A dad in Nebraska has been unable to access social services for his 2-year-old daughter because her name was incorrectly listed as “Unakite Thirteen Hotel.” Jason Kilburn told NBC News that his daughter, whose real name is Caroline, started feeling sick a few weeks ago. She developed a fever and started vomiting. For the dad, however, taking his daughter to see a pediatrician costs about $700.
Because Caroline doesn’t have a Social Security number or a valid birth certificate, she was not approved for Medicaid and can’t access other essential services.
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The dad told NBC News that when his toddler was sick, he had to “weigh my options about what I was going to do.”
“It really sucks to sit here and watch her suffer when there’s health care out there that I can’t get because of this,” he added.
Per the news outlet, Caroline’s mother gave birth to her in November 2022 and relinquished custody to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. At the time of Caroline’s birth, Jason and her birth mother were not together. He didn’t even find out about his daughter until after she was born.
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DNA testing proved that he was Caroline’s father, and he obtained custody rights, NBC News reported. He learned his daughter had never been granted a birth certificate; instead, she only had a certificate of live birth. Additionally, the certificate of live birth reportedly has a “computer-generated name” listed on it: Unakite Thirteen Hotel.
Jason has been working to get an official birth certificate and Social Security number for his daughter, but so far, it hasn’t happened. This means he isn’t able to get health insurance for his daughter, take her to day care, or access services such as speech therapy. He is working with an attorney to put pressure on the state of Nebraska to help his family solve this problem.
Because she can’t get these essential documents, it feels like Caroline is “a ghost,” Jason told NBC News. The whole process has been “very, very taxing,” he added.
