We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

• Consent: You agree to informed consent when creating a profile and using Family-Match.
• Contractual necessity: Data is required to provide and deliver Family-Match services, with no protected, confidential data gathered or stored as a part of our process.
• Legitimate interest: For the accuracy of services, security, and system performance (matching).
• Legal obligations: Compliance with federal or state child welfare laws.

Family-Match is a tool provided by Adoption-Share to assist agencies and professionals in the recruitment and matching of families for children in need of foster or adoptive placements. Family-Match does not independently determine the purposes or means of processing personal data. Instead, we act as a data processor on behalf of the agencies and organizations that use our platform.
These organizations licensed to use the Family-Match platform are considered the data controllers, and they are responsible for determining how your information is used in accordance with their own policies and applicable laws. We collect the following types of data from users, caseworkers, and agencies:

• Identifying Information: Name, phone number, email address, and mailing address.
• Demographic Information: Age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, religion
• Background & Readiness: Optional home study reports, family preferences, home environment, foster/adoption qualifications.
• Behavioral Data: Compatibility and readiness survey responses.
• Technical Data: IP address, device/browser type, usage logs, and cookies for session management purposes while utilizing the application.

We collect data through:

• Direct user input on our platform, to include home studies (optional)
• Authorized child-placing agencies
• Licensed professionals uploading home studies
• Cookies and automated analytics tools

We use your data to:

• Facilitate matching between families and children in foster care or for potential adoption eligibility. Enable agencies and credentialed workers to view qualified family profiles for foster and adoptive parent recruitment.
• Communicate and send service-related updates or surveys
• Improve our platform through usage analysis
• Conduct anonymized research to improve placement outcomes

Important: We never sell your personal data. We may send you communications about relevant services unless you opt-out by emailing us at support@adoption-share.com We share your data only with:

• Partner Agencies: Credentialed child welfare professionals and agencies using Family-Match for matching and recruitment.
• Authorized Home Study Uploaders: Agencies may upload your home study, viewable only to placement workers with verified credentials.

We may also disclose your data:

• As required by law or legal process
• To protect the rights, safety, or property of users or the public
• With your explicit consent

Cookies help personalize your online experience. You can manage cookie settings in your browser. Disabling cookies may limit certain features.

• User Profiles: Retained while account is active and for a period afterward.
• Assessment Data: Used for research, anonymized where possible
• Communication Logs: Stored to meet legal and customer service requirements.

Families who choose to delete their Family-Match accounts will have all personally identifiable information (PII) permanently deleted from our systems within 30 days of the account deletion request. This process is part of our ongoing commitment to safeguarding user privacy.
The following data fields will be wiped:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Email Address
• Telephone Number
• Street Address
• Zip Code
• Welcome Letter
• Photos and Videos
• Home Study (if uploaded)
• Names of each family member
• Job Title (Occupation)
• Trainings taken (e.g., MAPPS, TBRI)

All remaining non-PII data will be retained in aggregate and de-identified form for the sole purpose of continued learning to improve family recruitment and child–family matching practices.
This retention approach enables Adoption-Share to fulfill its nonprofit mission of enhancing outcomes for children in foster care through evidence-based refinements to our technology and services, while respecting and protecting the privacy of our users. If you signed up for Family-Match through a partner organization’s website or invitation, please know that:

• The organization may be able to see some of the information in your profile so they can better support you—like helping you connect with a licensing agency or answering questions along the way.
• Sometimes, a related group that works closely with that partner (like a regional or state agency) may also have access so they can offer support too.
• These groups may have their own privacy guidelines, so feel free to check in with them if you’re curious about how they handle information.

No matter how you got here, your privacy is important to us. If you decide to delete your Family-Match account, we’ll remove all your personally identifiable information within 30 days.
What’s left is only anonymous data we use to keep learning and improving how we help families and kids connect. All data is currently stored within the United States, where Adoption-Share is currently authorized to operate. Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access: View data we hold about you.
• Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your data.
• Restriction: Limit processing of your data.
• Portability: Obtain your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw Consent: At any time, by managing your account or contacting support.

To exercise these rights, email: support@adoption-share.com or log in at family-match.org. Requests are typically processed within 30 days. We use physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect your data, including:

• Application security – including logical authentication and authorization controls
• SSL encryption (via GeoTrust)
• SOC 2 Type 2 compliance – for both our organization and our data services and hosting providers
• Access control policies and confidentiality agreements with all states and organizations with whom we operate

While we take significant precautions to protect your data, no system is 100% secure. As such, we have limited the types of data we collect and store to minimize the sensitivity of the data you share with us. Families or their licensing agencies may upload home studies. These are accessible only to credentialed placement professionals. Families can manage sharing settings via their accounts. If uploaded by an agency, control settings are managed by the uploading party. Our Services may link to third-party websites with whom we do not share or transmit data. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. We recommend reviewing their policies before sharing information. Our Services are not intended for children under 13. Any child-related data is submitted by licensed agencies with legal custody. Parents may contact us regarding any questions. You can unsubscribe from email communications by clicking "unsubscribe" in emails or by contacting us at support@adoption-share.com. We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Changes will be posted to our website and, where appropriate, communicated by email to our users and customers. Continued use of our Services constitutes acceptance of these and our other policies and terms of use. Adoption-Share, Inc.
Family-Match Program
PO Box 1532
Brunswick, GA 31521

Email:   support@adoption-share.com