
				engaging in quality control and improvement activities; emergency response or
				disaster relief, and complying with federal and state legal, reporting, and
				funding requirements. Program administration is synonymous with agency
				administration and is bounded by state and federal enactments that require
				stricter confidentiality.
1.11
				"Record" means any item, collection, or grouping of written or electronic
				information that includes Individually Identifiable Information that is
				maintained, collected, or used by the Agency, in whole or in part, to make
				decisions about an individual.
1.12
				"Share" or "Sharing" means a communication of a Consumer's Individually
				Identifiable Information, an affirmation of another person's communication of
				Individually Identifiable Information, or an acknowledgment of an individual's
				status as a recipient of services or benefits within the Agency and its
				Contractors or Grantees when they are performing work on behalf of the
				Agency.