Personal Information Guidelines

What counts as PI?

Information is considered personal if it falls into the categories listed below, or if in combination with the child or family member’s first name, someone listening to it could identify or contact the people involved OR if the information may be legally compromising. The goal of the rules is to catch any information that could be used maliciously against OR would embarrass the family/people involved. There are many grey areas, please ask staff or Elika if you are unsure, though err on the side of marking things.

See this page for audio formatting guidelines and this page for video formatting guidelines.

What to mark

DO mark the following as PI whether HEARD or SEEN:

Identifying information

• Full names, excluding celebrities.

  • E.g. “I saw Joe Smith from high school!” gets marked, but the TV in the background saying “police found Joe Smith with 200 stolen flowerpots” does not.

  • DO mark first names and last initials, e.g. "Shannon D."

• Last names, excluding celebrities (same examples as above hold for “Mrs. Smith”)

• Addresses, physical and email.

  • E.g. “we’re the last red house on Mount Hope before the gas station” gets marked, as does “no, your aunt’s address is 123 Doe St”

• Names of gyms, daycares, churches, etc (non-chains) or neighborhoods

  • Mark IF this could potentially be used to identify them (could you find their house just based off that information?)

• Full birthdates of the infants, e.g. 5/2/15.

• Social security numbers

• Financial information (credit card info, bank statements, account numbers)

• Contact information (email addresses, phone numbers, social media handles)

• Passwords (including phone passcodes)

• License plates

Sensitive information/conversations

• Family matters or drama

  • Mark what you deem sensitive, seeking second opinions from other RAs and staff as needed, e.g. big arguments, embarrassing family discussions, etc.

• Medical information (medications, severe illnesses, surgeries, etc)

  • Again, only mark what you deem sensitive. Don't mark if it's about non-serious illnesses (like colds), but if dad is holding baby wearing recorder while sibling is vomiting, mark it.

  • Serious medical conditions/medications (e.g prescription painkillers, cancer) should be marked. If they wouldn't readily share the information with an acquaintance, mark it.

• Any explicit information (such as sexual activities or ''discussions'' of drug use). If drug use is suspected '''during''' the recording in the presence of the baby, let Elika know immediately.

Private body parts

• Breastfeeding WITH visible nipple

• Incidental nudity of siblings or adults (e.g. rear end showing, post-pubescent female breasts, etc)

  • Use your discretion with visible underwear. You don't have to mark all underwear sightings if the person is still covered. However, if the person is exposed (ex. extreme cleavage or seeing up a mom's skirt), that should be marked.

  • If it's obvious the person knows what they're revealing (e.g. a bra showing while breastfeeding), that's fine. BUT if it's accidental (e.g. a child cam pointed down mom's shirt), mark it.

  • CHI's private body parts during a diaper change is not PI

Permissions

• Sections with unconsented adults and children: mark sections where people clearly don't know they're being recorded and are interacting more than in passing with the family.

  • Only mark if it's over 5 minutes OR they have a significant interaction.

    • E.g. no need to mark cashiers or waitresses, but DO mark babysitter who didn’t realize she was recorded.

    • Do NOT mark if you can just vaguely hear children running around in the background.

  • Check if permission was received on sign-off for any significant interactions.

  • Mark if someone says "I wish that hadn't been recorded" or "I'm not comfortable with being recorded" (''in seriousness, not sarcastically or jokingly'') or something similar.

• Any sections that the family has requested us not to share

• Or anything else that involves sensitive or identifiable information

Note: If any child or substance abuse is suspected to occur during the recording, in the presence of the baby, let Elika know immediately.

What NOT to mark

DO NOT mark the following as PI:

• Subject numbers

• First or first + middle names

• Diaper changes or any incidental nudity of the infant

• Breastfeeding WITHOUT visible nipple

• Names of chain stores/restaurants/large places

  • E.g. “Eastview Mall” doesn't need to be marked, and neither do “Starbucks” or “Wegmans”