This session, we took several steps to better serve veterans and their families in Indiana. Our servicemen and women sacrifice to protect us, and their families make sacrifices too. First, military personnel who are returning from combat will now have a three year window, instead of only one year, to apply for aid from the Military Family Relief Fund. The hope is that this will help veterans and their families adjust back to civilian life a little more easily. It allows Indiana’s military families to draw assistance from the fund, which if they meet eligibility requirements, can be applied toward food, housing, utilities, medical services and transportation expenses. Second, legislation was passed that allows parents who receive military deployment orders to delegate a person who has a close relationship with their child to be the caretaker of their child when they are away. Those servicemen and women who are facing divorce and child custody proceedings as they are being deployed are often unable to attend or set a hearing date due to their military duties. The legislation allows for an expedited hearing to take place in determining child custody and also allows the serviceman or woman to delegate their parenting time to a person who has a close relationship with their child if the court determines it is in the child’s best interest. I believe this will help provide some peace of mind to some of our soldiers and will also be positive for their children. Finally, we passed legislation that requires state educational institutions to award postsecondary credit to members of the military enrolled in a state educational institution if they have successfully completed courses that were part of that individual’s military service or training. Too often, our soldiers will complete postsecondary courses as part of their military training but are unable to receive credit at the institution where they are already enrolled. This change will help our veterans complete their degree in a more expedited fashion and help keep the costs of their education down. This is a big step in helping our Hoosier soldiers to be successful in the educational and career goals they are pursuing. Overall, these are very positive steps in giving back to those that sacrifice so much for us. If you have any additional ideas on how we can help support our soldiers and their families, please contact me at 317-232-9769 or by email at H78@in.gov. -30- State Rep. Suzanne Crouch (R-Evansville) Crouch Capitol Connection, New laws to help soldiers and their families, 6-15-12.doc |
