Oklahoma Parents Forced to Wait Months for Children's Birth Certificates

Oklahoma parents say they're frustrated after a computer glitch forced them to wait months for their children's birth certificates.

Wednesday, March 10th 2010, 11:19 pm

By: News 9


By Kirsten McIntyre, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma parents say they're frustrated after a computer glitch forced them to wait months for their children's birth certificates.

The problem occurred during a computer upgrade at the Oklahoma Department of Health. When installing new software, there were some glitches that left numerous parents without proof of their child's birth.

For Devin Troyer, Tuesday was a good day. The package she had been waiting on for months finally arrived. It was her daughter's birth certificate.

"Calling every single week depending on who you talk to they would say, 'Well, just call back in a week or two, we're trying to get it done,'" Troyer said.

Devin's daughter, Calee, is now three-and-a-half-months-old. Waiting for the document was not only frustrating, but it also caused some financial hardships.

"She got dropped off our insurance at work, so we were going to have to pay for her visits out of pocket. She had to have upper GI done for her reflux. She takes daily medication, had to pay for that out of pocket," Troyer said.

Sue Bordeaux works in the Vital Records Division at the Oklahoma Department of Health. She said the delays occurred while upgrading the computer system designed to track babies being born in the state.

"Definitely caused us some grief over this process to try to deal with the public and explain that," said Bordeaux. "We've had clerks pulled in from other areas to work the new system. They've been working overtime. They've been working on weekends."

Meanwhile for Troyer, she said she's just happy she has proof her daughter exists.

"It's like you just have this child. That's it. You have to carry her around to prove you have one. 'Yeah, I had a kid. See.' It was very stressful," Bordeaux said.

Oklahoma Department of Health officials said at one time the backlog of birth certificates was at about 8,000. However, everything is now caught up, and the computer glitches have been fixed.

A new father from Piedmont said he also received his daughter's birth certificate on Tuesday, but he's now waiting for her Social Security number. As a result, he said he will have to file an extension on his taxes.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

March 10th, 2010

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 27th, 2024

March 27th, 2024

March 27th, 2024

March 27th, 2024