What ATS records about you
Depending on your program and how far you go in it, ATS may hold:
- Contact and identity information — your name, date of birth, address, phone, and email.
- Eligibility and background information — household size, income range, employment status, education level, public benefits you receive, and barriers you tell us about, such as transportation, childcare, housing, or a criminal record. Funders require this to confirm that the program is reaching the people it is meant to reach.
- Program records — your enrollment, cohort, attendance, assignments, skills checkoffs, assessments, case notes from check-ins with staff, and your individual success plan.
- Certification records — examination dates, results, and certification numbers.
- Clearance and health records — where your program includes a clinical placement. These are held separately and seen only by the staff who arrange placements.
- Outcome records — whether you were hired, by whom, your job title, starting wage, and whether you were still employed 30, 60, and 90 days later. This is what funders measure the program by.
- Anything you choose to give us — a resume, a story, a photograph, a survey answer.
ATS does not collect your Social Security number through its website, and never asks for it by email or text. If a program ever requires one — for a stipend, a tax form, or a state clearance you file yourself — it is handled on paper or through the agency’s own secure system, in person. Anyone who emails or texts you asking for your Social Security number on behalf of ATS is not from ATS. Report it to us.
Why ATS holds it
- To enroll you, teach you, and keep in touch with you;
- To confirm you are eligible for a program that a funder has paid for;
- To arrange a clinical placement, an examination, or an employer referral;
- To issue your certificate and verify it later if an employer asks;
- To report to funders — including the City of Philadelphia — how many people the program served and what happened to them;
- To improve the program, by looking at where people succeed and where they get stuck; and
- To meet legal, audit, and accounting obligations.
Who sees it
- ATS staff and instructors — only the parts they need to do their jobs.
- Funders and auditors — including the City of Philadelphia. Wherever a funder will accept it, ATS reports totals and percentages rather than named individuals. Some funders do require individual records to verify eligibility, and ATS provides only what the grant agreement requires.
- Clinical and externship sites — the information a site needs to accept you, which is generally your identity, your clearances, and your health documentation.
- Employers — your information goes to an employer only when you ask ATS to refer you, or when you agree to it. Employment outcome information already public or that you have confirmed may be reported to funders.
- Certifying bodies — to register you for an examination.
- Service providers that run ATS's systems — such as its email, document storage, and payment providers. They are permitted to use the information only to provide that service to ATS.
- Anyone else you give written permission to.
- Government agencies or courts — when the law requires it.
ATS does not sell your information, does not rent or trade it, does not use it for advertising, and does not share it with anyone else for their own purposes.
Your story and your photograph
ATS will not use your name, photograph, or story in any newsletter, website page, social post, or fundraising material unless you have signed the separate Media and Photo Release. That release is optional, it is granular — you choose what you agree to — and you can withdraw it at any time without any effect on your standing in the program.
How long it is kept
Records tied to a grant are kept for as long as that funder and the law require — generally at least five years after your program ends, and sometimes longer. Clearance and health records are kept only as long as needed for your placement and then securely destroyed. After the retention period, records are destroyed or de-identified. Anonymous totals — how many people completed a program, how many were hired — may be kept indefinitely, because they contain nothing that identifies you.
How it is protected
- Access is limited to staff who need it, and staff accounts are individually controlled;
- Information travels over encrypted connections;
- Clearance, health, and background records are stored apart from general participant files;
- Paper records are kept locked; and
- If a breach of your personal information ever occurs, ATS will notify you as Pennsylvania law requires.
What you can ask for
At any time, and at no cost, you may:
- Ask what ATS holds about you and get a copy;
- Ask ATS to correct anything inaccurate;
- Withdraw a permission you gave — such as the Media Release, or an authorization to contact an employer;
- Ask ATS to stop sending you email that is not about your program;
- Ask what was reported about you to a funder; and
- Raise a concern about how your information was handled.
Some records ATS cannot delete on request — grant, audit, and financial records must be retained for the period a funder or the law requires. ATS will tell you plainly which category a record falls into.
Who to contact
Write to info@atsprofessionaldevelopment.org, call the office, or speak to any ATS staff member. ATS will respond within a reasonable time, and will not treat you differently for asking.
Version 1.0 · Effective 2026 · ATS posts the current version of this notice on this page and will tell participants when it materially changes.