MDVA Privacy Statement

The Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs (MDVA) websites provide an electronic means for accessing information about the programs and services available through MDVA. Web pages are continually under development as we attempt to keep our content as current as possible.

MDVA is committed to protecting the privacy of users in accordance with MN Statue § 13, the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act; this privacy statement explains how. We reserve the right to alter our privacy policy as business needs require. Any changes to this policy will be posted on this website in a timely manner.

Information Collected and Used

If you visit our sites to browse, read, and/or download information:

We use "cookies," the small text files that our websites place on your computer's hard drive to collect information about your activities on the sites. We collect and store the Internet Protocol (IP) address for the computer you used to access the sites; the identification of your browser software and operating system; the date and time you accessed the sites; and the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our sites.

We use this information to measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our sites and to help us make our sites more useful. We cannot and do not associate any of this information with individual persons, distribute this information to any third parties, or use it in any manner other than for statistical analysis in improving our sites for visitors. This information is classified as private or nonpublic. We retain this information indefinitely.

If you choose to identify yourself by sending us an e-mail or completing our on-line forms, we use the personally identifying information to process or respond to your request:

If you complete an on-line form, the information you provide is up to you. However, if you do not provide certain information, such as your name, it may be impossible for us to respond to your request. The MDVA websites use Secure Socket Layering (SSL) to encrypt data on our forms that request or require private data; SSL technology is the industry standard for secure online transactions. We may retain this information in our files, either in electronic form or hardcopy. Some of this information is public data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

Information e-mailed to us via the Internet is not secure and can be intercepted and read by others. We recommend that you not use e-mail to send us private or sensitive data about yourself or others unless the data is encoded or encrypted. Also, users are cautioned that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children on-line or by e-mail will be treated the same as information given by an adult and may be subject to public access.

Your Rights as the Subject of Government Data

The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act governs your right to see and know about the data that government entities collect, keep, or can release about you:

• All data MDVA collects are public and can be seen by anyone unless classified as private or not public by other state or federal law
• You have the right to know what data is collected about you and to view all public data or private data about yourself at no cost or be charged a reasonable fee for copies
• You have the right to have the meaning of data explained to you in a way you understand

MDVA will acknowledge and respond to every request it receives for access to collected data in an appropriate and prompt manner.

Disclaimer of Endorsement

Our websites may contain links to other public or private organizations. MDVA does not guarantee the accuracy of the information on other organizations' web pages that we are linked to, and MDVA is not responsible for the privacy policies or content of such websites. Links to any product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply any endorsement, recommendation, or association with those sites, the material contained therein, or the sponsoring entities by the State of Minnesota, MDVA, or any of their employees or contractors.

Disclaimer of Liability

While MDVA strives to provide accurate, timely, and comprehensive information, the State of Minnesota, MDVA, and their employees or contractors assume no legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, data, or process disclosed herein and do not represent that use of such information, apparatus, product, data, or process would not infringe on privately owned rights.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this privacy statement or the data practices of our sites, contact:

Anna Long
Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs
Veterans Service Building
2nd Floor, Room 206-C
20 West 12th Street
St. Paul, MN 55155-2006
Voice: (651) 296-6728
Fax: (651) 296-3954
E-mail: Anna.Long@state.mn.us