Pa. birth certificates are now accessible to individuals as young as 16
Acting Health Secretary Denise Johnson said the change, from 18 years of age, includes a waiver of the $20 fee for 16- to 24-year-olds in foster care or the juvenile justice system.
Individuals now as young as 16 can access their birth certificates in Pennsylvania, which is a necessary document to establish their identity when applying for a state driver’s license, a job, and college admission.
This update made earlier this month to the birth certificate request process that lowers the age threshold to access a certificate from the current 18 years of age was announced on Wednesday by Acting Health Secretary Denise Johnson. She also announced the change includes a waiver of the $20 fee for 16- to 24-year-olds in foster care or the juvenile justice system.
“When we learned that youth who were 16 and older were having difficulty accessing their birth certificates, especially those youth that were experiencing homelessness or had been involved with the juvenile justice system or foster care, we implemented the changes that were necessary to address those issues,” Johnson said at a Capitol news conference.
» READ MORE: How to get a birth certificate or death certificate in Pennsylvania
State Rep. Rick Krawjewski, D-Philadelphia, had introduced legislation to achieve a similar goal of allowing disadvantaged youth to access their birth certificates at a younger age after hearing stories of how their inability to get them hindered their ability to seek opportunities to improve their lives and access social benefits.
“For myself as someone who wants to everything I can to make sure another life is not lost and particularly a young life is not lost, I really took that to heart,” he said. “I am really proud to say that today, today these changes are live on the Department of Health website.”
Kendra Van de Water, co-founder and executive director for Youth Empowerment Advancement Hangout Philly that works with at-risk youth in Philadelphia, called it a transformational change that will impact young people in a positive way.
She said it will remove a barrier that disconnected them from support in their communities and schools, fair housing and employment opportunities.