I’m pleased to announce that fees for child abuse clearances and criminal background checks required by the recently enacted Child Protective Services Law will be waived for all volunteers working with children. The fees for all other applicants have been reduced from $10 to $8 for both the child abuse and criminal record checks.

In the past few months, I have heard from a variety of volunteer organizations and their volunteers upset with the notion of having to pay fees in order to volunteer their own time. I’m very happy that the General Assembly and Governor’s Office were able to work together to eliminate these onerous fees for volunteers working with children. For more information about the Child Protective Services Law, click here. Individuals seeking clearances can go directly to www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis to create an individual account and apply for their child abuse clearance electronically.

A bill addressing individuals who fraudulently pose as doctors is headed to the Governor’s desk for his signature and enactment into law.

Senate Bill 485, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, increases the criminal grading for impersonating a doctor of medicine and providing medical treatment, from a second degree misdemeanor to a first degree misdemeanor.

The legislation is based on a recommendation made by the Philadelphia Grand Jury which investigated and ultimately indicted Dr. Kermit Gosnell and other employees at his "House of Horrors" abortion clinic. Although Gosnell was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for murder, several of his employees, who were practicing medicine without a proper license, received lenient sentences for their crimes. Currently, impersonating a physician is treated the same as impersonating a notary public or other licensed professional under Pennsylvania law.

Save a Life

Substance use disorder effects one in four families in Pennsylvania. Seven people die every day due to drug overdose fatalities. Pennsylvania is in the midst of one of the worst drug-related health crisis’ in history.

Nearly 80 percent of those addicted to heroin, started with prescription opioid pain medications. Make no mistake; this is happening to our children, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and grandparents. It is a common misperception to assume that only addicted individuals overdose from drugs. Teens who have experimented, senior citizens who’ve unknowingly mistook their medications, and individuals with pre-existing medical conditions have a possibility of becoming addicted to the opioids or even worse, accidentally overdosing.

To prevent a tragic fatal overdose, a medication called naloxone can be administered to reverse an overdose that is caused by an opioid drug (i.e. prescription pain medication or heroin). When naloxone is administered during an overdose, it blocks the effects of opioids in the brain and restores breathing within two to eight minutes. Naloxone is safe and non-addicting.

In 2014, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed David’s Law, ACT 139, which allows friends and family to obtain naloxone and administer it to someone who is overdosing.

This life-saving antidote could save the life of a loved one who is addicted to prescription opioids or heroin. If you would like to carry naloxone, you can do so by obtaining a prescription from your doctor. The department’s website offers a toolkit for individuals interested in carry naloxone. These resources include how to talk to your doctor, training on how to administer and other helpful information, please click here: NALOXONE - David's Law

The department has also reached out to pharmacies across the state to find out who was carrying naloxone, this list can be accessed here: Find Naloxone.