A law enacted in Puerto Rico last year is likely to complicate the process of verifying citizenship status and identity for people who have Puerto Rican birth certificates and are applying for public benefits.  However, the WI Dept. of Health Services (DHS) has made changes that will mitigate the potential negative effects for Puerto Ricans and administrators of public benefit programs. At the request of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, I wrote a recent post for CCF’s“Say Ahhh!” Blog on the subject of the steps DHS has taken to minimize the adminsitrative burdens. In short, DHS decided not to require new birth certificates from already-enrolled Puerto Ricans when they come up for renewal, thereby avoiding what could have been a setback to Wisconsin’s efforts to reduce churning among program participants.  For new Puerto Rican applicants, DHS will mitigate the potential burden of the law by taking advantage of the CHIPRA option to use Social Security numbers for automated verification of citizenship and identity.   DHS has been preparing for many months to begin using that option this fall. 

Jon Peacock, research director