Confidentiality Brochure

NSFG

OMB ATTACHMENT H5

Other Safeguards for Your
Privacy
•NCHS takes your privacy seriously. The
answers you give us are used for statistical
research only. This means that your answers will
be combined with other people's answers in a
way that protects everyone's identity. As
required by federal law, only those NCHS
employees, our contractors, and our specially
designated agents who must access your
personal information for a specific reason will
do so.
•Your answers will only be used after NCHS
has removed all information that could identify
you or your family. Names and addresses are
never on anything NCHS releases or shares.
We also mask details on your household or
other traits if they could lead to anyone being
identified.
•NCHS protects information stored on NCHS
computers. Measures include passwords,
firewalls, and other means to block people from
getting these data.
•Your personal information is protected from
the Freedom of Information Act and court
subpoenas.
•NCHS complies with the Federal
Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015. This
law requires the federal government to protect
federal computer networks from cybersecurity
risks like hacking, internet attacks, and other
security weaknesses.

OMB No. 0920-0314

For More Information

NCHS data are made available in published
reports and data files, after identifying
information has been removed. For more
information, visit the NCHS home page:

The
National Survey
of
Family Growth

www.cdc.gov/nchs
For specific questions about how NCHS
protects the information you provide, contact:
Confidentiality Officer
National Center for Health Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782
Telephone: 888-642-4159
Email: NCHSconfidentiality@cdc.gov

How We Keep Your
Information Strictly
Confidential

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics

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The Law

Information collected in the National Survey
of Family Growth (NSFG) is used only for
statistical purposes. NCHS will not share or
release information that identifies you or your
family.

The Sworn Statement

Anyone working on this study must sign an
affidavit—a legal document making them subject
to the Privacy Act, the Public Health Service Act,
and other laws. Anyone who violates the law can
be fined up to $250,000, lose their job, or go to jail.

The Record

Since its very first survey in 1957, the National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has
maintained the highest standards and a very
strong record in protecting the privacy of people
in its surveys.

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A message from the Director of NCHS:
This agency is well known for the quality
of the data we provide. Collecting high-quality
information is not possible unless we can promise
that the information you give us is confidential. We
can.
The principles of privacy and confidentiality
are firmly grounded in Federal laws. Those laws
include the Privacy Act, the Public Health Service
Act, Title 18 of the United States Code, and
the Confidential Information Protection and
Statistical Efficiency Act. All NCHS employees
must sign a pledge making them legally liable and
subject to all punishments in these laws.
Those working for NCHS must also strictly
observe special practices to protect confidential
information. The practices are meant to insure that
your privacy is respected.
So we have a number of very important
reasons for observing strict confidentiality. It is
the right thing to do. We could not collect quality
information without it. And it is required by law.

NCHS and NSFG

The National Center for Health Statistics
(NCHS) first carried out the National Survey
of Family Growth (NSFG) in 1973. For over
40 years, the NSFG has been the major source
of information on trends in U.S. childbearing,
marriage and divorce, contraceptive use, and
parenting. These data are used to guide health
services and health education programs all over the
U.S. You can see some of the statistics produced
from the NSFG at our web site:
www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg.htm

Charles J. Rothwell
Director,
National Center for Health Statistics

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