Virginia Congenital Anomalies Reporting and Education System (VaCARES): A birth defects registry of children under age two who have congenital anomalies. Hospitals statewide are charged with reporting children identified with a congenital anomaly via a web based reporting system. Services include the provision of condition related information to parents and health care providers. VaCARES is a mandate of the Code of Virginia.

The Virginia Bleeding Disorders Program is a legislatively enacted program through the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Child and Adolescent Health, for the care and treatment of persons with hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders. Virginia recognizes that the ongoing medical costs of treating such bleeding disorders often exceed the financial capacity of families, despite insurance coverage. The program supports a system of coordinated, family-oriented, multidisciplinary services for persons of all ages with bleeding disorders.

In conjunction with Virginia Division of Social Services and Division of Child Support Enforcement, The Virginia Paternity Establishment Program works closely with the birth registrars of each birthing hospital by providing training and education of our program. The program also provides education and outreach to parents and a variety of partners in the state of Virginia. Provides information on how to establish paternity if the parents are unmarried at the time of the child's birth. The biological father's name cannot appear on the birth certificate unless the parents complete the Acknowledgment of Paternity form. Hospitals are required to assist parents with completing the form at the time of birth at no cost as part of the child's birth registration. For further assistance, please telephone: 1.866.398.4841 or 804.285.5826 Unmarried parents can sign a form called the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) prior to discharge from the hospital. This is a no cost at the hospital. Unmarried parents are provided a simple and convenient method in Virginia to place the father's name on the child's birth certificate. Minors do not need parental permission to voluntarily establish paternity in the Commonwealth of Virginia. You do not need to be a US citizen to sign this form and your information is confidential. Signing an AOP form does not affect benefits such as TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) or Medicaid. Paternity establishment and custody are two separate issues. Under most circumstances, when unmarried parents have a child the child lives with the mother and she maintains legal custody. Either parent may seek visitation rights through the Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court system in the county in which the custodial parent resides. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, you may name your child anything you like regardless of your marital status. You will need a current proof of identification as the AOP form must be notarized to complete the process.

Virginia Newborn Dried Blood-Spot Screening Services screens infants born in the Commonwealth for selected heritable disorders and genetic diseases, which are identified through newborn dried blood-spot screening tests. Effective March 2006, the disorders were expanded to include the additional 17 disorders recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics in its report, Newborn Screening: Toward a Uniform Screening Panel and System. This expansion brings the number of disorders screened to the recommended 28. Infants are generally screened within the first few days after birth, but may receive screening services until they reach 6 months of age. Due to the state laboratories procedures and cutoff levels, which are based on normal infants hematocrit, screening for infants 6 months and older must be conducted by laboratories that conduct testing for children and adults. The disorders screened are listed below. 1. Argininosuccinic acidemia (ASA); 2. Beta-Ketothiolase deficiency (�KT); 3. Biotinidase deficiency (BIOT); 4. Carnitine uptake defect (CUD); 5. Citrullinemia (CIT); 6. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH); 7. Congenital hypothyroidism (CH); 8. Cystic fibrosis (CF); 9. Galactosemia (GALT); 10. Glutaric acidemia type I (GA I); 11. Hemoglobin Sickle/Beta-thalassemia (Hb S/�Th); 12. Hemoglobin Sickle/C disease (Hb S/C); 13. Homocystinuria (HCY); 14. Isovaleric acidemia (IVA); 15. Long chain hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (LCHAD); 16. Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD); 17. Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCAD); 18. Methylmalonic acidemia (mutase deficiency) (MUT); 19. Methylmalonic acidemia (Cbl A,B); 20. Multiple carboxylase deficiency (MCD); 21. Phenylketonuria (PKU); 22. Propionic acidemia (PROP); 23. Sickle cell anemia (Hb SS disease) (Hb SS); 24. Tyrosinemia type I (TYR I); 25. Trifunctional protein deficiency (TFP); 26. Very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCAD); 27. 3-hydroxy 3-methyl glutaric aciduria (HMG), and 28. 3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency (3MCC).

Provides outpatient and inpatient care for patients with cystic fibrosis. Offers nutrition, genetic counseling, psychosocial and physical therapy services. Can offer financial aid to eligible families. Offers separate weekly clinics for young children newly diagnosed with CF to encourage early, aggressive intervention to improve long-term nutrition and lung function.

Provides private paternity testing or other private DNA testing. For services, call the 800 number or visit the website for a local testing location. (Note: For those requiring paternity testing in Virginia for Virginia child support, those call go to another company called Lab Corp. (800) 742-3944 and are initiated by the Division of Child Support Enforcement at the Virginia Department of Social Services.)

Provide access to quality medical care and services. From family medicine and pediatrics to specialty care, therapy and lab and imaging services.