Bill O'Boyle: State surveying veterans on transition to civilian employment

Dec. 1--WILKES-BARRE -- The Department of State (DOS) has launched a Veterans' Licensure Survey as part of a broader three-year study the department is conducting with St. Francis University'sKnee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation (KCSOR).

The voluntary survey -- on DOS' website and KCSOR's website until Nov. 11, 2020 -- asks current service members, veterans and their families about their experience transferring occupational licensure from the military to the private sector. Responses will be kept confidential.

"One of the biggest obstacles facing service members and veterans is how to translate the skills and education they received in the military into civilian employment," Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said. "Veterans and their families who have served our country deserve our strongest commitment to making their transition to civilian employment as easy as possible."

Survey questions focus on license portability, license reciprocity policies among states and occupational licensing assessment needs. Survey data will be used to make recommendations regarding streamlining occupational licensure regulation in the commonwealth.

"We want to thank Secretary Boockvar and her team at Department of State for their outstanding work to ease the transition to the civilian workforce for our current serving military and our veterans," said Maj. Gen. Anthony Carrelli, Pennsylvania's adjutant general and head of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. "Easing the difficulty of transferring occupational licenses will help veterans and their families transition to the next phase of their lives. Our veterans will get a better start to their next career and Pennsylvania employers will get highly qualified and experienced professionals into their workforce quicker."

The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete and is best displayed on a laptop or desktop computer. Some features may be less compatible for use on a mobile device. Respondents, who must be 18 years or older, will receive a KCSOR promotional item for their participation.

DOS also is developing a military occupational crosswalk, which is a framework for converting military duties, skills, training and certifications to fulfill Pennsylvania's occupational licensing requirements. The 29 licensing boards and commissions of DOS' Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs will use the crosswalk as a tool to create a consistent transition from military to civilian occupational life.

The survey and crosswalk are part of a $422,000, three-year grant Gov. Tom Wolf secured from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2018 to reduce excessive occupational licensing requirements and explore alternative approaches, such as professional certification, that maintain public health and safety.

Casey urges halt to obstructing

efforts to deliver benefits to vets

U.S. Senators Bob Casey and others last week sent a letter to Trump Administration officials urging them to stop obstructing access to health benefits and disability compensation for approximately 83,000 veterans, some from Pennsylvania and Colorado.

Following a federally mandated National Academies of Medicine (NAM) study on the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange, Office of Management and Budget Director (OMB) Mick Mulvaney declined to include illnesses determined by the NAM study to be linked to exposure to Agent Orange and other chemicals used during the Vietnam War as presumptive conditions.

"By refusing to include these illnesses on the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) list of Agent Orange presumptive benefits, OMB is acting in direct opposition to the NAM's analysis of peer-reviewed reports that suggest otherwise," wrote Casey and other senators in their letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie and OMB Director Mulvaney. "We encourage you to acknowledge the scientific based evidence and the recommendation of the previous VA Secretary David Shulkin, and designate these conditions to the presumptive list for Agent Orange exposure."

The senators also expressed concern over the delay in implementation of new legislation to expand Agent Orange benefits to Navy Vietnam veterans, demanding the administration prioritize and process their claims as soon as possible.

"These veterans and their families have waited long enough for access to the benefits for which they are eligible and desperately need," wrote the senators. "Our nation must live up to the promises it has made to the men and women who have sacrificed much by serving in uniform."

PA dog owners warned of

fraudulent dog license website

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture'sBureau of Dog Law Enforcement this week warned Pennsylvania dog owners looking to purchase new or renewal licenses of a fraudulent website selling dog licenses online.

"The Department of Agriculture works with Pennsylvania's county treasurers for the sale of dog licenses," said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. "The best way to ensure that you're completing an official transaction is to start on licenseyourdogpa.pa.gov."

Most recently, the department has identified www.padoglicense.online as selling fake PA dog licenses and even paying search engines to appear at the top of search results pages for common terms, like "Pennsylvania dog license" or "renew PA dog license."

Here are some tips to help customers ensure that they are on an official website:

--Rather than using a search engine to reach a website to purchase a dog license, type www.licenseyourdogpa.pa.gov directly into your browser's address bar;

--When in doubt, call your county treasurer's office. Each county treasurer has a different process; while most offer an online option for purchase of licenses, some do not and require a paper form to be dropped off or mailed.

--If you have a concern about a third-party website, contact the PA Attorney General Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555.

For more information of Pennsylvania's dog laws, visit agriculture.pa.gov or licenseyourdogpa.pa.gov.

Wolf signs 3 bills to protect

victims of childhood sexual abuse

Gov. Tom Wolf, joined by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, bill sponsors Reps. Mark Rozzi, Todd Stephens, and Jim Gregory; legislators; advocates and survivors of childhood sexual abuse, this week signed three bills that mirror the grand jury's recommendations after its investigation into child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.

"After tireless and passionate work on the part of so many, especially countless brave victims, these bills will today become law, and victims of one of the most unimaginable forms of abuse will receive the support and rights they deserve," Wolf said. "And while we celebrate the monumental victory of many survivors of childhood sexual abuse finally receiving their opportunity for justice, we must continue pushing forward until every survivor, of every age, has the chance to tell his or her story."

"These reforms fundamentally change our justice system and will protect generations of children who experience abuse from this day on," Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "While we still must address justice for those survivors who made this day possible, seeing this progress gives me hope that bravery and activism will win over entrenched interests and powerful institutions."

Wolf signed these bills:

--House Bill 962, sponsored by Rep. Mark Rozzi, abolishes Pennsylvania's criminal statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse and extends the timeline victims have to file civil action against their abusers; extends civil statute of limitations for victims age 18-24 until the age of 30; extends the criminal statute of limitations for criminal proceedings for victims age 18-24 for 20 years; and provides counseling services for victims of sexual assault via the Crime Victims Compensation fund through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

--House Bill 1051, sponsored by Rep. Todd Stephens, increases penalties for failure to report child abuse by a mandated reporter.

--House Bill 1171, sponsored by Rep. Tarah Toohil, makes conversations with law enforcement agents exempt from non-disclosure agreements.

"There are survivors of childhood abuse out there with these non-disclosure agreements who believe they are still unable to come forward. Many of them have been silenced for decades," said Toohil, R-Butler Township. "It is clearly stated in the new law that these survivors are able to provide information to law enforcement regarding their abuse, even if such an agreement is in place."

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.

___

(c)2019 The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

Visit The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at www.timesleader.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.