The Central California Small Business Development Center Regional Network (Central CA Network SBDC) is 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 state and federal laws.
It is the policy of the Central CA Network SBDC to limit the collection and safeguard the privacy of personal information collected or maintained by the Central CA Network SBDC. The Central CA Network SBDC’s information management practices conform to the requirements of the Information Practices Act (Civil Code Section 1798 et seq.), the Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.), Government Code Sections 11015.5 and 11019.9, and other applicable laws pertaining to information privacy.
The Central CA Network SBDC follows these principles in collecting and managing personal information:
We collect personal information on individuals only as allowed by law.
We limit the collection of personal information to what is relevant and necessary to accomplish a lawful purpose of the Central CA Network SBDC. For example, we may need to know someone’s address and telephone number, among other things, to properly identify the person before issuing a professional license.
Personal information, as defined in the Information Practices Act, is information that identifies or describes an individual including, but not limited to, name, Social Security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history.
We do not collect home, business or e-mail addresses, or account information from persons who simply browse our Internet website.
The Central CA Network SBDC collects personal information about individuals through our website only if an individual provides such information to the Central CA Network SBDC voluntarily through forms or surveys. The information that the Central CA Network SBDC automatically collects includes the domain name or Internet Protocol address that relates to the machine used to access the Central CA Network SBDC’s website, the type of browser and operating system used, the date and time when the website is visited, web pages displayed, and any forms that are uploaded.
We use Google Analytics to help improve our website.
The Central CA Network SBDC uses Google Analytics to help understand how visitors interact with our website so that the site can be improved. You can read Google’s security and privacy policies for Google Analytics. You can choose not to have your data used by Google Analytics by downloading their opt-out browser add-on.
We may use session cookies in some areas of this website to improve the overall usability of the site.
Cookies are small text files placed on your computer, often without your knowledge, while visiting certain sites on the Internet used to identify your computer. For example, cookies are used by some sites to greet you personally, to post a list of your favorite books to purchase, to remember what you had in your shopping basket the last time you visited.
On this website, a temporary cookie may be placed on your computer for applications such as registration forms which can be sent electronically. The session cookies are used to facilitate the interaction between you and the fields in the form. The cookies are not used to collect or store information about you and do not track you if you return to our website. The cookie is temporary and will be deleted when you exit your browser. You can prevent cookies from being placed on your computer by accessing your browser’s preferences menu and deleting existing cookies. There also are commercial programs available to help you manage cookies. Before taking such steps, you should be aware that some websites may not work properly if you choose to block the placement of cookies on your computer. You will need to decide whether enabling cookies outweigh privacy concerns.
We strive in each instance to tell people who provide personal information to the Central CA Network SBDC the purpose for which the information is collected.
At the time of collection, we also strive to tell persons who are asked to provide personal information about the general uses that we will make of that information.
We tell people who provide personal information about their opportunity to review that information.
The Central CA Network SBDC allows individuals who provide personal information to review the information and contest its accuracy or completeness.
We only use or disclose personal information for the specified purposes, or purposes consistent with those purposes, unless we get the consent of the subject of the information, or unless required 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.
We use information security safeguards.
We take reasonable precautions to protect the personal information collected or maintained by the Central CA Network SBDC against loss, unauthorized access, and illegal use or disclosure. The Central CA Network SBDC uses encryption software to protect the security of individuals’ personal information during transmission of such information through the Central CA Network SBDC’s Websites. Such personal information is stored by the Central CA Network SBDC in secure locations. The Central CA Network SBDC’s staff is trained on procedures for the management of personal information, including limitations on the release of information. Access to personal information is limited to those members of the Central CA Network SBDC’s staff whose work requires such access. Confidential information is destroyed according to the Office’s records retention schedule. The Central CA Network SBDC conducts periodic reviews to ensure that proper information management policies and procedures are understood and followed.
The Central CA Network SBDC encourages all individuals to use appropriate safeguards to secure their computers and the information on those computers.
Terms of Service
It is Central CA Network SBDC’s policy to not divulge any information including name, e-mail or mailing address, or phone number of any individual/business receiving consulting or training assistance to any other persons or organization without the express written consent of the individual/business.
COPYRIGHT
The Central CA Network SBDC’s Lead Center Office, which is part of the University of California, Merced, owns and manages this site. All rights are reserved. This site’s content, including but not limited to text, articles, photographs, images, trademarks, logos, and service marks, is owned and operated by the Central CA Network SBDC and is protected by copyright laws of the United States. Material from this site cannot be copied, republished, or distributed without the Central CA Network SBDC’s Lead Center Office’s direct consent. This site’s content is only for your personal, non-commercial use.
LEGAL
The Central CA Network SBDC’s is a statewide partnership program nationally accredited by the Association of America’s SBDCs and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz/Cal OSBA), and other private and public partners, with University of California –Merced serving as our network’s headquarters.
All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA or other funding partners.
Equal Treatment of Clients
The Central CA Network SBDC SBDC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, age or national origin in services or accommodations offered or provided to its customers, guests, applicants for service, volunteers or members of the public.
The Central CA Network SBDC does not discriminate if a person does not speak English as their primary language. If a person has a limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English, we provide language assistance services such as oral interpretation services, bilingual staff, and written language services.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities and/or limited English proficiency will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. To request accommodation or language assistance, please contact the Central CA Network SBDC nearest you to discuss your needs.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The Central CA Network SBDC does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, age or national origin in our employment practices, including the hiring, retention, or promotion of employees; nor in determining their rank, or the compensation or fringe benefits paid them.
University of California – Merced’s Legal and Consumer Info
With University of California - Merced serving as the headquarters of the Central CA Network SBDC, the network complies with the University’s legal and consumer information protection policies. Click here for details.
TERMS
All content on the Central CA Network SBDC websites is copyrighted by the curators of the Central CA Network SBDC websites unless specifically stated otherwise.
None of this content may be copied, altered or distributed without the express written permission of the curators of the Central CA Network SBDC website properties.
To request permission to redistribute any material found on this website, please contact the Network Web Coordinator at casbdc@ucmerced.edu (opens in a new window). Please state specifically what information – text, graphic, photography, etc. – you wish permission to reuse and describe the manner in which you intend to reuse it. Also include the URL of the content you wish to use and a daytime phone number, contact name and email address.
All information provided is believed to be accurate, current and reliable at the time of publishing. However, neither University of California –Merced nor the curators of the Central CA Network SBDC website warrant that the information is complete or accurate. University of California –Merced and the curators of the Central CA Network SBDC website cannot be held liable by any person for loss caused by errors or omissions in the information on University of California –Merced websites. If you identify inaccurate or outdated information on the sites, please notify Network Web Coordinator at casbdc@ucmerced.edu (opens in new window).
You may browse and print data from asksbdc.com and other information servers owned, operated by or related to the Central CA Network SBDC, so long as you preserve appropriate credit when reproducing or quoting this data. If an author imposes further restrictions, observe those restrictions. If you find that information provided by this service is inaccurate or unclear, please let the author, organization or service provider know. In most cases, the name, initials or e-mail address of the provider may be found at the foot of the page. If you are unable to locate this information, please send your comments to casbdc@ucmerced.edu (opens in new window). Please include the URL of the page in question.
Neither University of California –Merced nor the Central CA Network SBDC guarantees that a particular web server will be online at any given time. Every reasonable attempt is made to ensure that the servers operated by the Central CA Network SBDC are continuously available. Operators of other servers at University of California –Merced are encouraged to do the same within the limits of their missions. Do not use University of California –Merced or the Central CA Network SBDC computing resources to disseminate illegally copied software, computer files, or other copyrighted materials. Note: Such illegal activities could result in Federal prosecution.
For additional information about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which includes warning users of penalties for infringing copyright, click here.
Please Note
Our Privacy Policy reflects the Central CA Network SBDC’s current business practices and is subject to change without notice.
Website Feedback
If you have questions or would like additional information regarding the Central CA Network SBDC’s website, contact us at:
Central CA SBDC Regional Network - Lead Office
Attn: Public Inquiry
655 W 18th Street
Merced, CA 95340
Email us at:
Updated: 01/11/23
