§584-3.5  Expedited process of
paternity.  (a)  To expedite the establishment of paternity, each public
and private birthing hospital or center and the department of health shall
provide unwed parents the opportunity to voluntarily acknowledge the paternity
of a child during the period immediately prior to or following the child's
birth.  The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity shall be in writing and shall
consist of a single form signed under oath by both the natural mother and the
natural father and signed by a witness.  The voluntary acknowledgment of
paternity form shall include the social security number of each parent.  Prior
to the signing of the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form, designated
staff members of such facilities shall provide to both the mother and the
alleged father, if he is present at the facility:



(1)  Written materials regarding paternity
establishment;



(2)  Forms necessary to voluntarily acknowledge
paternity; and



(3)  Oral, video, or audio, and written descriptions
of the alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights and
responsibilities of acknowledging paternity, including, if one parent is a
minor, any right afforded due to minority status.



The completed voluntary acknowledgment forms shall
clearly identify the name and position of the staff member who provides
information to the parents regarding paternity establishment.  The provision by
designated staff members of the facility of the information required by this
section shall not constitute the unauthorized practice of law.  Each facility
shall send to the department of health the original acknowledgment of paternity
containing the social security numbers, if available, of both parents, with the
information required by the department of health so that the birth certificate
issued includes the name of the legal father of the child, which shall be
promptly recorded by the department of health.



(b)  The child support enforcement agency
shall:



(1)  Provide to any person or facility the necessary:



(A)  Materials and forms and a written
description of the rights and responsibilities related to voluntary
acknowledgment of paternity; and



(B)  Training, guidance, and written
instructions regarding voluntary acknowledgment of paternity;



(2)  Annually assess each facility's paternity
establishment program; and



(3)  Determine if a voluntary acknowledgment has been
filed with the department of health whenever it receives an application for
paternity establishment services.



(c)  Notwithstanding sections 338-17.7 and 338-18(b),
the department of health shall disclose to the child support enforcement
agency, upon request, all voluntary acknowledgment of paternity forms on file
with the department of health.



(d)  As used in this section:



"Agency" means the child support
enforcement agency.



"Birthing center" means any facility
outside a hospital that provides maternity services.



"Birthing hospital" means any
hospital with licensed obstetric-care units, any hospital licensed to provide
obstetric services, or any licensed birthing center associated with a hospital.



"Facility" means a birthing hospital
or a birthing center.



(e)  The signed voluntary acknowledgment of
paternity shall constitute a legal finding of paternity, subject to the right
of any signatory to rescind the acknowledgment:



(1)  Within sixty days of signature; or



(2)  Before the date of an administrative or judicial
proceeding relating to the child, including a proceeding to establish a support
order to which the signatory is a party,



whichever is sooner.



(f)  Following the sixty-day period referred to
in subsection (e), a signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity may be
challenged in court only on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of
fact, with the burden of proof upon the challenger.  The legal responsibilities
of any signatory arising from the acknowledgment, including child support
obligations, shall not be suspended during the challenge, except for good cause
shown.



(g)  The courts and office of child support
hearings of this State shall give full faith and credit to affidavits for the
voluntary acknowledgment of paternity signed in any other state and these
affidavits shall constitute legal findings of paternity subject to subsections
(e) and (f).



(h)  Judicial and administrative proceedings
shall not be required or permitted to ratify an unchallenged acknowledgment of
paternity. [L 1996, c 154, §1; am L 1997, c 293, §41; am L 1998, c 83, §10; am
L 2001, c 95, §8]