Continuity of Operations Excellence Series, Level I – Professional Continuity Practitioner and Level II – Master Professional Continuity Practitioner,

Over the past six years, National Continuity Programs (NCP) and the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) have developed and fielded continuity training to enhance the development and implementation of Federal and non-Federal Continuity Programs.  The Continuity of Operations Excellence Series, Level I – Professional Continuity Practitioner and Level II – Master Professional Continuity Practitioner, was established in coordination with EMI in April 2008 to enhance the excellence in Continuity Training Programs.

Effective 1 October 2014, the following two courses will be required as part of Level I:

IS 248: Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) for the American Public

IS 545: Reconstitution Planning Workshop

IS 248: Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS):

The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Program Management Office designed this course to provide the American Public with an introduction to IPAWS. It identifies the key features and benefits of IPAWS and the authorities responsible for sending alert and warning messages. It also describes the actions you can take before and during an emergency to protect yourself and your loved ones.  As a continuity program manager this can be a trigger to activate your continuity plan.

IS 545:  Reconstitution Planning Workshop:

This course is based on the guidance to the Federal Executive Branch departments and agencies for developing Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plans and Programs. The purpose of the Reconstitution Planning Workshop is to assist Federal Department and Agency, State, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions with the importance of developing effective and comprehensive reconstitution planning.

Effective immediately, the following change has been made for Level II requirement due to the increase number of independent study courses available.  NCP has decreased the instructing/facilitating requirement from two courses to one course.

Instruct/Facilitate one of the following:

E/L/G 548: Continuity of Operations Manager’s T-t-T Course

E/L 550: Continuity of Operations Planner’s T-t-T Workshop

E/L/G 551: Devolution Planning Workshop

E/L 554: Determined Accord Pandemic Preparedness Workshop  

E/L 553: Resilient Accord Workshop

E/L 556: Guardian Accord Workshop

E/L 549: Reconstitution Planning Workshop

E/L 557: MEF Workshop

E/L 141: Instructional Presentation & Evaluation Skills Course

FEMA NCP Training

Level I - Professional Continuity Practitioner Requirements

§  IS 546.a: Continuity of Operations Awareness Course

§  IS 547.a: Introduction to Continuity of Operations

§  IS 242.a or equivalent E/L/G course: Effective Communication

Complete one of the following: §  E/L/G 548 or IS 548: Continuity of Operations Program Managers T-t-T Course §  G 549: Continuity of Operations Program Manager Course §  MGT 331 University of Maryland Preparing the States Continuity Course

Complete one of the following: §  E/L/G 550 or IS 524: Continuity of Operations Planner’s T-t-T Workshop §  L 552: Continuity of Operations for Tribal Government Course

Complete one of the following: §  IS 100.b: Intro to Incident Command System (ICS) §  ICS 100: Introduction to Incident Command System (ICS) §  ICS 200: Incident Command System (ICS)  §  IS 200.b:  Incident Command System (ICS) for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents

§  E/L 549 or IS 545: Reconstitution Planning Workshop

§  IS 248: Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) for the American Public

§  IS 230.c: Fundamentals of Emergency Management or equivalent E/L/G course: Principles of Emergency Management

§  IS 700.a: Intro to National Incident Management System (NIMS)

§  IS 800.b: A National Response Framework (NRF), An Introduction

Complete one of the following: §  E 136: Exercise Development Course  (limited to EMI Resident MEPP candidates) §  IS 139: Exercise Design §  E/L 547: Continuity Exercise Design Course (CEDC)

Complete one of the following: §  E/L 554:  Pandemic Influenza (PI) Determined Accord Workshop §  IS 520: Introduction to Continuity of Operations Planning for Pandemic Influenzas and IS 522: Exercising Continuity Plans for Pandemic Course (both Independent Study courses are required) §  E/L 553 or IS 523: Resilient Accord Cyber Security Planning Workshop §  E/L 556 or IS 525: Guardian Accord Terrorism Awareness Workshop §  E/L 557 or IS 526: MEF Workshop

§  NARA/CoSA Vital Records Training (optional, recommended) – www.nara.gov

Level II - Master Continuity Practitioner Requirements

§  Applicants must attain a Continuity Excellence Series – Level I, Professional Continuity Practitioner

§  IS 130: Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning or E 132 (limited to EMI Resident MEPP candidates) or G130 Exercise Evaluation

§  IS 240.a or equivalent E/L/G course:  Leadership and Influence

§  E/L/G 551 or IS 551: Devolution Planning Workshop

Complete one of the following: §  E/L 156 or IS 156: Building Design for Homeland Security T-t-T Course for Continuity of Operations §  E/L 153: Building Design for Homeland Security for Continuity of Operations

Complete one of the following: §  E/L 262: Instructional Delivery for Subject Matter Experts §  G 265: Instructional Delivery Skills (formerly G 261: Instructional Presentation Skills) §  E 605: Instructional Delivery §  E/L 141: Instructional Presentation & Evaluation Skills Course

Instruct/Facilitate one of the following: §  *E/L/G 548: Continuity of Operations Manager’s T-t-T Course §  *E/L 550: Continuity of Operations Planner’s T-t-T Workshop §  *E/L/G 551: Devolution Planning Workshop §  *E/L 554: Determined Accord Pandemic Preparedness Workshop   §  *E/L 553: Resilient Accord Workshop §  *E/L 556: Guardian Accord Workshop §  *E/L 549: Reconstitution Planning Workshop §  *E/L 557: MEF Workshop §  *E/L 141: Instructional Presentation & Evaluation Skills Course

§  *Written Comprehensive Exam (150 questions) – Applicants are eligible to take the comprehensive exam once they have completed all Level I and Level II requirements. A score of 70% is required for passing.

* Please send email to FEMA-Continuity-Practitioner@fema.dhs.gov for additional information.

Previous EMI versions of courses listed are acceptable in lieu of current course version.

All Independent Study (IS) courses can found at http://training.fema.gov/is and by clicking on ISP COURSE LIST. 

Request Continuity Practitioner Certificates

·        Emergency Management Institute will issue all certificates

·        Level I and Level II requests must be accompanied by copies of all required course certificates or an official EMI transcript

·        Send certificate requests and copies of certificates or official EMI transcript to mailbox

FEMA-CONTINUITY-PRACTITIONER@FEMA.DHS.GOV or mail to

DHS/FEMA/NCP/COOP, Attn: Training Manager, Room 515, 500 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20472-3154

·        Please include your name, organization, work address or home address, email address and phone number

·        Expect to wait up to 6 weeks to receive your certificate

Request to take Written Comprehensive Exam (150 questions)

·        You must have completed all requirements for Level I

·        You must have completed all requirements for Level II

·        Facilitating/Instructing Requirement – Provide an email or letter from Lead Instructor with

Course Title, Dates, and Course Location

·        Send copy of your Level I certificate, copy of Level II course certificates or official EMI transcript, and Facilitating/Instructing email or letter to mailbox FEMA-CONTINUITY-PRACTITIONER@DHS.GOV or mail to

DHS/FEMA/NCP/COOP, Attn: Training Manager, Room 515, 500 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20472-3154

·        Once all requirements are verified, a date to complete the Written Comprehensive Exam will be provided

Coping in Today's World: Community Psychological First Aid 8/22/2014 Hagerstown, Maryland.

AN UNRECOGNIZABLE ILLNESS........at a personal, family, community, and national level.

Are you, family, and community members under so much stress?

Ebola pandemic, climate change, race relations, water & food security issues, crime, violence in the Middle-East, the list goes on and on.


Check with your local public health agency\office for psychological first-aid training available. 

Title Coping in Today's World: Community Psychological First Aid Location Region II - Hagerstown County Start Time 8/22/2014 8:30 AM End Time 8/22/2014 12:30 PM Address  American Red Cross 1131 Conrad Court Hagerstown, MD 21740

The purpose of the Community Psychological Frist Aid is to provide a set of steps and actions to be used by responders, helping professionals, and lay persons to: 

•Strengthen their own psychological resilience and that of their children,

•Enhance their capacity to recognize stress in adults and children and how people react to it

•Provide immediate support and introduce coping skills to neighbors, friends and members of their families and others by using psychological first aid.

 

By drawing on Red Cross expertise, this course can help families, friends, and neighbors provide better emotional support to one another in times of stress, crisis and disaster. Persons completing this course will be able to provide and teach community residents how to apply PFA to themselves, family members, friends and neighbors during times of distress. 

Click Here to Register

http://preparedness.dhmh.maryland.gov/SitePages/RegistrationForm.aspx

Ebola and the Law: What You Need to Know, on Tuesday, August 12, 2014, from 1:00 to 2:30 pm (EDT).

Special Announcements

Ebola and the Law: What You Need to Know
The Network for Public Health Law (the Network), CDC’s Public Health Law Program (PHLP), and the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) are co-hosting a free webinar, Ebola and the Law: What You Need to Know, on Tuesday, August 12, 2014, from 1:00 to  2:30 pm (EDT). The webinar will describe the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, discuss legal issues that arise when infected patients enter  the US, and explore legal powers and duties health department personnel have if an Ebola outbreak occurs in the US. Speakers will accept questions from participants at the end of the presentation.  



https://networkforphl.webex.com/mw0401l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=networkforphl&service=6&rnd=0.7606648965868854&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnetworkforphl.webex.com%2Fec0701l%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D1749947180%26%26MK%3D668698095%26%26%26siteurl%3Dnetworkforphl

Joint Criminal and Epidemiological Investigation Workshop August 19, and August 21, 2014. Maryland Emergency Management Agency

Workshops are filling up. 

Members throughout the U.S., check with The Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness to schedule a workshop in your community.

Check with FBI on crime scene data\evidence collection, or investigation courses for first responders or follow-on responders.  (Review bullet #2 below).

All agencies working together and sharing information.

BEMA

REGION IV    -   COURSE DATE AND LOCATION

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay

100 Heron Blvd

Cambridge, Maryland

               Tuesday, 8/19/2014   8:30 AM -  4:30 PM

REGION III    -   COURSE DATE AND LOCATION              
       STATUS:  CLOSED FULL CAPACITY

Mt. Washington Conference Center

5801 Smith Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland 21209

               Thursday, 8/21/2014   8:30 AM -  4:30 PM

MARYLAND Emergency Management Agency in conjunction with The Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness

Title	Maryland Forensic Epi Training
Description	​ JOINT CRIMINAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION WORKSHOP The unique challenges of responding to a biological incident necessitate a high level of cooperation between law enforcement and public health officials during their respective investigations.  The Joint Criminal and Epidemiological Investigation Workshop is conducted by subject matter experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The purpose of the workshop is to train law enforcement and public health professionals how to work closely together for notification and information sharing purposes in order to successfully and rapidly respond to a suspected biological incident.  While each discipline has distinctive investigative roles and responsibilities, there are common goals shared by law enforcement and public health that unite the two disciplines: ·       Early identification and notification that an event has occurred; ·       Rapid and ongoing assessment of whether an event is manmade or naturally-occurring; and ·       Protecting public health and public safety during a response. Specific topics covered during the workshop include: ·       Roles, responsibilities, and authorities during a biological incident; o   Law enforcement investigations and threat assessment o   Public health epidemiological and medical investigations ·       Identification of assets and capabilities for each discipline; ·       Joint investigation models and protocols; ·       Demonstration of the types of information gathered by law enforcement and public health and how sharing information can advance both investigations; and ·       Best practices for conducting a joint law enforcement-public health interview. At the conclusion of the workshop, students demonstrate how to conduct a joint investigation by participating in a scenario-based exercise designed to apply what they have learned during the course to include notification policies, initial threat assessment, analysis and sharing of data, identifying the threat, mitigating the threat and identifying the cause. Students will receive a copy of the FBI/CDC Criminal and Epidemiological Investigation Handbook as well as other tools that can be shared with colleagues.   A .pdf version of the handbook can be accessed at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/terrorism/wmd/criminal-and-epidemiological-investigation-handbook.
Category	Training
Does this event need Registration?	Yes
Click Here to Register	http://preparedness.dhmh.maryland.gov/SitePages/Events.aspx

August 2014. Getting on a U.S. Military Base Will Now Include an FBI Background Check

DOMESTIC

Getting on a U.S. Military Base Will Now Include an FBI Background Check

Members of the defense community, starting this Friday, automatically will be screened against the FBI’s criminal database when they try entering military installations and pulled aside if the system shows an arrest, felony or outstanding warrant.

The new Defense Department tool is part of a larger, government-wide effort to continuously vet people with access to secure facilities, following shootings at Fort Hood and the Navy Yard.

Identification smartcards issued to troops, veterans, relatives and other individuals permitted to enter military bases have long been checked against a DOD database before access is granted. But an instant FBI background check has never been part of the process.

Beginning this week, DOD’s information technology system will tap the FBI’s National Crime Information Center system. 

The entire article can be found here: http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2014/08/getting-us-military-base-will-now-include-fbi-background-check/90530/?oref=d-river

Situational Awareness. 2015. 10-year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Approaching

The 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina will be approaching in August 2015. 

How far have we come as a nation, and within our communities in ensuring that this type of devastation will never occur within the U.S. borders?

Are the problems that affect under-served communities only an issue with the U.S., or have other African-Descent communities have similar attributes in their response to disasters and emergencies?

Check our ‘RECOMMENDED READING LIST’ at  http://www.blackemergmanagersassociation.org/p/bema-recommended-reading-list.html

Highly recommend reading Davis, Vincent B. (2012).  Lost and Turned Out:  Preparing Under-Served Communities for Disasters as one of many gauges to determine how far we’ve come in addressing issues within our communities worldwide.

Be safe, be prepared.

Black Emergency Managers Association
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097
bEMA
“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” ― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Remarks by Mr Ronald Jackson, CDEMA Executive Director at the Opening Ceremony of the 5th meeting of the Council of Ministers of CDEMA

http://cdema.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1372:remarks-of-the-cdema-executive-director-at-the-opening-ceremony-of-the-5th-meeting-of-the-council-of-ministers-of-cdema-&catid=38:speeches&Itemid=116

Remarks by Mr Ronald Jackson, CDEMA Executive Director at the Opening

Ceremony of the 5th meeting of the Council of Ministers of CDEMA

Salutations

Madame Chair, thank you for the introductory remarks.

The Honorable Minister Adriel Braithwaite, Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs and representative of the CDEMA Council of Ministers, Ms. Gayle Francis-Vaughan, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ms. Judy Thomas, Director Department of Emergency Management, Honorable Dennis Kellman, Minister of Housing Lands and Rural Development, Dr the Honourable Dennis Lowe, Ministry of Environment and Drainage, Deputy Governor Stanley Reid, Anguilla; Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Heads of National Institutions, Permanent Secretaries and other Senior Government Officials, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

I am pleased to welcome you to this our fifth meeting of the CDEMA Council of Ministers. First let me thank the Government of Barbados, for the arrangements made to host this, the fifth (5th) Meeting of the Council of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). The Government, in this resource constraining environment, has once again demonstrated its commitment to CDEMA in their willingness to facilitate the successful convening of this meeting, even in these challenging times. Those efforts are appreciated; please accept our expressions of your gratitude.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this fifth (5th) Meeting of the CDEMA Council is taking place at a critical juncture in the Agency’s existence. The global and regional economic and risk management landscape is evolving in a manner that provide both challenges and opportunities for advancing the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The Caribbean region, through the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) and Programming Framework 2014-2024 is positioned to influence the United Nations processes for the Hyogo Framework Beyond 2015 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). What the Agency has been able to lead and articulate strategically, must now be matched by implementation operationally.

The importance of an integrated risk management approach like CDM is underscored by the emergency events impacting the CDEMA Participating States over the period. The December rains of 2013 resulted in severe economic impact for three (3) Participating States and as a region we mourned the deaths of these fourteen (14) members of our Caribbean family. This experience underscores the fact that hazards occur all year round not just in the hurricane season, and there is a need for perpetual readiness, particularly for fast onset hazards. Four (4) years ago the earthquake in Haiti highlighted a critical need to strengthen understanding of the Regional Response Mechanism at the political, strategic and operations levels, and the need for the orientation of decision makers to the system, both at the national and regional levels. CDEMA embarked on efforts to address this, but events like the December 2013 rains and the diversity of hazards faced, necessitate that we re-double our efforts. The issue of regional, national and local capacity for multiple catastrophic events is demanding comprehensive and integrated action.

Over the last year therefore, CDEMA has developed a Regional Disaster Response Support Doctrine to provide the key principles of the Regional Response Mechanism. It articulates clearly the CDEMA position in providing a regional response to a disaster in any of its Participating States and to foster the harmonisation of international support with the regional disaster support when necessary. CDEMA has also revised the Plans and Standard Operating Procedures for the Sub-Regional Focal Points (SRFPs) which should now be operationalized before the next major hazard impact. This will assist Participating States in a quicker response and more efficient communication and reporting.

To support this, technical investment was provided through the Roving Technical Support Team (RTST) mechanism in Exercise Evaluation; Plans update; National Emergency Operations Centres training, Message Handling, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training; Community Disaster Assessments and training, Search & Rescue and ICT Assessment to name a few. At the institutional level, support was provided for the development of the CDM Policy and Legislation.

It is recognised that absorptive capacity for support in advancing the CDM agenda at the national level is a challenge and whilst CDEMA has committed to facilitating capacity building or inputs in some cases, the accelerated pace of risks and vulnerability necessitates a more holistic treatment of this issue. It is for this reason, that over the last year we have been able to complete the process that will allow us to propose a Model National Disaster Organisation Structure for consideration during our deliberations. This policy paper will guide decision-makers in adapting organizational structures that are optimal for delivering on the CDM mandate. Having the appropriate institutional arrangements in place, starting at the level of the National Disaster Office, is one of the key ingredients for advancing CDM at the national level.

Distinguished delegates of the Council, I begun this address by stating that we are at a critical juncture. In preparation for this journey the Agency has rebranded. A new CDEMA logo and tagline – Resilient States. Safer Lives have been developed which demonstrate that countries and people are central to the Agency’s work. That is our commitment.

We are at the end of a Strategic period and will embark on a new period as of September 1, 2014. The final endorsed CDM Strategy and Results Framework 2014-2024, developed through a broad stakeholder consultative process provides the road map for the building of resilience to hazard impacts at the national and regional levels over the next 10 years. The new features of the Strategy address a strengthened monitoring, evaluation and reporting (MER) system to track results delivery, the development of an implementation plan as a road map for results delivery, a focus on integrated management of risk associated with all hazards including those related to climate and the expanded stakeholder target to include the finance and economic planning as well as the Physical and environmental planning. This has positioned the CDEMA System to deliver on the vision of safer more resilient Caribbean through CDM. The investment in MER in is in keeping with the Agency’s steps to strengthen accountability and reporting, we not only want to re-brand, but to be that brand. This will advance the marketing and communication of organisation results.

We want to take the opportunity to extend our sincere appreciation to all our development partners. Your assistance has made it possible to mobilise resources which exceeded assessed contributions for 17 of the 18 CDEMA Participating States. Mobilised resources average a 5:1 ratio. Thank you very much for your support - The Government of Austria, Government of Australia; Government of Brazil, Government of Canada and Government of the United Kingdom.

The CDM Strategy will provide a framework for resource mobilization going forward. For the reporting period, we have already developed proposals for access over US $35M to implement the new Strategy. We are pleased to report that the Intra-African Caribbean and Pacific European Development Fund has been signed and this positions CDEMA to access 4.7M Euros.

Sincerest appreciation is also extended to the Government of the United States of America for their generous support through the provision of a Regional Training Facility with Warehouse which will be the headquarters for CDEMA valued at US$4M.

Ladies and gentleman, the level of ex ante support provided by the CDEMA Coordinating Unit for its Participating States and the significant return on investment when compared to annual contributions by Participating States, is however dependent on Participating States ability to effectively utilize these funds, to buttress national Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programming activities. In addition, development partner support must be undergirded by support from Participating States. This ought to be expressed not only in the timely and full provision of Participating States contributions, but commitment to participating in the Agency governance arrangements appropriately. There is significant correlation between the financial status of the organisation, timeliness of payment, level of confidence in the organisation and the ability to embark on a successful resource mobilisation programme.

As we consider the sustainable financing of CDEMA, the Agency has advanced efforts on the Endowment Fund and the Market Survey, on which the Council of Ministers will deliberate. These efforts are dependent on the appropriate skills sets within the organisational structure for successful delivery. Indeed, we must also consider the implications of our scalar schedule to retain skills and attract new staff as we advance. The commitment and dedication of staff, even with these challenges is highlighted and applauded.

The time is now, for us to seize the opportunities ahead. We are well poised to be a leader in a global agenda beyond 2015. The CARICOM Strategic Plan proposed for 2015-2019 will offer a platform for resilience building in the region. I therefore urge us to reaffirm our commitment to the CDM agenda as a safeguard for economic resilience in the region. I look forward to our meaningful and successful deliberations.