Pennsylvania Just Passed A Law To Train The People Veterans Turn To First. Here Is Why That Matters For MST Survivors

Reviewed by Heard & Believed · Updated 2026-08-01

A new Pennsylvania law requires every county veterans affairs director in the state to complete training in trauma-informed care, including military sexual trauma. Here is what that could change for the survivors who walk through their doors looking for help.

What Act 38 Actually Requires

The new Pennsylvania law establishes a mandatory training curriculum for every county veterans affairs director in the state, built specifically around trauma-informed care, with three focus areas named in the law itself: military sexual trauma, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury. The goal, according to the law's supporters, is straightforward: help the staff veterans meet first actually recognize trauma symptoms, avoid unintentionally triggering situations, and guide people toward the services that fit their needs.

One state lawmaker who sponsored the legislation put the reasoning simply, saying the professionals veterans turn to for help need to be equipped to recognize what they actually need. The training requirement takes effect 180 days after enactment, giving counties a defined runway to get every director through the curriculum.

Why County Veterans Offices Matter So Much

For a lot of veterans, a county veterans affairs office is the first, most local, most human-scale point of contact in the entire system, far more accessible day to day than a federal VA hospital across the state. That makes the training and demeanor of the person behind that desk unusually important.

If a staff member misreads trauma symptoms, or responds in a way that feels dismissive or confused, a veteran can walk away from that first conversation less likely to come back at all. Conversely, a calm, trained, trauma-informed response at that very first stop can be the difference between someone continuing toward care and someone quietly giving up on the process.

Why MST Gets Its Own Line In The Curriculum

Military sexual trauma affects a substantial share of service members, with roughly one in three women and one in fifty men in the armed forces experiencing sexual assault or harassment during their service, according to figures cited by the law's supporters. Despite that, MST survivors have historically described county-level staff as undertrained on the specific dynamics of disclosure, shame, and delayed reporting that often surround this particular kind of trauma.

By naming military sexual trauma explicitly in the training curriculum, rather than folding it into a generic trauma category, the law signals that lawmakers see it as its own distinct issue requiring its own specific preparation, not an afterthought tucked inside broader combat trauma training.

What This Could Mean If You're An MST Survivor Seeking Help

If you live in Pennsylvania, it may be worth knowing this training requirement exists, and asking your local county veterans affairs office directly whether trauma-informed practices are already part of how they operate. You are allowed to ask that question before you share anything else.

If you live somewhere else, this law can still be a useful example to point to, whether you are advocating for something similar in your own state or simply looking for the kind of language, trauma-informed, MST-specific training, that describes what good support is supposed to look like. In the meantime, national resources built specifically for military sexual trauma survivors remain available regardless of which state you're in.

What Trauma-Informed Care At A Veterans Office Should Look Like

You're allowed to look for, and ask about, every one of these before you share your own history.

1. Being given choices, not just instructions: A trauma-informed approach offers you options at each step, rather than dictating exactly what happens next without input from you.
2. Clear explanations before anything happens: You should know what a form or a process actually involves before you're asked to complete it.
3. No pressure to share more than you're ready to: Trained staff understand that disclosure can happen gradually over multiple visits, not all in one sitting.
4. Recognition of MST-specific symptoms: Training under the new law specifically covers military sexual trauma alongside PTSD and traumatic brain injury, not as a generic catch-all.
5. A warm handoff, not just a phone number: Good trauma-informed practice means directly connecting you to the next resource, not just pointing you somewhere and hoping you follow up.
6. Privacy respected by default: You should not have to explain sensitive history in a crowded waiting room or in front of others just to receive help.

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• What to Expect, Emotionally, When You Come Forward