Section 146-10-3 - Births in an InstitutionA. Responsibilities 1. Responsibility of Institution All births occurring in an institution or en route to an institution, or attended in an institution immediately following the birth, must be registered in accordance with this section.
2. Responsibility of Person in Charge The person in charge of the institution shall designate one or more individuals to be responsible for obtaining the personal and medical information required for the birth certificate, preparing it and filing it with the state registrar and municipal clerk as specified in this section.
3. Responsibility of Physician or Attendant The physician or other person in attendance at the birth shall provide the medical information for the certificate to the person responsible for filing within 24 hours after the birth.
B. Registration 1. The person responsible for filing shall obtain the personal data and prepare the birth certificate using the computer software provided for this purpose by the state registrar.2. Either of the parents of the child, or other informant, shall verify the accuracy of the personal data to be entered on the certificate.3. Each child's mother or father shall be offered the opportunity to request that a social security number be issued for the child via the electronic system known as the Enumeration at Birth program. The signed request, on a worksheet or a special form prepared for this purpose, must be retained by the institution as a permanent record on paper, microfilm or electronic medium.4. The birth certificate shall be filed with the state registrar by transmitting it electronically, using the computer software provided for this purpose, within 2 days after the birth.5. Filing with the state registrar using the computer software provided for this purpose constitutes certification by the institution that the child was born at the place and time and on the date specified.6. Two copies of the birth certificate shall be printed using the computer software provided for this purpose, and filed with the clerk of the municipality where the birth occurred within 5 days after the birth.7. If the birth occurred in a municipality other than the mother's place of residence, the municipal clerk with whom the birth certificate is filed shall send the resident copy of the record to the clerk of the municipality where the mother resides within 7 days after receiving it.C. Out-of-Wedlock Births 1. Responsibility of Institution Each institution must provide to each unmarried mother and alleged father, if present, pamphlets or other written information provided by the Department of Human Services about paternity establishment and the form used to voluntarily acknowledge paternity.
2. Acknowledgment of Paternity Each institution must provide an opportunity for all unmarried parents to complete a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. Three copies of the "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form shall be printed by the institution, using the birth registration computer software provided by the state registrar. The parents may sign the form at the same time or separately. Signatures of both parents on the three copies of the "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form must be witnessed by a notary or other person authorized to take oaths. If the parents do not sign the "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form at the institution, it shall be given to them to sign and file at a later date.
3. Information on Certificate When both parties have signed the "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form (in triplicate), the name of the father and the other information about him shall be recorded on the birth certificate. Otherwise, neither the name of the putative father nor any information about him may be entered on the certificate.
4. Filing Two copies of the completed "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form shall be filed with the municipal clerk along with the birth certificate. One copy shall be mailed by the hospital directly to the Office of Vital Statistics within 5 days after the birth occurs.
D. Centralized Registration 1. The state registrar shall plan and establish a centralized electronic birth registration system in which birth certificate information is transmitted electronically from birthing institutions to the Office of Vital Statistics, and from the Office of Vital Statistics to all municipalities able to receive such electronic transmissions.2. The requirements in paragraphs 6 and 7 of sub-§ B above, for filing with and transmission to municipal clerks, may be discontinued at the discretion of the state registrar when an electronic centralized registration system is implemented.3. When a centralized system is implemented, the state registrar shall provide paper copies of birth records to those municipalities that do not have capabilities for electronic receipt of records.10- 146 C.M.R. ch. 10, § 3