Section 01
Who We Are
New Beginnings Family and Children’s Services (“New Beginnings,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is a Hague Accredited international adoption agency located at 87 Mineola Blvd, Mineola, NY 11501. We are licensed and accredited to provide adoption placement, home study, post-adoption, and related social services to families in the United States and internationally.
This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information you provide to us through our website at www.new-beginnings.org and through our direct services. By using our website or engaging with our services, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
Section 02
Information We Collect
Information You Provide Directly
When you interact with our website or services, you may provide us with:
- Contact information — name, mailing address, email address, phone number
- Pre-application and inquiry data — family composition, marital status, religious affiliation (where relevant to adoption program eligibility), nationality, and heritage
- Financial information — income, employment details relevant to the home study process (we do not collect payment card data directly)
- Health and background information — medical history, criminal background disclosures, and references, as required for home study and adoption proceedings
- Donation information — name and contact details submitted through our donation or payment forms
- Newsletter subscriptions — email address
- Communications — any information you include in messages, emails, or forms you send us
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, our servers and third-party analytics tools may automatically collect:
- IP address and approximate geographic location
- Browser type, version, and operating system
- Pages visited, time spent, and navigation patterns
- Referring URLs and search terms
- Device identifiers and cookie data
Section 03
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- Adoption services — processing inquiries, pre-applications, home studies, and placement proceedings in accordance with U.S. federal law, the Hague Convention, and applicable state regulations
- Post-adoption support — providing counseling, support groups, and follow-up services to adoptive families
- Communications — responding to your inquiries, sending service-related updates, and delivering our newsletter if you have subscribed
- Financial transactions — processing donations and program fees through our secure third-party payment processor
- Legal compliance — maintaining records required by the Hague Accreditation Bureau (CEAS-ASP), state licensing authorities, and applicable immigration and child welfare laws
- Website improvement — analyzing usage patterns to enhance our website and digital resources
- Marketing — sending informational content about adoption programs and events, where you have consented or where permitted by law
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
Section 04
Legal Basis for Processing
Depending on your jurisdiction, our legal basis for processing your personal information may include:
- Performance of a contract — to deliver adoption and social work services you have requested
- Legal obligation — to comply with Hague Convention requirements, U.S. immigration law, state child welfare licensing, and accreditation standards
- Legitimate interests — to operate and improve our website, respond to inquiries, and communicate with prospective adoptive families
- Consent — for newsletter subscriptions and non-essential marketing communications; you may withdraw consent at any time
- Vital interests — in the context of child welfare proceedings where the safety of a child is at stake
Section 05
Sharing Your Information
We do not sell your personal data. We may share information with:
- In-country partners and agencies — accredited agencies and government entities in Morocco, Thailand, Pakistan, Jamaica, Korea, and other countries involved in adoption proceedings
- U.S. government agencies — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of State, and state licensing authorities as required by law
- Service providers — third-party vendors who assist us with website hosting, payment processing, email delivery, and analytics, bound by confidentiality agreements
- Accreditation bodies — the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services (CEAS-ASP) and the National Council for Adoption (NCFA) for accreditation and compliance purposes
- Professional advisors — attorneys, social workers, and consultants engaged in your adoption case, under confidentiality obligations
- Law enforcement or courts — when required by subpoena, court order, or applicable law, or to protect the rights and safety of children and families
Section 06
Children’s Privacy
Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through our website. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us immediately.
Information about children who are the subject of adoption proceedings is collected solely for the purpose of facilitating lawful adoption placements. Such information is handled with the highest level of care, shared only with parties directly involved in the child’s case, and retained in accordance with applicable child welfare laws and accreditation standards.
Section 07
Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. Specific retention periods include:
- Adoption case files — maintained for a minimum of 75 years following placement, as required by Hague Accreditation standards and state regulations
- Home study records — retained for a minimum of 10 years or as required by the state in which the home study was conducted
- General inquiries and pre-applications — retained for up to 3 years if no adoption proceeding is initiated
- Newsletter and marketing — until you unsubscribe or request deletion
- Website analytics data — aggregated and anonymized within 26 months
Section 08
Security
We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the personal information we hold from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include:
- SSL/TLS encryption for data transmitted through our website
- Access controls limiting staff access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
- Secure file storage and handling protocols for adoption case files
- Confidentiality agreements with all staff, contractors, and service providers
No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and you share information with us at your own risk.
Section 09
Your Rights
Depending on your state or country of residence, you may have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Correction — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
- Deletion — request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements
- Portability — receive your personal information in a structured, machine-readable format
- Objection or restriction — object to or restrict certain types of processing
- Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing
- Opt out of marketing — unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time via the unsubscribe link in any email
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected] or by mail at 87 Mineola Blvd, Mineola, NY 11501. We will respond within 30 days. Note that certain information in adoption case files may not be subject to deletion due to legal and accreditation obligations.
Section 10
Cookies & Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience. These may include:
- Essential cookies — required for the website to function (e.g., session management)
- Analytics cookies — to understand how visitors use our site (e.g., Google Analytics)
- Marketing cookies — to track the effectiveness of our outreach (only where you have consented)
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality. We honor Do Not Track signals where technically feasible.
Section 11
Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including financial assistance organizations, government agencies, and partner resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to review their policies before submitting personal information.
Section 12
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or accreditation standards. We will post the revised policy on this page with an updated effective date. For material changes, we will notify active clients via email. Your continued use of our website following any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.