Centralized Database Issuance in a Rural State

1
Centralized Database Issuance in a Rural State
Jim Edgar, MPA State Registrar Montana Office
of Vital Statistics
2
Demographics

• Montana has a physical size of 145,552 square
  miles (4th Largest)
• And a population of about 935,670 (Ranked 44th)
• Or about 6.2 people per square mile (Ranked 48th)

3
Area Comparison
4
Population Distribution
5
Issuance Districts

• Issuance districts are based on the 56 counties
• The county Clerk and Recorder Office in each
  county issues birth and death certificates

6
County Population Distribution
7
Development History

• In October 1998 birth certificate issuance system
  use operational
• In September 2003 counties having access to birth
  were given access to the death issuance system

8
System Requirements

• Must have internet connection via
• Dial up
• Cable
• DSL
• Summit net (Statewide Network)
• Software (downloadable)
• Adobe reader, Java, Internet explorer
• Must be granted network access

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System Features

• Any certificate filed in the state can be issued
• Birth certificates from 1920 to present
• Death certificates from 2003 to present
• System generates security sequence number

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System Features (Continued)

• Birth system generates abstracts
• Death system generates
• Abstract
• Full certificate
• Demographic copy (cause of death info is removed)
• Deceased and amended records are identified

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System Features (Continued)

• Issuance is tracked by
• Security paper sequence number
• Requestor
• Person issuing
• County of issuance
• Tracks total number of individual certificates
  issued

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Advantages

• All certificates are accurate
• All certificates formats are consistent
• Better security control
• Ability to lock records and prevent issuance
• Better tracking of issued copies

13
Current status

• All counties are issuing from the database
• All counties can issue originals for their county
  
• However they are required to check the database
  before issuing an original
• All counties are using State provided security
  paper.

14
Counties Using Centralized Issuance by Start
Year(1998-2005)
C O U N T I E S
15
County Incentives

• Issuance of any filed certificate
• State office provides security paper
• In 2002 we changed the Administrative Rules to
  require all certified copies to be issued on
  security paper
• Peer pressure

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Number of Birth Certificates Centrally Issued
17
Percent of Birth Certificates Centrally Issued
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Implementation Issues

• Software upgrades to Adobe, Java, and Internet
  Explorer were not compatible with the system
  software.
• Initially needed to provide software to install
  on machine.
• Computer and firewall configurations varied and
  had to be overcome.
• Computer upgrades (Pop up Blockers)

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Continuing Issues

• Death records that can be issued are limited
  because not all data was entered in the original
  electronic file (i.e. cause of death literals)
• Refusal of acceptance of abstract certificate by
• Tribes
• Federal agencies
• Other states agencies

20
Possible Impact of New Fed Regulations

• All certified original certificates will be
  centralized and only issued by State Office
• We may need to key additional information into
  database
• May need to add additional fields to
  electronically generated certificates.