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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/19/2024 08:52 PM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20130&cosponId=10591
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 7, 2013 10:53 AM
From: Senator Lisa Baker
To: All Senate members
Subject: Baker/Strengthening County Veterans Affairs Offices
 
The Director of Veterans Affairs in each county is usually the first point of contact for current members of the military and older veterans. However, the training and resources given to these important gatekeepers vary significantly from county to county.

To bring a degree of standardization and uniformity to this essential and increasingly demanding post, I plan to reintroduce a bill that will delineate training requirements and set minimum standards.

This bill is similar to Senate Bill 345 of last session, which was reported from the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee but did not pass both chambers.

In a 2010 Senate hearing on veterans’ services and a subsequent study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, the importance of an effective Director of Veterans Affairs in each county was highlighted. This need has grown since the closing of the Governors Veterans Outreach Assistance Centers across Pennsylvania in 2009.

This legislation is supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), the Pennsylvania State Association of County Directors of Veterans Affairs (PSACDVA), and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP).

My bill proposes the following changes:

  1. All county directors must be accredited as a veteran service officer by a national or state accrediting body.
  2. County commissioners will have the authority to appoint a Director of Veterans Affairs, approve compensation as set by the county’s salary board, and provide the necessary office resources at the courthouse or other centrally accessible location.
  3. The bill will codify in statute the functions and services that many county directors already perform, including
    1. Serve as a local contact between the DMVA and the Commonwealth’s veterans and active military personnel.
    2. Advise veterans, active personnel, and their dependents on federal, state and local benefits.
    3. Assist veterans, active personnel, and their dependents in completing government forms and other paperwork.
    4. Work under the direct supervision of their respective county commissioners and within the guidelines of the DMVA and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
    5. Participate in training provided by the DMVA.
    6. Earn a five-year recertification of accreditation.
  4. The DMVA shall establish a training program for Directors of Veterans Affairs.
Thank you for your consideration.







Introduced as SB302