November, 2021
The Voluntary Paternity Affidavit program provides information and resources for Iowa hospitals, clinics, community organizations, and families. This program is funded through a partnership between Iowa State University and Iowa's Child Support Recovery Unit.

To learn more visit our website.
Program Highlights
Hospital Birthing Center Survey
The VPA Outreach Program is conducting a survey of Iowa hospital birthing centers to gather information about voluntary paternity affidavit patient education.

The survey is designed to gather information from birthing centers about their current procedures, strengths, and obstacles related to the VPA process. 
Our goal is to use the information we collect to develop best practice guidelines, and offer support to make the paternity establishment process as streamlined as possible for birthing center personnel and their patients.

If you are involved with the VPA process in your hospital's birthing center and have not yet completed the survey, we would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share the link with others who have knowledge to share about your VPA process. 
  
The first 50 participants to fully complete the survey by November 19, 2021 will be eligible to receive a $50.00 gift card!

If you have any questions, please send us an email at pataff@iastate.edu.
Introducing Alison White
We are excited to welcome Alison White to the VPA Outreach Program as a graduate assistant!

Alison is originally from Boulder City, Nevada, and completed her BA degree in psychology from Nevada State College. She moved to Iowa in 2020 with her fiancé, Justin, and their two dogs, Bruno (pictured) and Fiona.
Alison is in her second year in the Human Development and Family Studies MS/PhD program at Iowa State, where she studies complex family systems, fatherhood, and child development. 

In addition to her studies, Alison is involved with several research projects with the VPA program. She was instrumental in developing the Birth Hospital Survey, and will continue with the project to analyze the data collected and help develop recommendations for best practice guidelines. She is also working on researching fatherhood outreach and engagement initiatives in other states.

Welcome, Alison!
Paternity Affidavit
Federal Requirement For Patient Education
Under federal law, hospital birthing centers are required to offer information and resources to unmarried parents about the alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights and responsibilities of acknowledging paternity. 

The VPA program has resources available to help hospitals meet this federal requirement.
The Establishing Paternity By Affidavit (Comm 107) brochure (pictured) was developed with the Iowa Department of Human Services specifically for this purpose, and not providing this brochure would put hospitals out of compliance with the federal regulations. 

This brochure is available in both English and Spanish, and can be ordered at no cost using our online materials order form, or downloaded from our website
We also offer a variety of other printed resources in English and Spanish to supplement your patient education efforts, including FAQ's for parents, wallet cards with information about acceptable forms of ID needed for notarizing the VPA form, resource guides with sample forms and instructions, and others.

In addition to the print materials, our informational video for families is available in English and Spanish on our website and our YouTube channel.

All of our materials are available to community organizations as well as hospitals. If your organization works with expecting parents or families, we encourage you to take advantage of this free resource!
Resource Spotlight
Iowa Family Support Network
Iowa Family Support Network (IFSN) is a statewide system that provides information and resources to expecting families or families with young children, and the professionals that serve them.
IFSN can connect families and professionals to information that includes; family support services, group-based parent education programs, and prenatal services. Their website includes a statewide resource directory, and additional information on early intervention for infants and toddlers in Iowa is also available.

IFSN specialists are available to provide assistance and answer questions Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit the website or call 1-888-IAKIDS1 (1-888-425-4371).
Agency Operations Information
Bureau of Health Statistics (BHS)
Paternity Affidavit and Birth Registration processing continues to proceed as normal. Please send completed and notarized forms and supporting documents to BHS. The following staff are available to assist you if needed:

Paternity Affidavit
Sonia Hocking  (515) 281-6687
Laura Geist      (515) 281-3266

Birth Registration
Laura Geist      (515) 281-3266


Iowa Child Support
Because not all staff are on-site, the best way to reach Iowa Child Support staff is by phone, email and in writing. Staff may be able to offer virtual appointments. Child support payments are no longer accepted in offices. Visit the Payments page to learn about ways to make a child support payment.


VPA Outreach Coordinator – Amy Peters
The VPA Outreach Coordinator is working remotely, and can best be reached by email at pataff@iastate.edu.

Materials orders are being filled. Please click on the link below to complete the order form.