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Were You Born in Puerto Rico? You need a new birth certificate

Beginning July 1, people born in Puerto Rico will have to obtain a new certified copy of their birth certificate under a new law passed by the government of Puerto Rico. The new law was based on collaboration with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to address the fraudulent use of Puerto Rico-issued birth certificates to unlawfully obtain U.S. passports, Social Security benefits, and other federal services.

Those born in Puerto Rico need to contact the Office of Vital Statistics in Puerto Rico to obtain a new, certified copy of their birth certificate. Individuals should contact the government of Puerto Rico at http://www.salud.gov.pr or call 787-767-9120. For additional information, individuals can also contact www.prfaa.com/birthcertificates for information on how to obtain a copy of their certified birth certificate.

The law that passed in Puerto Rico in December will invalidate all existing certified copies of birth certificates issued in Puerto Rico. As a result, individuals who do not obtain a new certified copy will be unable to apply for a passport or other federal or state programs.

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Press Contact

Alison Norton, Director of
Development & Communications/ anorton@northpennlegal.org/ 610.317.5308

Pitch a poverty story to your editor

NPLS is ready to field calls from reporters. Poverty is now affecting the middle-class. Here’s why you should pitch your editor a poverty story: You’ll learn a lot about public benefits (such as food stamps, unemployment benefits and foreclosure prevention), meet some of our formidable experts…and gain expertise that could come in handy.

Some Stats

As a regional provider of civil legal aid for more than 40 years, North Penn Legal Services (NPLS) helps low-income people throughout 20 counties in Northeast Pennsylvania.

More Stats

Government funding is our primary source of funding. The Pennsylvania Legal Assistance Network (PLAN) provides 22% of our funds. PLAN distributes IOLTA and Title XX monies. The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) provides 34% of our funds. Additional monies are obtained from United Ways, bar associations, local groups, private foundations, and individuals.

Accepted 10,225 new cases, a growth of 9% over 2007-08. The most significant increases were in employment law in which new cases doubled each of the last two years and consumer debt issues (17%).

Closed 9,634 cases, in which we provided direct services that helped nearly 20,400 people:

Litigated 1,521 cases in court, and 479 in administrative tribunals.
Enhanced our clients' economic security by obtaining awards totaling $2.34 million, primarily in disability cases, plus $351,000 in monthly benefits, and relieving clients of $4.64 million in debt though bankruptcy, litigation defense and negotiation.
Obtained 613 protective from abuse orders and 721 custody and visitation orders.
Prevented eviction and foreclosure for 125 families.
Provided advice and brief services to 5,947 clients.

Turned away 14,500 applicants, most of whom were financially eligible for services.

Services

Services provided to low-income people include employment (getting illegally denied unemployment benefits and back pay and wages due), housing (preserving affordable housing, stopping illegal evictions from public and subsidized housing, advocating for the correction of substandard housing, preventing homelessness), income maintenance (helping those with disabilities avoid institutionalization, preserving or obtaining public benefits, overcoming denial of public benefits, juvenile (representing abused and neglected children), consumer (preventing foreclosure, helping homeowners bilked by foreclosure rescue scams, correcting credit ratings, stopping debt-collection activity, overcoming illegal or unfair sales contracts, avoiding utility terminations), health (helping sick children and the elderly get medical assistance, helping seniors get Medicaid assistance so they can live in their communities), family (making sure custodial parents don’t lose custody of their children, helping abused women obtain custody, divorce and alimony), and education (helping children get special education services to which they are entitled, avoiding illegal or unfair school suspensions and obtaining correct school records).