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 Child Support.  To learn more visit our website.

This summer brought some staff changes to the Bureau of Health Statistics. 

Sonia Hocking and Laura Shirk, who have overseen VPA and Birth Registry, have taken other positions within the Bureau. 

The new primary contact for VPA is Julio Ferreris.  LaCherea Buckner will assume responsibilities for Birth Registry, and will assist with VPA.  

Welcome Julio and LaCherea!  We'll learn more about them in upcoming newsletters. 

Since launching earlier this year, over 250 professionals from birth hospitals, Iowa Child Support, and other agencies have completed the VPA online training! 

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Some of the comments from learners include:

• "Great training! Thank you! Very clear, concise and not boring."
• "This training was great. Kept me in it as it was fun."
• "I really appreciated the practice portion of the training. I definitely learned from this

      training."

Whether you are new or experienced staff, the VPA training can help you guide parents in accurately completing the process, spot errors, and reduce rejections.

To take the training, visit our website or click the button below. 

If you know someone who might be interested in the VPA training, please share the link to spread the word!

In FY 2021, child support programs nationwide collected $32.7 billion and served 13.2 million children—that’s 1 in 5 children in the United States. This kind of support helps families thrive and sets kids up to succeed.

Iowa Child Support provides a variety of services to help families meet the financial and health care needs of their children. It's commonly known that State and tribal offices help families establish and modify child support orders and collect payments, but they can also help locate parents, and perform genetic testing when paternity for the child has not yet been legally established.   

To find out more about the services Iowa Child Support provides, watch the video below, and click the yellow button to visit their website.  

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

Julio Ferreris          (515) 281-6687

LaCherea Buckner (515) 281-3266

Birth Registration

LaCherea Buckner (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.