INFORMATION FOR PROVIDERS

PARENTAL NOTIFICATION

Since January 1, 1997, children are enrolled in KIDSNET in two ways:

• At the time of birth for children born in Rhode Island; or
• At the time they become patients of a healthcare provider or program participating in KIDSNET, for children born outside of Rhode Island.

As each child receives his or her immunizations, gets tested for lead, has contact with WIC or Early Intervention programs, receives a home visit, or gets hearing or metabolic tests, this information is also entered into KIDSNET.

KIDSNET makes a great effort to notify parents and guardians that their child’s information is in KIDSNET, especially because individual parental consent to include children’s data is not required.

Families learn about KIDSNET in different ways. They may get information from:

• Their obstetrician’s office before the child is born; or
• The birthing hospital at the time the child is born; or
• A letter KIDSNET sends to their home shortly after their child’s birth.

For children born in Rhode Island, families also receive a Hallmark® Newborn Greeting card two weeks after birth. The Governor of Rhode Island signs this card. It includes a KIDSNET flyer explaining what KIDSNET is and gives a telephone number to call with questions.

If the child was born outside of Rhode Island and sees a Rhode Island participating healthcare provider or receives services at a KIDSNET participating program, the child’s information will be added to KIDSNET. A notification letter and fact card will be mailed to the child’s parents/guardians when the child’s information is added to KIDSNET, regardless of the age of the child.

Click on the links below to view:

• Newborn Notification Brochures (En Español)
• The Hallmark® Newborn Greeting card
• KIDSNET introduction card included with the Hallmark® card (En Español)
• Notification letter sent to parents of children born outside of Rhode Island (En Español)
• Fact card that is sent with the notification letter

KIDSNET data is collected by Electronic File Transfers (EFT), from data entry, or from data sheets that are entered by hand into our system (most of which will be optically scanned in the future).

KIDSNET protects the information about each child very carefully. For more about the confidentiality of information in KIDSNET, click here.