NEWS / Nebraska man faces bureaucratic nightmare trying to obtain birth certificate for daughter

A Nebraska man is struggling to obtain a birth certificate for his daughter, originally born at home and later taken into a foster family.

The man, Jason Kilburn, succeeded in proving that he was, in fact, the biological father of his 2-year-old daughter, whom he calls Caroline, but is facing issues obtaining her birth certificate and social security number.

The girl’s biological mom gave birth at a house in Council Bluffs, Iowa. A foster mom then took the baby to a hospital which issued a birth certificate that only had the baby mom’s last name, but no first name.

The girl was then placed into the foster care system, where a foster family took custody of her and petitioned the court for a name for the girl so that they could then apply for a social security number. The court granted the girl the legal name of “Unakite Thirteen Hotel”.

Kilburn had known his daughter’s biological mom but had lost contact with her by the time the child was born. He was later able to track down his child and petitioned the court to grant him custody, which the court did after he proved that he was her biological father.

Kilburn is now trying to legally change his daughter’s name to Caroline, but he has encountered an issue.

“I can't get a name change without Social, or birth certificate," Kilburn was quoted by KETV as stating, “As a father, I feel responsible for her, having what she needs whether it be insurance or the Social Security number, whatever. She can't do nothing for herself right now, it's all on me.”

Kilburn also noted that he cannot claim her as a dependent on his tax return or sign her up for daycare.

The desperate situation caused the Nebraska man to resort to hiring a lawyer to attempt to work with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to resolve the situation.

Based on the latest news, Kilburn was able to get a social security number for his daughter.

“I can't believe it happened, really. I've been trying for a year and a half,” Kilburn stated as quoted by KETV. “It opens up a lot of doors for her and her well-being. I've already applied for the health insurance.”