Illinois: Military Education & Training Applies to Professional Licensing Standards

On February 6, 2013, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn ordered that his state's licensing boards consider military training & education in issuing professional licenses:

"Executive Order Applying Relevent Military Education and Training Obtained by Illinois Service Members to Professional Licensing Standards

WHEREAS, the veterans’ unemployment rate in Illinois runs consistently higher than the national average, and the unemployment rate for female veterans in Illinois in the 18 to 24 year-old age range is twice that of non-veteran women in the same age range; and

WHEREAS, approximately 35,000 Illinois service members will leave the military between now and 2016, returning to civilian life to face a difficult transition in a recovering economy; and

WHEREAS, Public Act 097-0710, the Expedited Licensure for Service Members and Spouses Act (the “Act”) requires that “[a]ll relevant training provided by the military and completed by a service member shall be credited to that service member as meeting any training or education requirement under any applicable occupational or professional licensing Act, provided that the training or education is determined . . . to be substantially equivalent to that required under any applicable Act and is not otherwise contrary to any other licensure requirement”; and

WHEREAS, as the Act recognizes, training and education acquired during military service may be relevant to requirements for professional and occupational licensure, but, to date, there has not been a process or mechanism that would allow such training and education to be considered for purposes of state licensure requirements; and

WHEREAS, further review and clarification of gaps between, on the one hand, military training and education, and, on the other hand, requirements for state professional and occupational licensure to which such training and education may be relevant, will allow educational institutions throughout Illinois to design programs that will enable service members to bridge such gaps;

THEREFORE, I, Pat Quinn, Governor of the State of Illinois, pursuant to the supreme executive authority vested in me by Article V of the Illinois Constitution, do hereby order as follows:

1. Definitions
   
   
   1. “State licensing agency” means any department of the state that issues occupational or professional licenses.
   2. “Service member” means any person who, at the time of application for licensure to any state licensing agency, is an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces or any reserve component of the United States Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, and shall also include any veteran whose active duty service concluded within the preceding two years before submitting his or her application for licensure.


2. Creation
   
   
   1. There is hereby established an assessment process for applying military training and education to state licensure requirements in the State of Illinois.


3. Purpose
   
   
   1. It is the intent of this Order to establish a statewide mechanism and process for determining how training and education acquired by service members during service in the military may be applied towards requirements for state licensure in certain civilian fields when they transition back into our communities as veterans. As set forth herein, all state licensing agencies are directed to assist in identifying gaps between, on the one hand, military education and training that is potentially relevant to a civilian field for which licensure is required, and, on the other hand, state licensure requirements in that field. Identifying such gaps will enable educational institutions to design programs (for subsequent approval by the relevant state licensing agency), through which service members may obtain any additional training and education necessary to obtain state licensure in the relevant field.


4. Duties
   
   
   1. In addition to the state licensing agencies, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, (“DVA”), the Illinois Department of Military Affairs (“DMA”), and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (“IDES”) are directed to participate in implementing this Order. The Director of DVA shall be responsible for coordinating efforts to implement this Order.
   2. Within 90 days of the effective date of this Order, DVA, DMA, IDES and all state licensing agencies shall collaborate to compile a list of professional and occupational fields requiring state licensure whose requirements for licensure may overlap with training and education acquired by service members during military service. To the extent possible, the list shall include information relevant to bridging the gap between military training and education relevant to each listed field and state licensure requirements relevant to that field, including but not limited to: the extent to which service members are likely to have obtained education and training in the military that is relevant to the listed field; statewide demand for professional or occupational services in the listed field; and the availability of resources to bridge gaps between relevant military training and education and state licensure in the listed field.
   3. Additionally, within 90 days of obtaining or receiving information detailing military training or education potentially relevant to a given career field from the Director of DVA or either directly or indirectly from the U.S. Department of Defense, any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and/or DMA, the relevant state licensing agency shall either: (i) independently identify any gaps between the military training and education identified as potentially relevant to the field and the Illinois state licensing requirements for that career field; (ii) submit documentation to the relevant governing board to identify any such gaps; or (iii) identify the specific need for additional information required in order to make a final determination as to any such gaps.
   4. Finally, within 30 days of its determination with regard to the gap between military training and education relevant to a given career field and the requirements for licensure in that field, the relevant state licensing agency shall submit to the Director of DVA information detailing any additional training that must be completed by a service member in order to bridge the gap to obtain a state license. Such information shall be posted on DVA’s website in order to aid educational institutions in building and obtaining approval for gap-bridging programs, as well as to aid service members in identifying outstanding requirements for licensure in that field...."

Read the full text here, and consider whether YOUR governor might want to do the same!

January 22/Web: Magical Math: Rating Schedules & Disabilities: #VA Service-Connected Disability Compensation

This training program for lawyers discusses how the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluates the degree of disability for service-connected disability compensation under Title 38 of the United States Code and Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Title:
Magical Math: Rating Schedules & Disabilities: VA Service-Connected Disability Compensation
When/Where:
January 22, 2013
12:00:00 PM
Webcast
Space is limited - Reserve your Webinar seat now!
By: 
Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project
Speaker:
Janet Totter.
  Credit:
1 hour of MCLE credit (State Bar of Texas Course number 901260092)
More:
http://www.tlsc.org/calendar/

Washington, DC/May 23: Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program

Title:
Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program Training
When/Where:
May 10, 2013
9:00AM to 5:00PM
DC Bar
Washington, DC
By:

• DC Bar Pro Bono Program 
• Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program

Registration:
Registration for this training will be available soon here.
More:
http://www.vetsprobono.org/volunteer-today/training-dates-for-volunteer-attorneys/

Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans

Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans is a State Bar of Texas program to develop and assist pro bono legal clinics throughout the state for military veterans who otherwise cannot afford or do not have access to the legal services they need. The program was a major initiative of 2010–11 State Bar of Texas President Terry Tottenham.
Texas lawyers interested in helping veterans can learn more here.

January 7/Web: Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project Webinar

This webinar will educate attendees on what constitutes the definition of a Veteran under Title 38 of the United States Code and Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations for qualification of Department of Veterans Affairs benefits.
Title:
Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project Webinar
When/Where:
January 7, 2013
 11:45:00 AM Local
Webinar
Speaker:
Attorney Janet Totter, Managing Attorney of the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project.
Credit:
Certified by the State Bar of Texas for one (1) hour of MCLE credit (participatory, no ethics credit), course number 901260093.
Registeration:
Contact ssanchez@tlsc.org.
More:
http://www.tlsc.org/calendar/

New Agent Orange Book

Agent Orange: History, Science, and the Politics of Uncertainty is a recent (2012) book examines the far-reaching impact of Agent Orange, the most infamous of the dioxin-contaminated herbicides used by American forces in Southeast Asia, not simply reconstructing the history of the chemical war but investigating the ongoing controversy over the short- and long-term effects of weaponized defoliants on the environment of Vietnam, on the civilian population, and on the troops who fought on both sides.

Learn more at the book's Amazon page.

Hawaii Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The legal community in Hawaii provides Legal Assistance to Military Personnel in a variety of ways.

For the Warrior Community

Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". Here is a list for the state of Hawaii.

General-Purpose Resources

Servicemembers, veterans and their families can use the same resources as anyone else.

• Hawaii Law Help is a good, general-purpose place to start looking for law help in Hawaii; it is sponsored by the Hawaii Legal Aid Society.
• the Hawaii Bar Association runs a lawyer referral program, a Wednesday evening Legal Hotline [ (808) 537-1868 ], and a list of legal assistance organizations.
• If you are disabled: Hawaii Disability Rights Center
• If you are concerned about domestic violence: Domestic Violence Action Center

Private Practice Attorneys

Typically, a lawyer in private practice will listen to your situation for 15 or 20 minutes, then give you an idea about how to proceed, in general terms, without charging you. If the matter is something the lawyer can help you with, but must charge for, sometimes you can work out a military-family discount, especially if you are easy to work with. The Findlaw website has a city-by-city list of lawyers in Hawaii who are interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and veterans
here.

For Lawyers

The Hawaii Bar Association  does not appear to have a Section or Committee on Legal Assistance to Military Personnel. This may be an opportunity for an ambitious attorney to exercise leadership!  Anyone with more information on other programs in Hawaii are invited to contact me; the most convenient way is to add in a comment below. The purpose is service!

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See also

• ABA Military Pro Bono Project
• State-by-state list of LAMP programs