Almost 90 per cent of the people registered with the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) do not have birth certificates.

In fact, according to statistics obtained from the State agency — which is responsible for policies and programmes necessary for the development of persons with disabilities — as at October 15, only 3,898 registrants have birth certificates, while 25,585 do not.

Executive Director of the JCPD Christine Hendricks told the Jamaica Observer that the challenges faced by some persons with disabilities begin in their first days of life, with their births going unregistered.

“Lacking this official recognition, they are cut off from the social services and legal protections that are crucial to their survival and prospects,” Hendricks noted.

Though unable to provide the exact number for those, among the 87 per cent, who were never registered at birth, Hendricks expounded on the reasons for them going unregistered.

One reason was an inability to access the service because of lack of financial resources or family support.

Another is “the myth that disability is a curse, and therefore there is no need to document such a birth; so children who were delivered at home with a disability, some parents did not consider registering the child”.

“Some children birthed at hospital are abandoned,” the JCPD executive director added.

She also said that some people with disabilities do not think having a birth certificate is a priority, since they are more focused on their basic survival needs such as food and shelter. And, there are those who, without strong support systems, may not understand the process to acquire a birth certificate.

Hendricks told the Sunday Observer that not having a birth certificate meant exclusion for persons with disabilities.

“A number of our clients cannot get a TRN (tax registration number) because they do not have a birth certificate. As such, any transaction that requires a TRN excludes them,” Hendricks disclosed, adding that some of the registration requirements of the JCPD had to be reconsidered because not many persons with disabilities have TRNs.

She also pointed out that a birth certificate is needed for children to be on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) and that, recognising that this could pose a problem for potential recipients, PATH instituted a system of assisting with the provision of birth certificates.

The executive director said the JCPD is looking to implement a similar system in the “near future”.

In the meantime, she insisted that the JCPD stands ready to assist people without birth certificates to acquire the document.

“The individuals need to have the required information to complete the process,” Hendricks said. “I would advise parents or caregivers whose children/ward do not have birth certificates to get in contact with the JCPD, to first of all get their children registered, and then to access the necessary assistance based upon assessment of their situation.”

She said, too, that, although mandatory, outside of not being registered at birth, not having a birth certificate may also mean persons with disabilities did not have all the relevant documents upon registering with the State agency, some might have been reluctant to provide the information, and others had no information about their birth certificates.

When the Sunday Observer pointed out that the number of persons with disabilities on the JCPD’s registry was negligible, compared to the estimated 400,000 persons with disabilities living in Jamaica, according to the World Health Report 2011, Hendricks admitted that many people are not aware of the State agency and its functions.

She also said that although the registration drive was conducted islandwide in urban and rural towns, many persons with disabilities were unable to attend due to a number of reasons, some of which include transportation challenges, lack of financial resources, and challenges getting the medical report forms completed by a medical practitioner.

To be part of the database, Hendricks said people with disabilities must register with the JCPD at its Ripon Road, Kingston 5, head office or through social workers in the parish offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.