Any employe of a State penal or correctional institution under the Bureau of Correction of the Department of Justice¹ and any employe of a State mental hospital or Youth Development Center under the Department of Public Welfare,² who is injured during the course of his employment by an act of any inmate or any person confined in such institution or by any person who has been committed to such institution by any court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by any provision of the “Mental Health Act” and any employe of County Boards of Assistance injured by act of an applicant for or recipient of public assistance and any employe of the Department of Public Welfare who has been assigned to or who has volunteered to join the fire fighting force of any institution of the Department of Public Welfare injured while carrying out fire fighting duties, shall be paid, by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, his full salary, until the disability arising therefrom no longer prevents his return as an employe of such department, board or institution at a salary equal to that earned by him at the time of his injury.

All medical and hospital expenses incurred in connection with any such injury shall be paid by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until the disability arising from such injury no longer prevents his return as an employe of such department, board or institution at a salary equal to that earned by him at the time of his injury.

During the time salary for such disability shall be paid by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania any workmen's compensation received or collected for such period shall be turned over to the Commonwealth and paid into the General Fund, and if such payment shall not be so made, the amount so due the Commonwealth shall be deducted from any salary then or thereafter becoming due and owing.

The widow and minor dependents of any employe who dies within one year as a result of such injuries shall be paid benefits equal to fifty per cent of the full salary of the deceased employe.

When a widow and minor dependents not in her custody are entitled to payments, one-half of such payments shall be paid to the widow and one-half to the dependents. In every case the amount payable to minor dependents shall be divided equally among them and be paid to the persons or institutions having custody of them.

In the case of a widow or a widow with minor dependents in her custody, such benefits shall terminate when such widow remarries. In the case of minor dependents, except when in the custody of a remarried widow, such benefits shall terminate when all of the minor dependents become eighteen years of age. Neither a widow nor minor dependents shall receive any benefits under this act while receiving benefits under the Federal Social Security Law.³ The benefits provided by this act shall be reduced by the amount of any workmen's compensation benefits received or collected by any such widow or minor dependents because of the same injury. Payments for the benefit of minor dependents shall be made to the person having legal custody of them.