Paternity means fatherhood.
Establishing paternity is the process of determining the
legal father of a child. When parents are married, paternity
is automatically established in most cases. If parents are
unmarried, paternity establishment is not automatic and
the process should be started by both parents as soon as
possible for the benefit of the child. Unmarried parents
can establish paternity (legal fatherhood) by signing the
voluntary Declaration of Paternity. This can be done in
the hospital after the child is born. A Declaration of Paternity
may also be signed by parents after they leave the hospital.
Unmarried
parents who sign the Declaration of Paternity form help
their child(ren) gain the same rights and privileges of
a child born within a marriage. Some of those rights include:
financial support from both parents, access to important
family medical records, access to the non-custodial parent's
medical benefits, and the emotional benefit of knowing who
both parents are.
In an effort to create a legal link between unmarried fathers
and their children, the California Department of Child Support
Services joined other states in a partnership with licensed
hospitals and clinics with birthing facilities to establish
the Paternity Opportunity Program (POP). This voluntary
in-hospital paternity acknowledgment program, implemented
in January 1995, involves about 330 of California's licensed
hospitals and clinics with birthing facilities. The program
has since been expanded to prenatal clinics, county welfare
offices, local vital records offices, and courts
