[MR] Answer to Herveus re: Minor Medical Authorization

[Klawiter.Kathryn at epamail.epa.gov]

Fellow Atlantians,

This came through blank last time, and I apologize.  I'm not entirely
certain why it chose to do so, so I’m sending it again, with the hope
that it will come through better this time.

Ilse von Brenner
Kingdom Waiver Secretary


Herveus wrote:

I understand the value of requiring a medical authorization form
for minors not accompanied by parent/legal guardian.

I do wonder why the requirement for it to be notarized. Was that
an Atlantian decision or was that imposed by SCA, Inc. I have not
seen anything on the corporate web site about a requirement that
they be notarized.

yours,
Herveus

Herveus,

You ask a good question.  The guidance we received from SCA Corporate
Headquarters indicated that the Minor Medical Authorization form must be
notarized if required by the locality.  Upon investigation, we
discovered that this meant the locality of the event, or more
accurately, the locality of the nearest appropriate health care
provider.  This would require the Kingdom to ascertain exactly which
locations required notarized forms and which did not, and then make this
fact apparent to trolls, autocrats, and attendees.  To make this task
harder, the information would constantly be changing, as localities
changed their procedures.  As a result, the Kingdom of Atlantia decided
to simplify matters for all by requiring the notarized form at all
events.  This way, everyone knows that they have a form that is valid
and can use the same form for any event in the Kingdom.

However, I would point out a significant difference between waivers and
Minor Medical Authorizations that is not well-understood – unlike
waivers, Minor Medical Authorizations can be specified to last any
amount of time, and are not handed in to the event staff.  In other
words, if an adult (not a parent or guardian) is going to take a minor
to multiple events over multiple years, then he or she only ever needs
one notarized Minor Medical Authorization form, and can use that one
form over and over again.  Although this doesn't negate the difficulty
of finding a notary to get the initial form signed, it does mean that it
can be a one-time difficulty.

As always, let me know if you have any questions about waivers or minor
medical authorizations by dropping me a line at waivers at atlantia.sca.org
or calling at 703-517-5428.  Thanks.

Ilse von Brenner
Kingdom Waiver Secretary