At NENA 2021, you will not only hear about the public safety issues of today and tomorrow, but also gain practical, real-world know-how that you can take home with you and put into action immediately. Featuring inspiring keynote speakers, more than 90 hours of breakout sessions that inform and empower, career-building courses and workshops with real-world applications, nightly networking events that help you make the right connections, and an Expo Hall showcasing cutting-edge products and services, NENA 2021 is the must-attend event of the year. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of it!

Click here to register and here to book your housing. A digital copy of the event brochure is available here.

Don't Forget to Register for the Run for 9-1-1, too! 
Lace up your running or walking shoes in support of 9-1-1 training and wellness programs on Saturday, July 24, and participate in the 7th Annual "Run for 9-1-1" Charity 5K in Columbus, Ohio!

The run/walk promotes healthy living among 9-1-1 professionals, gives the greater Columbus community, and supporters from around the country, a chance to say "thank you" to 9-1-1, and generates funds for scholarships and 9-1-1 training opportunities. Click here to register.

A white paper, 911 Caller COVID-19 Disclosure, released by the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law and Policy Clinic at Colorado Law, a part of the University of Colorado, discusses the role of HIPAA in the 9-1-1 community as it relates to 9-1-1 callers sharing information regarding their COVID-19 status.

Unlike healthcare entities, HIPAA does not apply to PSAPs and ECCs, allowing telecommunicators to relay patient COVID-19 disclosures to responding emergency personnel. In turn, this important information helps protect emergency personnel by allowing them to adequately prepare—such as outfitting with PPE—before they reach the potentially COVID-19-positive patient, minimizing spread of the virus.

Refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for PSAPs and ECCs to follow when sharing patient COVID-19 disclosures, and consult with your Public Health Authorities to ensure your agency adheres to local privacy guidelines.

This webinar teaches you basic, actionable, steps for assisting suicidal 9-1-1 callers. It also provides information on NENA’s suicide-prevention standard, crisis line interoperability, and other options for community collaboration that can increase the safety of people at risk of suicide. Attend to learn: 

• Key action steps to help someone calling about suicide;
• How to work with suicide lines and crisis lines; and
• Options for community collaboration to keep people safe.

Can't attend on the 30th? Register now and you will receive an email after the live presentation with instructions for accessing the on-demand webinar archive. 

Presenter: Shye Louis – Vibrant Emotional Health 

CEUs: Attend this webinar and receive one-half ENP re-certification point towards the ten-point maximum for NENA courses in the Professional Development CEU/Course Credits section.

Webinar Access Info: Dial-in and web-access details provided automatically via email upon registration.

Pursuant to NENA's Bylaws, notice is hereby given that the membership of the National Emergency Number Association will hold an annual meeting during the NENA 2021 Conference & Expo at 5:15 PM on Sunday, July 25, 2021 in Union Station Ballroom C of the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The membership is advised of the following agenda:   

The Changing Role of the Telecommunicator in NG9-1-1 Standard is intended to give Authorities Having Jurisdiction an understanding of how NG9‑1‑1 will change the role of the Telecommunicator and guidance to assist with educating stakeholders and decision-makers on the changing role of the Telecommunicator.

Download the document and submit comments by going here and then select "Add a Comment" from the "Document Actions" icon. As this is the 2nd public review, only the edited text is open for further comment.

If you are providing editorial comments, such as corrections to typos, grammatical errors, style/numbering errors, and incorrect references/links to documents, please document them under one comment and list the page and line number for each. For example:

• Page 22, Line 761: correct muse to most
• Page 51, Line 905: correct Maine to main
• If the correction is within a table, provide the table name, page number of error and specific details of change

All comments are due by July 12, 2021. You may contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions or concerns.

There are many Functional Elements (FEs) within an NG9-1-1 system that are used to process emergency calls. Some of these FEs may be within a specific agency, in another agency, or elsewhere in an Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet). In many cases, an emergency call is related to, or results in the creation of an "Incident" as defined in NENA STA-010.2-2016. As public safety communication center personnel process emergency calls for service and their associated Incidents, new information about the Incidents is obtained. There are many sources available to communication center personnel for obtaining new Incident information during call handling, Incident creation, dispatch, Incident monitoring, and post-Incident analysis processes. Newly gathered information, as well as changes in Incident status, must often be passed on to other FEs, other involved agencies, and frequently to non-emergency entities authorized to receive emergency Incident information. As agencies and regions move forward with implementing NG9-1-1 and IP-based emergency communications systems, it is critical that they adhere to a standardized, industry-neutral format for exchanging emergency Incident information between disparate manufacturer’s systems located within one or more public safety agencies, and with other Incident stakeholders.

Download the NENA Standard for Emergency Incident Data Object (EIDO) and submit comments by going here and then select "Add a Comment" from the "Document Actions" icon.

Please complete all requested data and "Save" OR if submitting multiple comments, select "Save and Add Another."

If you are providing editorial comments, such as corrections to typos, grammatical errors, style/numbering errors, and incorrect references/links to documents, please document them under one (1) comment and list the page and line number for each. For example:

• Page 22, Line 761: correct muse to most
• Page 51, Line 905: correct Maine to main
• If the correction is within a table, provide the table name and page number of error and specific details of change

All comments are due by July 12, 2021. You may contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions or concerns.

The Emergency Incident Data Object (EIDO) is the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) object that contains incident and related information intended to be passed between Functional Elements (FEs) for the stated purpose of processing emergency incidents, such as for use with systems handling 9‑1‑1 calls. EIDO itself constitutes a comprehensive mechanism for passing needed critical information fields between FEs and subsequently incident processing stakeholders. Without an equally reliable method of transport, EIDOs would be left stranded inside proprietary boxes or on disparate islands. It is the purpose of the Standard for the Conveyance of Emergency Incident Data Objects to define a transport model for the secure, verified, and reliable delivery of EIDOs, both during the processing of emergency calls and thereafter. This version of EIDO Conveyance provides for a model of subscribers and notifiers that supports optional settings and filters used to set flow characteristics or limit notifications associated with incidents in which the subscriber is interested. EIDO Conveyance also provides a mechanism for on-demand requests for incident data.

Interested parties may download the NENA Standard for the Conveyance of Emergency Incident Data Objects (EIDOs) between Next Generation (NG9-1-1) Systems and Applications and submit comments by going here and then selecting "Add a Comment" from the "Document Actions" icon. Please complete all requested data and "Save" OR if submitting multiple comments, selecting "Save and Add Another."

If you are providing editorial comments, such as corrections to typos, grammatical errors, style/numbering errors, and incorrect references/links to documents, please document them under one comment and list the page and line number for each. For example:

• Page 22, Line 761: correct muse to most
• Page 51, Line 905: correct Maine to main
• If the correction is within a table, provide the table name and page number of error and specific details of change

All comments are due by August 2, 2021. You may contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions or concerns.

On July 16, 2020, the FCC adopted an Order (FCC 20-100) approving 988 as the 3-digit abbreviated dialing code to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, starting July 16, 2022. Customers must continue to dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach the Lifeline until July 16, 2022.

The Order requires all telecommunications carriers, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers, and one-way VoIP providers (covered providers) to make any network changes necessary to ensure that users can dial 988 to reach the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by July 16, 2022. For 988 to work in certain area codes, 10-digit local dialing must first be implemented. 

Click here to read more. 

Pending 9-1-1 legislation may provide "a once in a career" opportunity to plan, prepare, and take advantage of federal grant funding to implement NG9-1-1. In this webinar, Laurie Flaherty, National 911 Program Coordinator, will share information to help states prepare for possible future federal grant funding. She will explain the tools available to understand where your state, region, or PSAP falls on the NG9-1-1 Transition Continuum and offer suggestions for actions to take advantage of this opportunity. Ed Reuter, Executive Director of the Indiana Statewide 911 Board, will provide an overview of their office’s process in planning and preparing for the current Federal 911 Grant Program. He'll also explain how Indiana utilized its $2.8M grant award to provide sub-grants to local PSAPs and share:

• Criteria used to determine eligible project proposals
•  Access to the practical tools implemented to provide PSAP guidance and support
•  Information on the reimbursement process

The Engaging With Mental Health Professionals Workgroup is looking for some additional volunteers to fill out its team. The group is seeking individuals who have experience in the mental health provider space, as well as professionals with experience working with 9-1-1 or Public Safety as a provider. The WG would also take anyone just willing to lend a hand and help out.

This workgroup seeks to help develop and/or strengthen relationships between PSAP’s and Mental Health service providers to promote the wellbeing of Emergency Communications Specialists and other PSAP staff. It seeks to do this through two projects. The first project is internal facing and seeks to provide agencies with an information document to ensure that when establishing Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) within their workplace that they are identifying and selecting the most appropriate resources for their program. The second project focuses on engaging the external mental health provider community and to provide them with guidance on the unique stressors faced by Emergency Communications Specialists and PSAP staff and best practices in engaging them in treatment.

Click here to join this group.

NENA seeks applicants for the position of the association's Education & Training Director. The incumbent will be responsible for the development, testing, production, evaluation, content review, and revision of online and in-person training programs, oriented to both technical and operational audiences and spanning all levels of the 9-1-1 enterprise from frontline telecommunicators to supervisors, PSAP managers, and 9-1-1-authority administrators. The Director also will be responsible for selling, planning, and marketing (with the Communications Director) NENA courses. The Director is also responsible for handling administrative and logistical tasks associated with delivery of courses and facilitating timely collection of course fees.

Further, the incumbent will be responsible for assisting in the production of NENA’s Annual Conference and Trade Show, with responsibilities including the coordination of the conference call for papers, oversight of the breakout schedule, and serving as the main point of contact for breakout speakers.

Click here to read more and apply. Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, July 21 at 5PM Eastern.