CERTainly Prepared

News for Ohio CERTs from Ohio EMA

3rd Quarter 2020 | V2.3

Ohio CERTs Featured in National Newsletter

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Van Wert's CERT program was featured in FEMA's June 2020 Individual And Community Preparedness Newsletter.

Franklin County CERT was featured in the August newsletter.

(Links lead to respective articles).

National CERT Association Updates

Those that register for membership in the NCA from now until the National Conference next year will be considered Charter Members and will receive a numbered challenge coin in recognition of their membership.

The 202One Conference will be held in Missouri with pre-conference training running July 12-14, 2021 and the conference held on July 15-17, 2021.

Registration and hotel information can be found at the Conference Website.

FEMA-Approved Hybrid CERT

University of Utah School of Medicine, in conjunction with FEMA HQ is rolling out a hybrid online / in-person CERT training program that jurisdictions around Ohio will be able to use, in accordance with the program's guidelines.

There will be a webinar series this month to explain the program and serve to launch it.

Additional information can be found in the full article below.

FEMA CERT Typing

Keep an eye on the NIMS NQS (National Incident Management National Qualification System) websites!

FEMA has communicated down that, later this year, they will release DRAFT Position Task Books (PTBs) for CERT-specific positions for Typing and Qualification.

This is an important step to allow for nationwide mutual aid for CERTs and to ensure that deployed members are meeting established standards.

Once these drafts are released, there will be a 30-day public comment period for suggestions from the community (You!) to provide input.

September is National Preparedness Month

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September's National Preparedness Month designation provides an opportunity for CERT Programs and Members to share messaging and information about individual and community preparedness with their neighbors.

For additional information and monthly themes, see Ohio EMA's Press Release and the article below.

Supplemental Program Manager / Trainer Webinars

The NCA is hosting regular Professional Development webinars for both Program Managers and Trainers. 

These webinars are gated and are for Program Managers and CERT Trainers only ~ if you meet this criteria, email State CERT Coordinator Josh Vittie at jdvittie@dps.ohio.gov for an invite. 

Additional information about upcoming sessions / schedule can be found HERE.

CERT Survey Snippet #4

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44 current CERT Programs in Ohio provided information on the scale of their programs.

The majority of programs are single-county programs that span the entire county while nearly 1/3 encompass only a local jurisdiction. 

The two "other" programs are University-based programs.

Snippet questions for you to think about:

• If your program is local only ~ what coordination are you doing with nearby programs or at the county-wide level? 
• If your program is countywide ~ would there be an advantage to establishing local sub-teams within your area?
• If you don't have a program in your community ~ can you start one in coordination with your County EMA?  What about with your local Fire / Police Departments?  Can you join with a nearby, established CERT and expand their coverage area?

Hybrid CERT: Continued

There will be a National Rollout and Webinar series beginning on Tuesday September 22, 2020 and running for the following two Tuesdays (September 29, 2020 and October 06, 2020).  All three will begin at 1:00pm and run approximately 2-hrs.

These webinars are focused on Program Managers / Coordinators to understand how to implement the Hybrid Program, which requires a significant online commitment from the participants and another block of time for the hands-on activities and disaster simulation.

Log in information for the webinar can be found below: 

All webinars will start be from 10am to 12pm pacific time, 1pm to 3pm eastern and use the same webinar link.  Webinars will be recorded for future access.

Click this link to join the webinars:

https://srvfpd.zoomgov.com/j/1615680154

Or join by phone:

    Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

        US: +1 669 254 5252  or +1 646 828 7666

    Webinar ID: 161 568 0154

To assist Ohio's Programs that may be interested in using this option, the State CERT Coordinator and State Training Officer will be reviewing the relevant documentation and and will participate in the webinars.  Based on this information, we plan to hold an Ohio-based Webinar to roll out the option to our programs (anticipating an early-November timeline, but that is subject to change).

If you would like to start pre-reading the materials for your program to review and develop your questions, you can start with this 4-page summary document and find additional documents and materials HERE.

National Preparedness Month

Call for articles / photos / submissions

Here's the list of Weekly Themes for 2020's National Preparedness Month:

• Week 1 (Aug. 31-Sept. 4): COVID-19 Safety & Preparedness Information
• Week 2 (September 7-11): Make an Emergency Plan
• Week 3 (September 14-18): Build a Kit
• Week 4 (September 21-25): Youth Emergency Preparedness

Ohio EMA will be sharing National Preparedness Month items on Twitter and Facebook.

You can find a number of preparedness resources at Ready.gov and ReadyOhio

#CERTWeek can be used in conjunction with California's Efforts to promote the program from September 21-27, 2020

From our friends in California:

We are asking CERT programs all over the world to share their memories during #CERTweek, September 21-27, 2020.  Post your photos, videos, testimonies, milestones, etc. on twitter and use #CERTweek and @NationalCERT1 so that we can retweet you.  You can also share the links to your social media accounts.

You can also find the National CERT Association at the following links to tag / share information from:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/NationalCERT

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NationalCERT1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalCERT

Washington Post Newsroom - Photo (c): Tom Allen / The Washington Post

Have you ever wanted to see your name as a by-line in a state-wide newsletter?  Do you want other CERT Programs to know how amazing your Program is and your Members are?  Have you had a recent deployment or activation to share?  Do you have a policy, procedure, or guideline that's a Best Practice you want to share with the other programs in the State?

If you answered "Maybe?" or anything more concrete than that, CERTainly Prepared's editor would like to hear from you!  Send your pitch / photos / articles to jdvittie@dps.ohio.gov and maybe you'll see it in a future issue.

Ohio CERT Resources

State of Ohio CERT Coordinator | National CERT Association Region 5 Representative:

Josh D. Vittie, MPA | Ohio EMA - Planner | 1.614.799.3655 | jdvittie@dps.ohio.gov

Ohio CERT Website:

• https://www.ema.ohio.gov/CERT.aspx

FEMA CERT Website:

• https://www.ready.gov/cert

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