INDIANAPOLIS — This is the time of year when families are squaring away their college financing. One family thinks they're missing out on scholarships in part because of a document backlog at the state.
That's why Jess Newman-Hoyt, whose family is proud of their Cherokee heritage, is enrolling her kids in Cherokee Nation.
"My parents got me registered so that I could get all the benefits at a young age," Newman-Hoyt said, which included college scholarships.
These benefits are definitely something her daughter could use as she heads to college.
"She's been accepted into Purdue Polytechnic Institute in the Honors Program. It's not a cheap program. But as a Native woman in the technology field, that's an amazing feat," Newman-Hoyt said.
To enroll in Cherokee Nation, each applicant needs to provide a state birth certificate, which is different from a county birth certificate.
A state birth certificate is the image or data originally submitted by the hospital and can include additional information like the time of birth and the parents' birth dates.
So, Newman-Hoyt started the enrollment process early — or so she thought.
"I sent off the long form birth certificate in September of 2022," Hoyt-Newman said.
And as of March 23, 2023, she still has not received her daughter's birth certificate.
"On their website, it said it would take 12 to 16 weeks to process," Newman-Hoyt said.
Now, the state's website says it would take 180 days, which is six months and double the original processing time.
While the Indiana Department of Health wouldn't go on-camera for an interview, they sent 13News the following statement:
"The wait time for birth certificates processed by the Indiana Department of Health is the result of several factors, including increased requests due to upcoming Real ID requirements, migration to a new data system, attrition of experienced staff and hiring challenges, and the fact that all records before 2007 are on microfiche, which results in a longer processing time. We are working to bring on additional staff to process certificates as quickly as possible."
Newman-Hoyt said the processing time is costing them money.
"There is really no reason that it should be taking six to eight months or more to get a birth certificate," Newman-Hoyt said.