Useful work, with clear boundaries.

What these terms cover

These terms govern public use of carescollaborative.org, including Practice Notes, the Readiness Diagnostic, calculators, and Open Shelf materials. A signed engagement agreement controls professional work performed for an organization and takes priority if it conflicts with these website terms.

Information, not professional advice

Website content and free tools provide general educational and operational information. They are not legal, tax, accounting, clinical, investment, insurance, or other licensed professional advice. They do not create a professional, fiduciary, consultant-client, or confidential relationship. Requirements differ by jurisdiction, license, contract, funder, and organization; confirm them with your own qualified advisers and authorities.

Open Shelf permission

Unless a resource says otherwise, Knotts Family Services, Inc. permits charitable, governmental, tribal, and community-serving organizations to read, download, copy, adapt, and use Open Shelf materials for their own community-serving work without a fee, registration, or attribution. You may share an adaptation for the same purpose. This permission does not transfer the CARES or Knotts names, logos, or trademarks; authorize you to imply endorsement, certification, or authorship by CARES; or apply to third-party material identified inside a resource.

Other website content remains protected by applicable intellectual-property law unless it expressly carries the Open Shelf permission. For permission beyond these terms, email info@carescollaborative.org.

Your responsibility when adapting a resource

Review every bracketed field, assumption, date, formula, citation, and jurisdictional reference before adoption. Remove CARES branding from a material change unless the document clearly identifies CARES only as the source of the original. Do not represent a resource as approved by a regulator, auditor, accreditor, funder, attorney, broker, or other third party unless that party has actually approved it.

Free tools and local data

The free diagnostic and calculators are decision aids, not determinations of compliance, eligibility, financial condition, or future performance. Review the displayed assumptions before relying on a result. Tool entries ordinarily remain in the browser profile on the device being used, as described in the Privacy notice. Do not enter client records, protected health information, credentials, personnel files, or other confidential or regulated information.

Acceptable use

Do not attempt to bypass access controls, interfere with the service, submit malicious code, automate abusive traffic, impersonate another person, misuse contact information, or use CARES materials in a way that violates law or another party’s rights. The administrator area is restricted to approved users with multifactor authentication.

Availability and warranties

CARES works to keep the site accurate and available, but materials may contain errors or become outdated and the service may be interrupted. To the extent permitted by law, the public site, tools, and Open Shelf materials are provided as-is and without a promise that they are complete, fit for a particular purpose, or suitable for your specific regulatory or contractual setting.

Third-party services and links

The site relies on the service providers identified in the Privacy notice and may link to external sources. CARES does not control an external site’s availability, content, accessibility, security, or privacy practices. A link is not an endorsement.

Corrections, changes, and contact

CARES may correct or update the site and these terms. A material change will receive a new effective or reviewed date on this page. Report a problem, request permission, or ask a question through the contact form or email info@carescollaborative.org.