An Audit Report on the Department of State Health Services' Issuance of Birth Certificates
November 2009
Report Number 10-011
Overall Conclusion
The Department of State Health Services' (Department) processes generally ensured that all birth certificates issued through its Vital Statistics Unit complied with applicable laws and regulations. However, the Department did not monitor the 421 local registrars in Texas, which also issue birth certificates, to ensure that the registrars issued birth certificates only to legally authorized individuals and appropriately remitted birth certificate-related funds to the State.
Auditors visited four local registrars: Harris County, Dallas County, City of Grapevine, and City of Baytown. A total of 116 (95 percent) of 122 birth certificate files that auditors tested at the four local registrars visited were issued to legally authorized individuals. However, one registrar disposed of all birth certificate-related documentation within one year of receipt. As a result, auditors could not verify whether all birth certificates issued before July 2008 were issued only to legally authorized individuals.
Auditors identified weaknesses in the following areas:
- Inadequate or incomplete record keeping related to the issuance of birth certificates.
- Lack of written policies and procedures for the issuance of birth certificates.
- Inadequate retention of supporting documentation.
While the Department asked local registrars to complete a self-assessment related to their birth certificate procedures in fiscal year 2008, it did not follow up with the local registrars based on the results or require the registrars to complete the self-assessment. Only 147 registrars completed the self-assessment (see Appendix 6 for a list of the 147 registrars). The Department did not do any additional monitoring to ensure that compliance issues, such as those listed above, were identified and corrected in a timely manner.
The Department has a process to invoice local registrars $1.83 for each birth certificate issued through the Department's remote system. A local registrar may issue a birth certificate copy using its own database if the person listed on the birth certificate was born in the local jurisdiction, or it can contract with the Department to use the Department's remote system to issue a birth certificate for anyone born outside of that area. All remote system invoices tested at the four local registrars auditors visited were paid. As of February 2009, 185 of the 421 local registrars in Texas had a contract with the Vital Statistics Unit to use the remote system (see Appendix 5 for a list of the 185 registrars).
In addition, three of the four registrars visited lacked adequate documentation showing they had remitted $1.80 to the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts for each birth certificate issued, as required by Texas Health and Safety Code, Section 191.022. Specifically, two registrars did not have a list of all birth certificates issued from their information system during a specified period of time that could be reconciled with the funds remitted to the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts. The third registrar had a list, but it was not complete. In addition, the Department lacks a process to verify whether the State received all funds due for the birth certificates issued using a local database.
For the birth certificates the Department's Vital Statistics Unit issued from September 2007 through February 2009, the Department generally ensured that it issued birth certificates only to qualified applicants, as defined under Title 25 of the Texas Administrative Code. In addition, the Department adequately safeguarded the funds it collected from birth certificates it issued. From September 1, 2007, through February 28, 2009, the Department received $7,977,452 for processing and issuing 397,020 birth certificates (see Appendix 3 for more information).
The Department's Vital Statistics Unit did not consistently follow the policies and procedures in its Internal Security Manual. For example, it did not ensure that all voided transactions had an accompanying destruction memo signed by a witness, or that all employees signed a confidentiality agreement on or before their first date of employment at the Vital Statistics Unit.
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