Winsome Halliman (right), chairperson and chief executive officer, Wynlee Distributors Ltd., presents personal care products for babies to Dr. Patricia Holness (left), chief executive officer of the Registrar General's Department (RGD), and Bryan Aikman, deputy CEO of the RGD, during a press briefing held by the department at Courtleigh Hotel, New Kingston. The briefing was held to discuss the operational changes for the implementation of the free birth certificate project, which will come into effect on January 1. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Last week, The Gleaner reported that beginning in January, the Registrar General's Department (RGD) will provide a birth certificate, free of cost, to every child registered with a name at birth, as the agency moves to implement compulsory child registration.

The RGD yesterday held a press conference at the Courtleigh Hotel, New Kingston, to outline how the new initiative will work:

An RGD registration officer will be assigned to all hospitals and birth centres islandwide for seven days each week. He/she will visit admissions two to three times to get the names and contact information of mothers.

After birth occurs and before the mother is discharged, the registration officer will complete registration by including gender, date, name of child and father's information (if present at time of registration or if mother is married).

If the child is born at home, parents must visit the local district registrar in the district where the birth occurred to have the birth registered.

The child must be named within six weeks of birth in order to be issued with a free certificate.

Children who are not named within the year of birth will have to be named at the RGD through a process known as Late Entry of Name. This is a costly venture, not only to parents, but to the country. The RGD has also encouraged fathers who are not married to accompany the mother to the hospital or local district registrar. This will avoid having to add the father's particulars later.