Registrar General’s Department Jamaica Presenter: Deirdre English Gosse Registrar General & Chief Executive Officer of the RGD 1

Table of Contents Overview General Register Office Security Paper Features Bedside & Online Registration Challenges & Moving Forward 2

Executive Agency since April 1, 1999 Customer-service culture Overview The Registrar General's Department (RGD) is an Executive Agency and Jamaica’s sole repository of birth, death, marriage, adoption and foetal death records Executive Agency since April 1, 1999 Customer-service culture Innovations in services offered Improved physical plant Aggressive public education and information De-centralization of services 3

Capturing of information at the bedside in hospitals Overview Based on the nature of the services provided the RGD has access to the general population through the following means: Application processes for services - Mandatory need for birth, death and marriage certificates to carry social and business activities Capturing of information at the bedside in hospitals Change of name – Draft Deeds Poll and record all Deeds Poll 4

Online Application and payment facility at www.rgd.gov.jm Overview 350 members of staff 10 Branch Offices Online Application and payment facility at www.rgd.gov.jm Repository of over 70 million records dating back to 1660s Produced over 8.5M secure certificates since 2001 5

General Register Office (GRO) Island Record Office (IRO) Overview RGD’S activities are governed by over 30 statutes We have 2 main arms; General Register Office (GRO) Island Record Office (IRO) 6

General Register Office Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Stillbirths Provide updating services for original records (e.g. late registration, correction of error, addition of father’s particulars) Provide certified copies of records Compile and publish vital data to planning agencies such as the Satistical Institute of Jamaica to support national planning Perform Registry Weddings Effective Records Management for records dating from 1660s to present 7

Security Paper Features . Certificates printed on security paper since May 7, 2001 2. Deeply engraved “blind” embossing, 3.Watermark 4. Deeply engraved texts 5. Embossed latent image 6. Chemical sensitivity 7. Invisible imprint 8. RGD’s Logo 9. Microlines 0.RGD verifier – handheld device 8

SWOT Analysis BEDSIDE REGISTRATION As a measure to increase birth registration the RGD commenced bedside registration on January 1, 2007 Registration Officers and Assistants placed in all major hospitals and birthing centres across the island

SWOT Analysis BEDSIDE REGISTRATION The Registration staff effects registration of all vital events which occur in institutions : Live births Deaths Foetal deaths

Births occurring outside of Institutions Approximately 2% of births occur outside of institutions Registrations are effected by Local District Registrars Local District Registrars are strategically located and maintain

BEDSIDE REGISTRATION As a special incentive to mothers giving birth, the RGD provided a “Free First Birth Certificate” to all babies who were named in hospital and to those born at home and registered within six (6) weeks of birth. A total of 280,000 such certificates have been printed by the RGD.

BEDSIDE REGISTRATION Before Bedside registration was implemented the percentage of babies named at birth was as low as 31%. To date 98% of babies are named at birth

Existing Bedside Registration System Birth Occurrence in an Institution Hospital capture mother’s information in a Labour Log book prior to delivery of the baby RGD staff extract information from delivery book and track mothers by physical observation Registration Forms are pre-prepared based on delivery log book RGD staff interviews mother to complete the birth registration form Ensures baby and mother match Obtains mother’s ID for verification Child’s name Marital status of the mother Father’s particulars Signature of mother and that of the father if present Completed copy of the original registration forms are submitted to branch offices for examination Duplicate copy of the registration forms are kept in the registration book for one year Examined registration forms are sent to the head office for data entry and production of first free copy if applicable

Online Registration Software written and tested 2 Information will be captured electronically and be submitted electronically to head office. 3 Will entail the capturing for additional information such as birth weight 4 Mother and if father is present will be required to sign electronically

Moving Forward Online Registration of vital events Online verification through a secure web page, for key stakeholders National Identification cards 16

Thank You! 17