WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security plans relax the 2008 travel-document requirements for children traveling between the U.S. and Canada.

Starting in January, anyone traveling between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda by land or sea will be required to present a valid passport or other approved document, as determined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

However, as part of a forthcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the controversial Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the Department of Homeland Security says it will add flexibility for documents required of children.

Specifically, U.S. and Canadian children ages 15 and younger, traveling with parental consent, would be allowed to cross the border at land and sea ports with a certified copy of their birth certificate as an alternative to a passport or other DHL-compliant identity card.

U.S. and Canadian children, ages 16 through 18, traveling with public or private school groups, religious groups, social or cultural organizations, or teams associated with youth athletic organizations would also be able to enter, under adult supervision, with a certified copy of their birth certificate.

The initial phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative travel-document requirements went into effect in January, requiring all air travelers, regardless of age, to present a passport for entry into the U.S. The new DHS proposal does not impact those requirements.

The U.S. Department of State reportedly is close to issuing final regulations that will allow it to issue U.S. citizens a lower-cost alternative to a passport, to be called the Passport Card.

The Department of Homeland Security will continue to issue Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative-compliant border crossing documents for frequent border crossers under its trusted traveler programs.

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 mandated the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative travel-document requirements.

Meanwhile, several of Canadas provincial premiers have added their voices to the call for greater flexibility for senior citizens traveling between the U.S. and Canada.

Speaking to their U.S. counterparts at the National Governors Association conference last month, the provincial premiers said they support applying the same sort of requirements that have been proposed for children to U.S. and Canadian senior citizens.

"I think it's a natural for us to exempt seniors," said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. "I think some of the very same reasons that would have motivated the exemption of children could apply to seniors."

The National Tour Association, the Student & Youth Travel Association, the United States Tour Operators Association and others have been advocating greater flexibility for children. NTA also is urging Congress to adopt the same less-restrictive measures for seniors.