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Welcome!
Welcome to the monthly newsletter for the Center for Health Statistics (CHS), Vital Records office. Here you will find information that is important for you and your facility like changes to the Oregon Vital Events Registration System (OVERS), updates to Oregon laws, process reminders, and links to available reports and statistics.
In the table of contents on the left, choose a category to jump to a news article of interest. CHS encourages everyone to read through other sections; something may pertain to you and your facility.
We would love to hear from you regarding future newsletter topics.
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Tips for Filling Out the AOP Form
Completing the Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) form is a requirement to establish paternity for a child if the birth mother is not married or in an Oregon Registered Domestic Partnership at conception, at delivery, or within 300 days prior to delivery. Establishing paternity provides advantages for both the child and parents that include insurance, social security, and tax benefits; the ability of the father to travel with the child out of state or out of the country; and inheritances.
At the Center for Health Statistics, we see some common mistakes or omissions on the AOP form that result in the rejection of the form. When the form is rejected, the record is registered without the father. At that point parents need to fill out a new form and have it notarized. If there is a delay in receiving the notarized form, parents will then be responsible for paying an amendment fee.
With the above information in mind, we have a few tips for filling out the form at the facility:
- The form must be signed in the presence of a hospital staff witness.
- Verify that the Mother and Father have both signed the form and dated their signatures.
- The Date Signed field needs to match the Date Witnessed field for each parent and all dates must be within 5 days after the birth of the child.
- Names and dates associated with signatures must be handwritten only.
- The Birthplace State field may include a U.S. state or territory or a country if not born in the U.S. Do not enter continents (Example: South America, Africa, Asia) in this field.
- Only minor corrections to the form are allowed. These must be initialed by the person making the change.
It is the father’s information on this form that will be entered into OVERS, so it is important that the father’s full legal name, date of birth and place of birth are provided. Also, AOP’s should be sent to the State Vital Records Office as soon as possible. Do not hold on to forms to mail in batches.
It is critical that Birth Information Specialists review AOP’s for any errors or omissions with the parents before they leave the hospital or birthing facility. If an item is unclear, please verify with the parents and make corrections as needed. If you don’t interact with parents, please share these tips with the labor and delivery staff who collect the AOP forms on a regular basis. |
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We realize collecting AOP forms can be challenging and appreciate all of your efforts in helping to collect this important information. Please continue to thoroughly review the information and send them to CHS in a timely manner.
If you have any questions about how to fill out an Acknowledgment of Paternity form, contact CHS.Amendments@oha.oregon.gov.
Calling All Facility Administrators
Are you an OVERS Facility Administrator interested in a regular work group meeting that connects you to colleagues across the state? The Center for Health Statistics would like to start a new work group for Facility Admins where we will meet virtually to collaborate while discussing helpful hints, OVERS updates and topics that impact your work. However, before we start, we would like to hear from you. We are actively soliciting schedule and content suggestions from any Facility Admins who might be interested in participating. |
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Please take a minute to complete this short survey and tell us what you think by Friday, June 30.
More information about the start date will be provided in an upcoming issue of Matters of Record.
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Contact CHS.Partnerservices@oha.oregon.gov if you have any questions about the work group or survey.
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Overriding a Soft Edit: Medical Certifiers
Facility Administrators play an important role in helping and supporting medical certifiers as they enroll in and use OVERS to certify death records electronically. Periodically, we will share tips and tools with you to use in your role or to share with medical certifiers in your facility.
The OVERS Help Desk recently shared that approximately 30 percent of the calls they receive from medical certifiers are questions regarding the process of overriding soft edits. We encourage you to review the following resource and share it with the medical certifiers at your facility: Overriding a Soft Edit: Medical Certifiers. The tutorial has step-by-step directions with screenshots from OVERS.
If you have any questions about this process or any other technical questions about OVERS, call the OVERS Help Desk at 971-673-0279. If you or anyone at your facility needs initial or additional OVERS training, contact Partner Services at CHS.PartnerServices@oha.oregon.gov.
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Issuing Replacements
[The following article was published last summer. We are sharing it again with an updated guideline regarding the timeframe for when customers can request replacements for certificates that never arrived in the mail. This new guideline is based on current data from the United States Postal Service.]
Occasionally you may receive requests from customers for replacement certificates. Replacements are commonly issued when a record has been amended and the customer wants an updated copy. You can only issue these records if it has been less than six months from the date of birth or date of death on the record.
For replacements after an amendment, please consult our certificate fee guidelines.
Every so often, certificates are lost in the mail. When a customer states that they have not received their certificates after 18 calendar days from the date they were mailed, replacements may be offered one time at no cost.
If certificates are issued to a customer and they are misaligned, upside down, or have other printing defects, they can also be replaced at no cost.
Except for certificates lost in the mail, the original certificates must be returned prior to issuing replacement copies. Certificates that are returned or lost in the mail should be reported to the State as voided through a regular report that is sent to CHS.VitalRecords@oha.oregon.gov. Please make a comment in OVERS for the order with an explanation for any replacement certificates.
For questions regarding the issuance of replacement certificates please contact CHS.PartnerServices@oha.oregon.gov.
The County Work Group
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The County Work Group is an optional meeting for county vital records staff to learn about current vital records topics, ask questions and share ideas with each other.
Register here for the next County Work Group
June 20, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
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Congratulations, Kristen Farrell!
Please join us in congratulating Kristen Farrell on her promotion to the Team Lead position in the Amendment Unit at CHS.
Kristen’s new duties will include the following:
- Screen, review and process applications for delayed registration of birth.
- Provide direct customer service via email and phone for delayed filings and customer escalations as well as manage the general Amendments email and phone line.
- Respond to customers regarding difficult or complicated amendment requests.
- Respond to questions and problems from county vital records, funeral homes, law offices and hospital staff that require in-depth knowledge of the program and operation.
- Explain laws, rules and procedures for obtaining agency services.
- Provide direction to agency staff concerning work procedures.
- Perform and coordinate administrative tasks in support of the Amendment Unit.
- Act as back-up to Unit Manager and Amendment Specialists.
Kristen has worked at CHS with the Amendment Unit for over five years. We are thankful for her positive attitude, dedication to her team, and for providing excellent service to all with whom she interacts. Congratulations, Kristen!
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For various reports on birth and death that can be broken down by factors like county, age, cause of death, etc., visit our Annual Reports Dashboard. |
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Amendments Unit
Certification Unit
Partner Services Unit
Registration Unit
Statistics Unit |
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