Albany woman having trouble getting social security card for baby

A mother in Albany said she still has not received her baby’s social security card, more than a year after he was born.

She contacted 13 Investigates after trying to get the card for over a year.

It turns out to be a simple problem.

Once 13 Investigates started asking questions, we were able to figure out that someone misspelled the child’s name.

The mom did not want to go on camera.

When we first spoke to her on the phone about the situation, she said she reached out to the Social Security Administration four times.

She sent them documents including: her driver’s license, the birth certificates for her and her son, and other documents on her child.

The process to get a social security card for your child starts at the hospital, right after your baby is born.

All new parents have to fill out a ‘birth certificate’ packet before being discharged.

In the packet, there is a question that asks if you would like your child to be issued a social security number.

"The social security is just the one question. Once that’s filed, it’s still a single question for our medical records to answer as well," Jessica Wright said.

Wright, a newborn and NICU nurse at St. Peter’s Healthcare said once the packet is filled out, the paperwork goes to the hospital’s medical records department.

From there, it is sent out to the county where the patient lives.

Once it is in the county’s hands, St. Peter’s has no control.

"Delays really can depend on how many birth certificates are being filed through the county office. As well as the judge has to then sign them off,” Wright said.

She said those delays are usually a few weeks. Not a full year.

You need the social security card to get your child insurance coverage.

Here are a few tips, from Wright, to make sure this does not happen to you:

1) Ask questions when you are still in the hospital: If you are a new parent, you may not understand the process. The nurses are there to help you.

2) Be patient: It can take a few weeks for your documents to come in, but if it goes longer, start by calling the hospital.