My ds was born at home attended by a midwife in September 2008. I recently became aware of the fact that his social security card that we applied for in October was somehow lost in the mail. So my son was issued a ss number (which I don't know) and as far as the ssa is concerned, getting him a card now is considered a re-issue of lost card. Ok, that's fine.
What I don't understand is why my son can only be ID'ed by an immunization record, hospital record of birth, or medicare card. I have none of these forms of identification. He is completely unvaxed, was born at home and is not on medicare. After talking to countless government workers in my local ss office and calling the 800 national ssa number, no one could come up with a solution to my son's dilemma. I know I am not the only person in the United States who this has happened to. Apparently every person (and there were at least 6) I spoke to thinks I am a freak for having a homebirth, not vaxing or consequently not being on medicare. One worker even had the audacity to ask me why I wasn't vaxing my son. What?!? Seriously?!? Getting into an argument about the risks of vaccines with a gov't drone was not on my to-do list, so I calmly informed her it was none of her business, I was not about to vaccinate my son to get a ss card, and asked again if there was anything she could do for me. She pretty much said no, you need one of these IDs, find a way to get them and I can help you. ARRG. After much harassment and many calls on my part, I was finally able to speak to a manager who said they would make an exception and allow me to present a notarized copy of my midwife's "statement of birth" and his birth certificate. I worry that if I don't get this information to the ss office ASAP, they will forget they made an exception and turn me away yet again....
It was at this point that I realize how uninformed (and uncaring) people working in our gov't are. This realization made me sad and angry at the same time. Why is there no recognition of alternative lifestyles or choices within our government? And furthermore, how does an immunization record identify a child? It doesn't make any sense to me.
Has any one else experienced hardships dealing with social security because they choose not to vaccinate their child, or am I *really* the only one?
What I don't understand is why my son can only be ID'ed by an immunization record, hospital record of birth, or medicare card. I have none of these forms of identification. He is completely unvaxed, was born at home and is not on medicare. After talking to countless government workers in my local ss office and calling the 800 national ssa number, no one could come up with a solution to my son's dilemma. I know I am not the only person in the United States who this has happened to. Apparently every person (and there were at least 6) I spoke to thinks I am a freak for having a homebirth, not vaxing or consequently not being on medicare. One worker even had the audacity to ask me why I wasn't vaxing my son. What?!? Seriously?!? Getting into an argument about the risks of vaccines with a gov't drone was not on my to-do list, so I calmly informed her it was none of her business, I was not about to vaccinate my son to get a ss card, and asked again if there was anything she could do for me. She pretty much said no, you need one of these IDs, find a way to get them and I can help you. ARRG. After much harassment and many calls on my part, I was finally able to speak to a manager who said they would make an exception and allow me to present a notarized copy of my midwife's "statement of birth" and his birth certificate. I worry that if I don't get this information to the ss office ASAP, they will forget they made an exception and turn me away yet again....
It was at this point that I realize how uninformed (and uncaring) people working in our gov't are. This realization made me sad and angry at the same time. Why is there no recognition of alternative lifestyles or choices within our government? And furthermore, how does an immunization record identify a child? It doesn't make any sense to me.
Has any one else experienced hardships dealing with social security because they choose not to vaccinate their child, or am I *really* the only one?
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I thought about reporting them, but can't imagine there is anyone who really cares. The national ssa information number was even less of a help than the local office.
so 3 trips later....I just wrote a letter, asked the daycare to print out on their stationary (with a picture) and signed it and that was ok. It is the DUMBEST system ever. A ped record of visit or a school/daycare record is sufficient as well. They just didn't give you all the info.
