Capitol, State Capitol, Dome

State Reviews Electronic Benefit Card Transactions, Cuts Off Benefits to Non-residents

/in /by

The state Department of Public Welfare has completed its initial review of out-of-state transactions for electronic benefit cards.  653 individuals have been cut off from benefits, most because they were no longer living in Pennsylvania. Most were using the food stamp program; some were collecting other types of assistance.

Department of Public Welfare spokeswoman Ann Bale says they looked at people consistently making transactions out-of-state and flagged more than one thousand who were spending consistently in another state over a three month period. They discovered 653 who were no longer eligible for the benefits.

She says when people are spending consistently outside of Pennsylvania, it’s an indication they may no longer be residents of the state.  Once you move out of Pennsylvania, you are no longer eligible for Pennsylvania benefits.

The initial review looked at states that do not border Pennsylvania. Now the department will start taking a closer look at transactions in neighboring states.

Bale says the department is able to look at the type of transactions, and can identify when legitimate activity has been going on.

She says the review sends a message. This is only the beginning of their research into this type of fraud. 

13 Die in Memorial Day Weekend Accidents Investigated by State Police

/in /by

Thirteen people died in crashes investigated by Pennsylvania State Police  over the four day Memorial Day weekend.   The statistics are about the same as last year; 13 deaths in just over 800 crashes. One thing that is frustrating to police is that 9 of those who died were not wearing seatbelts.

State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan says ” the tragic message from these statistics is very clear: everyone needs to buckle up for every trip on the road.”

Troopers cited more than 11 hundred people for not wearing seatbelts and issued over 100 citations for not securing children in safety seats over the four day weekend. They also issued over 92 hundred speeding citations and arrested 404 people for driving under the influence. 66 of the crashes, including three of the fatalities, were alcohol-related.

A “Click it or Ticket” seatbelt enforcement campaign continues through June 10th.  Pennsylvania has a primary seatbelt law for drivers and passengers under age 18. The law is a secondary offense for older drivers and front seat passengers.

The numbers only include crashes handled by state police and do not include accidents covered by other law enforcement agencies.

 

Report: More Kids Living with Extended Family

/in /by

Family structures are shifting.  A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation details the unique challenges of 2.7-million children being raised by relatives other than their parents at some point in their lives.  The number has increased more than 18% in the past decade.

It’s called kinship care, and officials say up to 101,000 Pennsylvania children (about 4%) are impacted.

“Many of these caregivers are older and have less income, and they’re taking on the responsibility in the middle of a crisis,” explains Robert Geen, the foundation’s director of family services and systems policies.

“The children themselves have experienced the trauma of being separated from their parents, so it is a challenging situation.”

That’s not to say kinship care is bad for kids.  Research shows that children do best with relatives when they cannot stay with their parents, but Geen says the best evidence is common sense.  “Ask any parent where they would want their children to live, if they could not take care of them, and they’re going to say a relative or extended family member,” he tells Radio PA.

The new report includes recommendations that take this changing family dynamic into account.  Geen says kinship caregivers should be given the authority to make decisions on behalf of the child, and that government programs designed for the nuclear family should be reevaluated to see if they are meeting the needs of kinship caregivers.

Swimming Season is Here and Drowning is a Leading Cause of Death for Children

/in /by

According to the CDC, drowning is the second leading cause of death for children 14 and under and the sixth leading cause of unintentional death for all ages.

For children under age 5, swimming pools are the danger zone. For teens and young adults, open water such as lakes, rivers and the ocean present the biggest risk. Statistics show some 80% of drowning victims are male. Pennsylvania is among the top states for drowning deaths, with more than half in open water.

Robert Ogoreuc, an assistant professor at Slippery Rock University and incoming president of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, says young children need to be closely supervised in the water and should be within the touch of an adult. He says parents need to be aware of having barriers to prevent children from getting into the pool unsupervised and they need to have an emergency action plan.

Ogoreuc says there should be a designated water watcher when children are swimming in a backyard pool. That’s an adult who will supervisor to make sure swimmers are safe and engaging in appropriate activities.

Ogoreuc says open water presents a danger because you’re often dealing with peer pressure, alcohol, and not understanding the full ramifications of the dangers of the water. He says people should swim near a life guard. If they’re not a strong swimmer, they need to use a life jacket in open water. He says all swimmers should be aware of their surroundings and know the area where they’re swimming. Rivers and streams could have drops off, a swift current or other potential hazards. Water temperature can also affect swimmers.

At the beach, rip currents are a risk. Ogoreuc says people should understand what a rip current is, what to look for and how to get out of a rip current.

To learn more about swimming safely, go to ndpa.org.

RadioPA Roundtable

Radio PA Roundtable 05.25.12

/in , , , /by

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week. Professionally produced and delivered every Friday, Roundtable includes commercial breaks for local sale and quarterly reports for affiliate files.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable05-25-12.mp3]

S.E.S.A.M.E. Act Seeks to End Educator Sexual Misconduct

/in /by

The acronym stands for Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation.  “It’s an absolute real, significant and predominant problem in all of our states,” says S.E.S.A.M.E. board member John Seryak.  A retired teacher from Ohio, Seryak traveled to Harrisburg this week to urge action on SB 1381. 

The group is fighting for new laws across the country, but Pennsylvania is on the frontlines, in part because of the high-profile Jerry Sandusky scandal. 

The bill would put an end to a practice dubbed ‘passing the trash,’ in which a teacher accused of sexual abuse resigns or retires and is allowed to quietly move on to another district.  Specifically, it would tighten abuse reporting laws, require schools to obtain all prospective employees’ work records and prohibit confidentiality agreements between a school and an alleged abuser. 

“This legislation was crafted to allow school districts to know who they are hiring,” says state Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia), the prime sponsor of Pennsylvania’s S.E.S.A.M.E. Act. 

SB 1381 already received a unanimous vote in the Senate Education Committee.  Now, supporters want to see action by the full Senate before the new school year. 

Seryak says that in more than one-third of sexual misconduct cases teachers do not lose their certification. “I think it raises the bar as far as responsibility goes… for all the people that work for the school district.”

Farmers would Reap Benefits of Vehicle Code Bills

/in /by

Numerous vehicle code bills, designed to make it easier for farmers to use their equipment on Pennsylvania roads, have cleared the House Agriculture Committee with unanimous votes.  “The discussion on this multitude of transportation subjects has been ongoing for years,” says committee chairman John Maher (R-Allegheny).  “This is an important day of moving forward.” 

Farm equipment considered wide in the past is now standard industry size, according to Pennsylvania Farm Bureau spokesman Mark O’Neill.  “A lot of the vehicle codes that are on the books now are really outdated,” he says.   

One of the major changes would increase daytime width restrictions for farm equipment on Pennsylvania roads from 14.5-feet to 16-feet.  Likewise, the nighttime restriction would increase to 16-feet with the proper safety precautions.  Weight limits and restrictions on miles traveled are also addressed in the legislation.    

O’Neill says all of the would-be changes keep the safety in mind.  “[Farmers] want to be able to use this modern equipment to get into fields, to plant and harvest food, in order to feed people throughout Pennsylvania.” 

Based on this week’s votes it appears lawmakers agree that updates are long overdue.  HB 2371, HB 2372, HB 2373 and HB 2374 now await action on the House floor.

Bill Would Defund Planned Parenthood, other Abortion Providers

/in /by

Pro-life lawmakers are trying to cut off state funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion on demand providers. The Whole Women’s Health Funding Priority Act would direct the state’s family planning funding to facilities that provide comprehensive health care to women. It would defund those that offer abortion on demand.

State and federal laws already prohibit public funds from paying for abortions in Pennsylvania, but supporters of the bill say public funds going to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers for family planning ends up supporting abortions.

The prime sponsor, Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) says it’s the job of government to protect life. He says the war on women is taking place in every abortion facility in Pennsylvania and across the nation. He says women’s health is put at risk every time an abortion is performed.

Metcalfe says 30 thousand surgical abortions were performed in Pennsylvania in 2010, 16 thousand of them at Planned Parenthood affiliates. He says that means 45 abortions a day.

Mike McMonagle, President of the Pro Life Coalition of Pennsylvania, says the current law prohibiting state funding for abortions is a joke.  He says Planned Parenthood plays accounting schemes and it hasn’t put a dent in their business.

But Sari Stevens, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania, says there are not enough other providers offering family planning and women’s health screening services who could absorb the patients if funding were redirected. She says it’s the patients who would be hurt by House Bill 2405.

Stevens says Pennsylvania has long standing segregation requirements between any state funding and abortion services. She says any idea that public funding is propping up abortion services is preposterous. She says women should be able to access the health care provider of their choice and politics should not get in the way of that.

Planned Parenthood is analyzing the potential impact of the bill and plans to fight against it.

Steeler Nation Extends All the Way to the Capitol

/in /by

Pittsburgh Steelers great Hines Ward joined Governor Tom Corbett, who read from a proclamation recognizing the recently retired receiver’s achievements:HinesWard1

Later in the day, Ward was also honored by the House and Senate chambers.  “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be in this position,” Ward explained.  “For me, I just wanted to represent not only the city of Pittsburgh but the whole state of Pennsylvania.”

The 36-year-old Ward retired this spring, three weeks after the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that they would release him in a salary cap maneuver.

Click it or Ticket Campaign Underway

/in /by

State and local police are taking part in a national “Click it or Ticket” enforcement effort for the next three weeks.  The campaign runs through June 10th.

Police are emphasizing the state’s new primary seat belt law for drivers and passengers under 18. It allows an officer to pull over a vehicle when they observe someone under age 18 who is obviously not buckled up.

Police will also focus some of their enforcement efforts on night time seat belt  use, since nearly 300 unbuckled fatalities last year occurred between 6 pm and 6 am.

State Police spokesman Sgt Anthony Manetta says with the summer driving season quickly upon us, they want to stress to the public that the thing they can do to protect themselves the most is buckling up.

In 2011, the state had 509 unbuckled fatalities, down from 524 in 2010. But that number includes 66 teens ages 16 to 19, 32 of the victims were driving.

State Police will offer child safety seat checks.  Those interested should call their local barracks.