Data governance for the delivery of community and human services

Canada’s community and human service providers deliver services and support to vulnerable and at-risk individuals. The vast majority of these organizations collect and use some amount of client data. Some of this data is sensitive – such as participation in addiction treatment, a health diagnosis, or experience of violence. Beyond client information, many also collect financial donations by individuals. This financial support can be critical to their success. As community and human service providers adopt new technologies for client and donor management, this can multiply the amount of data under control of organizations and their vendors. This can pose serious new risks to privacy and security which may not be well understood: 1. Unauthorized use of client data can cause irreparable harm to clients, including reputational damage, trauma, exposure to identity theft and fraud. 2. If donor data is compromised, it can also result in a loss of donor confidence. 3. The reputation of the organization and the community and human service sector as a whole can be undermined as data breaches and other harms accumulate. 4. Further harm to more vulnerable populations, including Indigenous and racialized communities, who have been disproportionately impacted by data harm.