The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) is committed to the free flow of information that can help users make informed decisions. CalVCB is also committed to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of individuals, as enumerated in Article 1 of the California Constitution, the Information Practices Act of 1977, and other applicable state and federal statutes.

It is the policy of the CalVCB to limit the collection and safeguard the privacy of personal information collected or maintained by CalVCB. The information management practices are consistent with the Information Practices Act (Civil Code Sections 1798 et seq.), the Public Records Act (Government Code Sections 6250 et seq.), Government Code Sections 11015.5 and 11019.9, and other applicable laws pertaining to information privacy.

CalVCB follows these principles in collecting and managing personal information:

• CalVCB collects personal information on individuals only as allowed by law. CalVCB limits the collection of personal information to what is relevant and necessary to accomplish its lawful purpose. For example, CalVCB needs to know an individual’s address and telephone number, or other personal information, to properly identify an individual, answer an individual’s questions or provide requested assistance. Personal information, as defined in the Information Practices Act, is any information that identifies or describes an individual including, but not limited to, the individual’s name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history. (Civ. Code §1798.3(a)). CalVCB shall not distribute or sell any electronically collected personal information about users to any third party without the user’s written consent.

• CalVCB does not collect home, business or e-mail addresses, or account information from persons who simply browse our Internet Websites. The information that CalVCB automatically collects includes an individual’s domain name or Internet Protocol address, the type of browser and operating system used, date and time an individual visited the site, Web pages visited, and any forms downloaded.

• CalVCB may use session cookies in some areas of the website to improve the overall usability of the site. Cookies are simple text files stored on an individual’s computer by their Web browser. The cookie is temporary and is deleted when an individual exits the browser. CalVCB does not use cookies to collect or store personal information. CalVCB collects personal information about individuals through our Web site only if the individual provides the information voluntarily through e-mail, registration forms, or surveys. An individual has the right to have any electronically collected personal information deleted by CalVCB without reuse or distribution.
  
  • How to clear Cookies in Chrome
    
    • Open Chrome.
    • In the top right-hand corner of the browser, you will see three dots, which indicate a settings menu. Select the dots.
    • Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select “Advanced.”
    • Select “Clear browsing data.”
    • Under the “All cookies and site data” section, you can customize which cookies to delete based on a specific time range and other options.
    • Finally, you can complete the deletion by selecting “Clear data.” You can also clear your cache, which is where your computer stores previously viewed websites so they can be loaded faster on future visits.
  • How to clear Cookies in Firefox
    • Open Firefox on your computer.
    • In the upper right-hand corner of the browser, select the menu bars, which look like three parallel lines, and select the “Privacy” tab.
    • Here you can select “Clear your recent history.”
    • Be sure that only “Cookies” is checked, and then select the time frame for which you would like to delete your cookies. If you want to delete all cookies, select “Everything.”
    • Double-check your selections to make sure that other items you want to keep are not selected and then hit “Clear now.”
  • How to clear Cookies in Microsoft Edge
    • Launch Microsoft Edge
    • Go to the “More” menu and select “Settings.”
    • Scroll to “Clear browsing data,” select “Cookies and saved website data,” and then select “Clear.”

• CalVCB informs individuals who provide personal information the purpose for which the information is collected. CalVCB notifies all individuals who are asked to provide personal information with the general purpose for which the information will be used. This is done at the time of collection. With each request for personal information, CalVCB provides the statutory authority under which the request is made, the principal purpose CalVCB may use the information and the possible disclosures CalVCB may be obligated to make to other government agencies and to the public.

• CalVCB uses personal information only for specified purposes, and an individual’s personal information shall not be disclosed, made available, or otherwise used for purposes other than those specified, except with the consent of the subject of the data, or as authorized by law or regulation. The Public Records Act exists to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to have access to appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions in both state and federal law to the public’s right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals. In the event of a conflict between this Policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other law governing the disclosure of records, the applicable law will control. Electronically collected personal information is exempt from requests made under the Public Records Act Government Code Section 11015.5 (a)(7); Government Code section 7920.000 et. seq.

• CalVCB uses information security safeguards. CalVCB takes reasonable precautions to protect the personal information of individuals collected or maintained by CalVCB against loss, unauthorized access, and illegal use or disclosure. CalVCB protects the security of an individual’s personal information during transmission by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts the information entered. Personal information is stored in secure locations. CalVCB staff is trained on procedures for the release of information, and access to personal information is limited to those staff whose work requires it.

• Access rights. Individuals have the right to review records containing the information provided to CalVCB and to request corrections of any inaccuracies in an individual’s record.

• Contact us. To request access to your records, file complaints related to your privacy or personal information access requests, or to request deletion of any electronically collected personal information, please call at 1-800-777-9229 or contact us at P.O Box 3036, Sacramento, CA 95812, or email at info@victims.ca.gov.

Please contact the Privacy Coordinator at Privacy@victims.ca.gov regarding any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy.

Privacy Policy effective date: 03/13/2026