OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — An Oklahoma woman said she has been waiting on her daughter’s birth certificate from the state for nearly two years.
Maria Rivera-Bruce has three daughters.
Her youngest daughter, Emberlynn, was born in December 2021.
Rivera-Bruce, who is also a full-time student at the University of Oklahoma, said she decided to do a home birth instead of in a hospital.
“It was supposed to be like this happy, beautiful story with me having a home birth,” said Rivera-Bruce. “Just ended up being just a disaster. A complete disaster.”
She said it was disastrous because of the process after the birth. She said she called the Oklahoma Department of Health’s Vital Records Division to get a birth certificate packet for her daughter. Rivera-Bruce said she filled out the paperwork, paid $50, and turned the information into the state.
“When it got to be two months and then three months, I was like why don’t I have a birth certificate? Why don’t I have a social security number?” said Rivera-Bruce.
Nearly two years later, she said she has filed complaints with the state, sent emails, and made numerous phone calls only to get no closer to answers on a birth certificate for her toddler.
She is not alone. Over the past five months KFOR has done countless stories with families dealing with the same problem.
Kacey Curtis and Lael Howard told News 4 back in August that they could not get insurance for their 2-year-old son because they never received a birth certificate.
Elizabeth Carder said she felt like her daughter, Kimberly, did not exist because she too couldn’t get paperwork.
KFOR reached out to the Vital Records Division. A representative said they would check the status of the case and respond back. As of this story’s publishing, there was no response.
Google reviews of the division showed dozens of Oklahomans waiting on birth certificates. Some said their response was quick, but most said they have been waiting for weeks, months and even years.
Rivera-Bruce said she is on the verge of losing insurance for her daughter and cannot sign her up for day care without a Social Security number.
“You’re messing with these people’s lives,” said Rivera-Bruce. “You’re messing with mine.”
She also said she paid to have copies of her two other daughter’s birth certificates sent to her home. Those also never arrived.