Governor's order on licenses aims to ease military family transitions
JOINT BASE CAPE COD — At the end of 2019, Shelby Alexander moved to Marstons Mills with her husband, who is a member of the 6th Space Warning Squadron at Cape Cod Air Force Station.
“With any military family, relocating can be complicated because you are uprooting your life and moving to a new area and learning a new area,” Alexander said.
A licensed nurse, Alexander’s move was a bit more difficult this time around because she wasn’t able to easily transition to a new job.
They moved just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the region. And since they were moving from out of state, Alexander had to retake her "boards" tests with the Board of Registration in Nursing to get licensed within the state, a process that took a couple of months to complete.
Eventually, Alexander was able to secure a job with Cape Cod Healthcare before she went on maternity leave.
Alexander and her husband have to move every few years, and each time she has to apply for a new license to do her job.
“It is a hassle and sometimes expensive,” Alexander said.
Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday signed an executive order to direct the Division of Professional Licensure to improve license portability for military personnel and their spouses so that they can continue their civilian careers and provide for their families without interruption.
This new order, Alexander said, will make it less complicated for families who are already dealing with quite a bit when it's time to move.
“Our country really needs nurses right now,” Alexander said. Not only is it a preference for Alexander to continue her career, she said, “it is beneficial for everybody.”
Recognizing the sacrifices that members of the Armed Forces and their family members already make, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito in a statement said that this order will help eliminate barriers that could hinder gainful employment and household stability.
The executive order directs the state licensing department to investigate opportunities to participate in one or more interstate compacts, which will simplify and improve licensing for professionals moving between states, while ensuring the public continues to be served by highly qualified practitioners.
The licensing department will also ensure that each covered board has procedures to expedite and afford priority to the licensing of military personnel and spouses.
Each board will be encouraged to process applications within 30 days, and to track data on how long that process takes for military personnel and families.
The occupations that have been identified as priorities by a recent United States Air Force assessment include physical therapists, accountants, engineers, psychologists, barbers and cosmetologists.
The state licensing department will report on the implementation of this executive order and present recommendations by July 1.
“I know this is an important issue for military members and their families,” said Chuck Paone, public affairs officer for Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford.
Being able to have professional license portability is critical because these members and spouses have already established a professional license in one place, he said.
Plus, “It is not something that most people have to deal with.”
If a person is transitioning from one military installation to another, that tour might only be for two or three years, Paone said. It could take a spouse six months to reestablish his or her credentials as they try to obtain a job in their professional field, he said.
“They already used up a quarter of the time they are going to spend in the state and probably were unemployed up to that point or underemployed as a result,” Paone said. “That’s why this is a step in the right direction, for sure."
The Baker administration has previously undertaken efforts to improve license portability for military families who hold out-of-state licenses in teaching and nursing professions, which included participation in an interstate agreement and filing legislation to participate in an interstate compact, according to a press release from the governor's office.
Massachusetts is home to six military installations, with more than $13.2 billion in total economic activity and support for more than 57,600 jobs, the press release said.
The Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force works to leverage the strength of its federal, state and local leadership to commit over $46 million to the military installations and defense communities in the state.
The genesis of making this new change comes from the federal Department of Defense, which has emphasized license portability as important to implement nationwide, said John Beatty, executive director of the Massachusetts Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force.
It has been high on the list for military leaders because license portability helps with quality of life and retention of soldiers and airmen around the country, Beatty said. It also helps their families to not be totally disrupted every time they move, he said.
This short-term solution in the state is a way to take some steps to mitigate the impact of this transition, Beatty said. As of right now, the task force Beatty leads has no plans to seek legislation on this topic.
Overall, the state doesn’t have a large population of transitioning military members, Beatty said. The Commonwealth has about 550 or so military spouses that are affected by the license portability, based on a survey the U.S. Department of Defense conducted, he said.
“If it is important to the Department of Defense (and service branches), then it is important to us to make sure it doesn’t become a problem,” Beatty said.
The executive order is a positive change to help ease burdens that Coast Guard spouses face transferring into the state, wrote Lt. Brandon Newman, public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard in an email.
“Many of our family members maintain job specialties that are difficult to transfer under current conditions, compounded by the demanding schedules of military moves,” Newman wrote. “This order will help bring wide, experienced and technical specialties to the local economies.”
The executive order is a good thing for members of the military, their families and the communities surrounding the bases that benefit from what these men and women were trained to do, said state Rep. Steven Xiarhos.
At Joint Base Cape Cod, Xiarhos has heard from military members and veterans who want to transition into the private sector feeling like they have to start over, despite having real-life training.
He pointed toward psychologists and medics who are highly needed both in the military and in the surrounding communities. It should be easier to transition between the two, he said.
The license portability “is just in a way a great common sense thing to do — to take that experience and training and make it smoother for it to be used in the community,” Xiarhos said. “I think we need it especially in those areas where they are helping people in need.”
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