Luzerne County Government

May 22, 2010

County officials looking into jobs office’s payments for woman’s passport

The agency authorized two checks earlier this month to pay for the costs related to document, photo.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
Jennifer Learn-Andes on Facebook   |   @TLJenLearnAndes on Twitter

Some Luzerne County officials are investigating why a county office recently paid $170 for a woman to obtain a passport.

The payment came from the county’s Workforce Investment Development Agency. County officials declined to identify the woman due to potential confidentiality restrictions.

WIDA authorized two checks earlier this month to pay for the woman’s passport – one for $135 for the passport and search, and the other for $35 to cover a photograph and processing fees.

The woman came to the county Prothontary’s Office to apply for the passport, and Deputy Prothonotary Bob Sypniewski said he and other staffers can’t figure out why the agency would be paying for it. Sypniewski said he has unsuccessfully tried to obtain answers from various county offices for two weeks.

Sypniewski said the woman indicated she was a naturalized U.S. citizen but needed the passport as proof of identification because all of her identification was in her purse, which was stolen. She indicated the agency was paying for the expense because she needed identification to obtain employment, he said.

Sypniewski said office workers put a flag on the application because the woman did not have her own naturalization records.

The need for passport identification seemed odd, Sypniewski said, because she did not indicate that she needed to leave the country as a condition for employment. He also questions why she did not instead obtain significantly less costly photo identification through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Messages left with WIDA were not returned Friday. The office, which is funded by the state, provides job placement and training services for the unemployed.

County minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban, who learned about the passport Friday, said he contacted the agency’s office for an explanation and expects one early next week. He questioned why the woman was not instructed to request a new copy of her naturalization records if she needed identification.

“I see no reason why the county should be paying for this. If a person loses identification, it’s their responsibility to get it replaced,” he said. “This is not a service we provide to every citizen. We don’t give free passports. Everybody pays.”

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

Tweet	Follow @TLnews

Send Question or Remark to the Publisher