Friday, April 27, 2012

Texas Division of Emergency Management. Preparedness Section




Preparedness

The Texas Division of Emergency Management, Preparedness Section, administers a statewide emergency management all-hazards preparedness program that includes the following units.



Who Do We Serve?

TDEM Preparedness Section prepares state and local first responders to prevent, protect, respond to, and recover from hazardous material incidents through US Department of Transportation’s Hazardous Material Emergency Preparedness Grant. Under the grant the term "first responder" refers to those individuals who, in the early stages of an incident, are responsible for the protection and preservation of  life, property, evidence, and the environment, including State and local emergency response providers (emergency personnel  public safety, law enforcement, emergency response medical and related personnel, agencies and authorities) as well as emergency management, public health, public works, and other skilled support personnel (such as equipment operators) who provide immediate support services during prevention, response, and recovery operations.  
  • Emergency Management (EM): Individuals, both local and state, who coordinate preparation, recognition, response, and recovery for Hazardous Materials incidents.
  • Emergency Medical Services (EMS): Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, serve as first responders, emergency medical technicians (EMT) (basic), and paramedics (advanced) with ground-based and aero-medical services to provide pre-hospital care.
  • Fire Service (FS): Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, provide life-safety services, including fire suppression, rescue, arson investigation, public education, and prevention.
  • Governmental Administrative (GA): Elected and appointed officials responsible for public administration of community health and welfare during an incident.
  • Hazardous Materials Personnel (HZ): Individuals, who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, identify, characterize, provide risk assessment, and mitigate/control the release of a hazardous substance or potentially hazardous substance.
  • Healthcare (HC): Must be a public (county/city) owned facility. Individuals who provide clinical, forensic, and administrative skills in hospitals, physician offices, clinics, and other facilities that offer medical care, including surveillance (passive and active), diagnosis, laboratory evaluation, treatment, mental health support, epidemiology investigation, and evidence collection, along with fatality management for humans and animals. (DMORT, DMAT, MRC are federal when deployed therefore are not public employees)
  • Law Enforcement (LE): Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, work for agencies at the local, municipal, and state levels with responsibilities as sworn law enforcement officers.
  • Public Health (PH): Individuals, who prevent epidemics and the spread of disease, protect against environmental hazards, promote healthy behaviors, respond to disasters and assist in recovery, as well as assure the quality and accessibility of health services.
  • Public Safety Communications (PSC): Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, through technology, serve as a conduit and put persons reporting an incident in touch with response personnel and emergency management, in order to identify an incident occurrence and help support the resolution of life-safety, criminal, environmental, and facilities problems associated with the event.
  • Public Works (PW): Organizations and individuals who make up the public infrastructure for the operation and management of these facilities. The categories/roles include administration, technical, supervision, and craft (basic and advanced).
THIS IS THE GUIDANCE FOR STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
Students must be Public Sector Employees/Volunteers: Students must be employed or used by a political subdivision (county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority), school district, special districts, interstate district, council of governments (whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under State law), any other regional or interstate government entity, or any agency or instrumentality of a local government. Private sector, federal, non-profit, not-for-profit employees may not be eligible for these classes unless they also serve in a public sector volunteer position. Volunteers must apply through their public sector agencies. Texas residents only.

EFFICIENT USE OF GRANT FUNDS
Although a student may meet the above criteria, doesn’t mean that they are automatically approved for all HMEP funded training. We must consider efficient use of funds. For example a county clerk is a public employee however; based on their job “county clerk” there would be no reason for them to need training above the awareness level. Remember we are not a process for a public employee to get training so they can get another/better job…we are to train first responders to protect themselves, the public and the environment.




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