Peter Project Outreach, Inc. ("Peter Project Outreach," "we," "us," or "our") provides community based behavioral health services to children and youth in Texas. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through our website at https://thepeterproject.com, how we use it, and the choices you have. It covers our website and our text messaging program.
This policy is not our Notice of Privacy Practices. Protected health information created or received in the course of providing treatment is governed by our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, which is provided at intake and available on request. This Privacy Policy covers information collected through our website and our text messaging program.
1. Information we collect
Information you give us
When you complete a form on our website, request a call back, refer a child, or apply for a position, we collect the information you enter. Depending on the form this may include:
- Your name and your relationship to the child
- Your mobile phone number and email address
- The child's first name or initials and age
- Your county or city
- Your insurance or Medicaid plan name
- Anything you choose to write in a message or comment field
- Your consent to receive text messages, if you check that box
Please do not send detailed health information through our website. Our web forms are for getting in touch. They are not a secure channel for clinical detail, diagnoses, or records. Once you are enrolled, we will give you secure ways to share that information with us.
Information collected automatically
Our website and hosting provider record ordinary technical information such as IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, and the date and time of your visit. This is used for security and to understand which pages are useful.
2. How we use your information
- To respond to your question or call you back
- To determine whether a child may be eligible for our services
- To schedule and confirm appointments
- To send the text messages you asked to receive
- To keep records of consent, as messaging rules require
- To operate, secure, and improve our website
- To meet legal, regulatory, and funding obligations
We do not sell your personal information. We do not use the information you give us through this website to build advertising profiles, and we do not provide it to data brokers.
3. Text messaging and your mobile information
If you check the box to receive text messages, we use your mobile number to send the kinds of messages described in our Terms of Service, such as appointment reminders, scheduling coordination, and service updates.
No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Information sharing with subcontractors who provide support services, such as customer service or message delivery, is permitted. All other categories of information described in this policy exclude text messaging originator opt in data and consent. This information will not be shared with any third parties.
We will not sell, rent, or share your mobile phone number or your SMS consent with any third party for that party's own marketing or promotional use, under any circumstances.
Your mobile number and consent record are shared only with the messaging providers who deliver the messages on our behalf, such as our telecommunications and messaging platform vendors, and only so that the message you requested can reach you. Those vendors are contractually restricted from using the information for their own purposes.
Stopping messages
Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply, charged by your mobile carrier rather than by us.
You can stop messages at any time by replying STOP to any message from us. You will receive one confirmation, and then no further messages. Reply HELP for help, or contact us using the details at the bottom of this page. Opting out of text messages does not affect your child's services or your ability to reach us by phone.
Health information in text messages
Standard text messaging is not a secure or encrypted channel. We keep our messages brief and limited, and we do not include diagnoses, clinical detail, or session content in them. By opting in, you agree to receive appointment and scheduling messages that identify our agency by name. If you would rather we did not text you at all, tell us and we will use phone or mail instead.
4. When we share information
We share personal information only in these situations:
| Who | Why |
|---|---|
| Service providers | Website hosting, email, scheduling, and message delivery, strictly to perform those services for us |
| Health plans and payers | Eligibility, authorization, and claims for enrolled clients, as permitted by HIPAA |
| Government and regulators | Where required by law, including mandatory reporting of suspected abuse or neglect |
| In an emergency | To prevent a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person |
We do not share information with advertisers or affiliates for marketing purposes.
5. How long we keep information
- Web form enquiries that do not become clients: up to two years, then deleted
- Mobile numbers and SMS consent records: for as long as you remain opted in, and for at least four years after you opt out, so we can prove consent and honor your opt out
- Client records: retained under Texas and federal record retention rules for health care providers, which for a minor generally means until well past the child's eighteenth birthday
- Website logs: generally twelve months
6. Security
We use administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect the information we hold, including encrypted transmission, access controls limited to staff who need the information, audit logging, and encrypted backups. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
7. Children
Our services are for children and youth, but this website is directed to parents, guardians, and referring professionals. We do not knowingly collect information directly from children under 13 through this website. A parent or legal guardian provides the information and gives any consent, including consent to receive text messages. If you believe a child has given us information through this website, contact us and we will delete it.
8. Your choices and your rights
You can:
- Stop text messages by replying STOP
- Ask us to stop contacting you, or to correct information we hold
- Ask what information we hold about you and request a copy
- Ask us to delete information you gave us through this website, where we are not required to keep it
Texas residents may have additional rights under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, including the right to confirm whether we process your personal data, to correct or delete it, and to appeal a refusal. Health information held by a HIPAA covered entity is handled under HIPAA and the Texas Medical Records Privacy Act instead. To make a request, use the contact details below. We will not treat you differently for exercising a right.
9. Other websites
Our website may link to other organizations, such as crisis lines or partner agencies. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Read their policies before giving them information.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy we will post the updated version here and change the date at the top. Material changes affecting text messaging will be communicated before they take effect.
11. Contact us
Questions about this policy, or requests about your information:
Peter Project Outreach, Inc.
6671 Southwest Freeway, Suite 685
Houston, Texas 77074
Phone: (281) 985-5220
Email: admin@thepeterproject.com
Website: https://thepeterproject.com
If this is an emergency, call 911. If you or your child are in crisis, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call the Harris Center crisis line at 713-970-7000. Do not use this website or text messages to report an emergency. We do not monitor them around the clock.