Persons being served in any way by NOA have the right to control the nature of any disclosures of information about themselves.

Any communication to, or observation by, a NOA volunteer, staff member, student intern or visitor that is clearly not intended to be disclosed to a third party will be held confidential.

Information considered confidential includes:

• The fact the person has been served by NOA.
• Information transmitted in confidence by the person.
• Information transmitted in confidence about the person by family, neighbors and/or community service providers.
• Any disposition, referral, diagnosis, opinions, summaries, instructions, etc. issued for or about the person in the course of evaluation, treatment or other services.
• The names of any staff, volunteers or any other persons associated with NOA.

The person served by NOA has the right to inspect and request amendments to all recorded information about themselves.

Exceptions to the above policies are permitted only in bona fide medical emergencies where a medical consent form has been signed, in the case of a court order, of a subpoena, or in the case of suspected child abuse.

Georgia legal code (Section 19-13-23) states that any persons who knowingly publishes, disseminates or otherwise discloses the location of a family violence shelter is guilty of a misdemeanor.