Danville Regional Medical Center’s paternity program recognized

Danville Regional Medical Center recently won two awards from the Virginia Paternity Establishment Program for its work in having the fathers of babies born outside of wedlock voluntarily acknowledge their baby’s paternity.

The hospital won an award for increasing its paternity acknowledgements by 2 percent from 2007 to 2008 and was named third in the state for quality assurance after 100 percent of its paternity acknowledgments were all correct and on time.

The PEP program encourages fathers of out-of-wedlock babies to sign a document called “Acknow-ledgment of Pater-nity,” stating in the presence of a notary that he is the father of the baby.

“We delivered 954 babies in 2008,” Cheryl Witcher, administrative secretary for the hospital’s Women & Children’s Ser-vices, said Thursday. “Out of those mothers, 56 percent were single, and of those, paternity was established in 59 percent.”

The statewide average of paternity establishment is 64 percent, according to a PEP news release.

Witcher said she works every day, along with two unit secretaries, Sandra Brandon and Brenda Smith, to talk to the mothers and fathers and encourage them to acknowledge paternity.

“Because the number of single parents began to grow, the Child Support Enforcement Office decided there needed to be an office devoted to that,” Witcher explained. “The program has been going on for at least 15 years.”

PEP is sponsored by the Virginia Department of Social Services Division of Child Support Enforcement and is operated by the Center for the Support of Families

If the father signs the acknowledgment form before the mother leaves the hospital—usually 24 to 36 hours—then the service is free and the father’s name appears on the baby’s birth certificate.

Paternity can be established after the mother leaves the hospital, but there are additional fees.

“PEP provides a call center for parents who have questions about how to establish paternity, education for hospitals on birth registrations and information on DNA testing, plus it works in close connection with Virginia’s Office of Vital Records,” Witcher said.

The unmarried parents are asked about their willingness to participate in the program in the normal course of getting information for the hospital’s birth record, Witcher said.

“As we are getting that information, we will ask if the father wants to have his information on the birth record of the hospital,” she said. “It’s voluntary, and it can’t be done under duress. Both parents have to be agreeable and have a photo ID.”

Some fathers will ask about whether signing the form will obligate them to child support, but Witcher said she tells them that custody and child support issues are separate and have to be court ordered.

“Most of the unmarried parents are working together, supporting one another and may be living together and just haven’t made the decision to get married yet,” she said. “Signing the acknowledgment gives the child a health history and two legal parents. It’s a win/win situation.”

Learn more
 
For more information about the Paternity Establishment Program, visit http://www.vapaternity.org or call (866) 398-4841.

Non-marital births

In 2007:
• 40 percent of all U.S. births
• 36 percent of all Virginia births
• 66.8 percent of all births in the city of Danville
• 42.2 percent of all white births in Danville
• 83.9 percent of all black births in Danville
• 44.7 percent of all births in Pittsylvania County
• 35.3 percent of all white births in Pittsylvania County
• 73.9 percent of all black births in Pittsylvania County

Source: Virginia Department of Health