Every day, 9-1-1 professionals like you help people facing issues of life and death. So often, a telecommunicator’s calm and reassuring voice is the first sign of hope when all can feel lost.

This holiday season, you have a chance to help members of our 9-1-1 family. When you contribute to NENA's Gold Line Scholarship Fund, you’re empowering 9-1-1 professionals to do their very best.
 

Time and time again, we've heard that the ability to attend conferences and training programs really makes a difference. Our scholarship recipients receive skills and knowledge that enable them to adapt and overcome the challenges they face every day. But they can't do it without your support!

Click here to donate or text NENA to 71777!

Our goal for this end-of-year scholarship drive is $50,000 – enough to provide twenty scholarships for 9-1-1 professionals like you who don’t have access to this vital and life-changing training. It is only through your generosity that we can meet this goal and make an impact!

Join your fellow NENA members for a special virtual happy hour as we kick off 2022! You’ll have the opportunity to expand your professional network and connect with others who share your interests in one of our curated breakout rooms (Women in 9-1-1, Wellness, ENP Certification, LGBTQ+, Diversity & Inclusion, Young Professionals, New to NENA, GIS, Standards Development, and Effective Training & Presenting).

No matter what your role or experience level, come meet up for some fun and lively discussions and learn how you can use member benefits like NENA’s mentor center and online communities to invest in yourself, your peers, and our 9-1-1 family.

Click here to join on the 12th at 6PM Eastern!

NENA, in support of the National 911 Program, has issued a request for information for NG9-1-1/PSBN contract language.

No contract language currently exists for entities to include in a procurement to communicate specific interconnection requirements between PSBNs and NG9-1-1 to broadband network providers. The National 911 Program has assembled a group of public and private sector 9-1-1 stakeholders, who have collaborated to facilitate progress toward integration of PSBN and NG9-1-1. The goal of this working group is to develop specific requirements for RFPs/contract language that measures/demonstrates interoperability function(s) and performance. This RFP/contract language will aid states and jurisdictions across the country to understand and effectively communicate their needs to providers who are building ESInets.

In order to meet this goal, the working group has compiled an RFI to gather information from the 9-1-1 stakeholder community, related to any language that could or should be included in contracts between NG9-1-1 agencies and PSBN providers.

Click here to learn more and respond to the RFI by January 16. 

The FBI National Threat Operations Center (NTOC) answers national threat-tip lines via voice and text. They receive thousands of calls per day, and some of those are situations that should have been reported to 9-1-1 and need a local response. The NTOC needs help from PSAPs, specifically in enhancing processes related to the acceptance of information coming from the NTOC.

The FBI has reshaped how they will be contacting PSAPs to handoff this type of information to local agencies. The NTOC now uses NENA’s Enhanced PSAP Registry to determine the appropriate PSAP and the 10-digit 24/7 telephone number. They have created a new internal process specifically for these situations.

Please see this notice for more information.

NENA’s Next Generation 9-1-1 Industry Collaboration Event (ICE) series provides the opportunity for 9-1-1 equipment and service providers to come together to test products and services in an open, supportive, and collaborative environment.

The next ICE, occurring in summer 2022, will be the first event of its kind to include computer aided dispatch (CAD) solutions companies. The event, the tenth in the ICE series, will focus on basic end-to-end emergency call origination, termination, and call / session transfer using the newly-defined i3 version 3 interfaces with an additional focus on the creation, logging, and conveyance of Emergency Incident Data Object (EIDO) through NextGen Core Services and NG PSAP systems (call handling and CAD). In addition to this testing, the National 911 Office is collaborating with NENA during this event coordinating and testing interoperability with EIDO from the PSAP to field responders.

Click here to learn more and sign up to participate. 

Register now for NENA's NG9-1-1 Standards & Best Practices Conference and the Staffing for Success Critical Issues Forum! Click here to register and here to book your housing!

Learn, Collaborate, & Contribute at the NG9-1-1 Standards & Best Practices Conference!
#NENASBP is a conference unlike any other. It is an interactive, informative, attendee-driven event where you not only learn about the standards that are spurring the development and implementation of NG9-1-1 technology and operations best practices, but also create the guidelines, resources, and documents that enable NG services, systems, and PSAPs to reach their full potential.

With your peers from across the 9-1-1 universe, you’ll discuss and work to address the most pressing NG-related issues, including: GIS and NG-data needs; location services and accuracy; interoperability; telecommunicator SOPs; real-time text; transition planning; security and resiliency; multimedia messaging and accessibility; training; stress and wellness; the evolution of 9-1-1 center supervision and management; and more!

No other event provides you with the opportunity to shape the future of 9-1-1 and impact public safety for decades to come! Don’t miss your chance to be part of it!

Click here to learn more about #NENASBP. Full session details are available here.

Staffing for Success: A NENA Critical Issues Forum
There is a staffing crisis in 9-1-1. PSAPs across the nation are chronically understaffed, leading to a workforce that is continually stressed, overworked, and burned out. New hires and trainees are frequently gone before their probationary periods end. High performers with potentially bright futures move on for greener, higher-paying pastures too soon. A multi-generational staff, evolving job requirements, and the workplace challenges brought to light by the global pandemic present myriad concerns that must be examined and addressed.

Join us on January 20-21 in San Diego, CA as we dive deep into these issues and much more! During this interactive day-and-a-half program, you’ll gain the tools and resources you need to overcome the staffing challenges of today, prepare your center for the future, and make sure your coworkers grow and thrive.

Click here to learn more about #NENACIF. Full session details are available here.

9-1-1 Goes to Washington (#NENAGTW) brings you and hundreds of your fellow 9-1-1 professionals together with government leaders in our nation's capital to address today's most pressing 9-1-1 and emergency communications issues. #NENAGTW is the only event where you learn about the policy challenges facing 9-1-1 and then take immediate action to address them through dialogue with your elected and appointed officials. 

#NENAGTW offers you a significant opportunity to shape the nation’s emergency communications policy agenda. In order to address the needs of today’s 9-1-1 systems while laying the regulatory and legislative groundwork for next-generation systems, you must understand today’s 9-1-1 policy landscape and take an active role in educating policymakers to shape the laws and rules of tomorrow. At #NENAGTW, you will do both. Join us for a dynamic, interactive program where you receive: 

NENA and 911 Authority, LLC are proud to establish a scholarship to honor the life, passion, integrity, and career of Wendy Ann Day. This scholarship honors the mission of 9-1-1 policy and regulatory development, women’s empowerment within 9-1-1, and Wendy’s valuable contributions to the policy and regulatory aspects of public safety programs across the country. The objectives of this scholarship are:

•  To assist public safety professionals in reaching a higher level of knowledge by participating in NENA’s 9-1-1 Goes to Washington conference;
• To assist public safety agencies with the cost of professional development and contribute to their ability to provide continuing education to their employees;
• To enhance the knowledge of public safety agency employees so that they, in turn, will contribute to their agency and the profession as a whole;
• To assist in the goal of adopting and implementing Next Generation 9-1-1 policies by providing an opportunity to those individuals who have not had the opportunity to previously attend 9-1-1 Goes to Washington; and
• To empower women who are building their careers and aspiring to share new ideas with their peers and colleagues.

Who should apply?
This scholarship opportunity is open to women in their first five years in the 9-1-1 industry who have not previously attended 9-1-1 Goes to Washington.

The scholarship recipient will receive the following:

• Complimentary registration to NENA's 9-1-1 Goes to Washington conference;
• Four nights hotel accommodations; and
• A travel stipend of up to $1,000 to help cover transportation costs to and from the event (provided as a post-event reimbursement).

Eligibility
To be eligible for the scholarship you must meet the criteria listed about in the "Who should apply" section complete and submit the below scholarship application, including a 1,000-word or less essay and a current resume.

Deadlines
Applications will be accepted through December 22, 2021. The scholarship winner will be notified no later than January 10, 2022.

Click here to apply.

NENA is excited to announce that its groundbreaking program aimed at promoting greater diversity and inclusion in our nation’s 9-1-1 centers is now accepting scholarship applications.

The Diversity in 9-1-1 Leadership Program provides scholarships to equip new and diverse voices with the skills, knowledge, and training necessary to advance to upper-level positions in 9-1-1 agencies and become tomorrow’s leaders.

Thanks to major support from T-Mobile, RapidDeploy, OnStar, and Microsoft, the program will provide seventy-five scholarships to NENA’s multi-day leadership and management courses to facilitate the advancement of under-represented populations within the 9-1-1 community.

The scholarships will increase the number of diverse participants in NENA’s three flagship education offerings: the Center Manager Certification Program, Center Supervisor Program, and Center Training Officer Program. The program is jointly administered by NENA’s Education Advisory Board and the NENA Diversity & Inclusion Special Committee.

Interested parties can learn more about the application procedure and apply for a scholarship here through the end of the year.

International Lessons-Learned From the Pandemic
Thursday, January 6 | 3PM Eastern (live) or On-Demand
Free! Click here to register!

The pandemic brought so many new challenges to PSAPs – not only across the US, but also around the globe. No matter the geographical location, emergency-communications personnel had to rise to the occasion and continue to answer the calls. The challenges faced provided substantial opportunities for learning and innovation; how could we adapt to the new landscape while continuing to provide a high level of service and taking care of our people?

Attend this webinar as emergency-services leaders from across the world discuss these issues and more! You’ll hear about how policies and procedures were updated, ways new technologies enabled advancements like remote call-taking, and issues that you need to be thinking about now to future-proof for the "new normal."

Can't attend on the 6th? Register now and you will receive an email after the live presentation with instructions for accessing the on-demand webinar archive.

Presenters: Jennifer White, ENP - NENA | Monica Million, ENP - Amazon Web Services | John Anthony - British APCO | Ron Willicroft - APCO Canada

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.

Last week, NENA announced that Vicki Pickett, ENP has joined the NENA staff as the association’s Education & Training Director. In her new role, she oversees the development and delivery of the association’s in-person and online education programs that provide industry-best training to all 9-1-1 professionals – from frontline telecommunicators to supervisors, managers, and 9-1-1-authority administrators.

"Vicki brings an exceptional skillset and unique vision to the position of Education & Training Director," said NENA’s CEO, Brian Fontes. "Her experience in both communications-center management and training will undoubtedly allow NENA to grow, enhance, and expand the opportunities for professional development that we offer to our members and the greater 9-1-1 community."

Throughout her career, Pickett has been heavily involved in training. She has held the position of CTO (Certified Training Officer), designed and implemented a new-hire academy, overseen multiple training programs, and instructed 9-1-1 and leadership courses.

"I’m so excited to join the NENA team," said Pickett. "I’m passionate about elevating professionalism within the 9-1-1 industry, and training is the best way to do that. I look forward to working alongside the NENA staff, Board of Directors, and all our volunteers to ensure that NENA’s educational offerings continue to provide 9-1-1 professionals with the tools they need to excel at their jobs and deliver the best-possible service to the public." 

Click here to read more. 

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.

Only those edits highlighted in yellow are open for comment during this 2nd review.

Members of the Working Group may download the document and submit comments by going here and then selecting "Add a Comment" from the "Edit" icon.

All others may download the document and submit comments by going here and then selecting "Add a Comment" from the "Document Actions" icon.

Please complete all requested data and click "Save," or, if submitting multiple comments, selecting "Save and Add Another."

If submitting a substantial number of substantive comments and/or edits, Commenters may add a single comment in NWS Comment Manager and attach an edited version of the document containing tracked changes. To do this, scroll down to "Add Supporting File" on the comment page and select the file you have edited.

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 moist 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 January 10, 2022. You may contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions or concerns.

The NENA Spoofing Mitigation Information Document describes the application of the Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN) caller identity spoofing mitigation framework and SIP Resource-Priority Header and Priority header signing/verification procedures to 9‑1‑1 calls and emergency callbacks in an end-state Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) (i.e., all-Internet Protocol [IP]) environment as well as caller identity spoofing mitigation mechanisms applicable to an all-Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and mixed TDM/IP environment, with a focus on associated operational impacts and considerations. Version 2 of this document considers spoofing mitigation associated with 9-1-1 calls and callback calls in E9‑1‑1 and transitional NG9-1-1 environments. Specifically, Version 2 of this document presents two technically viable options for explicitly conveying attestation level and verification status information to legacy PSAPs via the ALI interface. The amount of space available and the configuration used on Customer Premises Equipment to display call-related information to PSAP call takers varies based the type of equipment deployed. Agencies or 9-1-1 Authorities may place different priorities on the information that is displayed to call takers, making a single solution for providing attestation level and verification status information to PSAP call takers unlikely. An objective of Version 2 of this document is to provide Public Safety with the tools to convey caller authentication information to legacy PSAPs, should a 9-1-1 Authority or Public Safety agency determine it is desirable to do so.

Members of the Working Group may download the document and submit comments by going here and then selecting "Add a Comment" from the "Edit" icon.

All others may download the document and submit comments by going here and then selecting "Add a Comment" from the "Document Actions" icon.

Please complete all requested data and click "Save," or, if submitting multiple comments, selecting "Save and Add Another."

If submitting a substantial number of substantive comments and/or edits, Commenters may add a single comment in NWS Comment Manager and attach an edited version of the document containing tracked changes. To do this, scroll down to "Add Supporting File" on the comment page and select the file you have edited.

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 moist 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 January 10, 2022. You may contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions or concerns.

Legacy Selective Router Gateways (LSRGs) will provide the needed functionality to wireline and wireless callers and PSAPs that are served by legacy Selective Routers (SRs) to facilitate emergency call handling during the transition to NG9‑1‑1. The NENA Legacy Selective Router Gateway Standard provides a complete technical standard for the LSRG with examples illustrating its role in the processing of emergency call originations and transfers.

Members of the Working Group may download the document and submit comments by going here and then selecting "Add a Comment" from the "Edit" icon.

All others may download the document and submit comments by going here and then selecting "Add a Comment" from the "Document Actions" icon.

Please complete all requested data and click "Save," or, if submitting multiple comments, selecting "Save and Add Another."

If submitting a substantial number of substantive comments and/or edits, Commenters may add a single comment in NWS Comment Manager and attach an edited version of the document containing tracked changes. To do this, scroll down to "Add Supporting File" on the comment page and select the file you have edited.

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 moist 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 January 10, 2022. You may contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions or concerns.

Having adjudicated all comments, the NENA Telephony Denial of Service (TDoS) Information Document and the NENA Changing Role of the Telecommunicator in NG9‑1‑1 standard are now considered "stable." Per NENA IPR & Antitrust Policy, Section 4.5.1 "Stable Form Notices" are being issued and can be viewed here.

On behalf of more than 100,000 9-1-1 professionals serving communities across the United States, we are disappointed that the House and Senate conferees on the National Defense Authorization Act dropped the 911 SAVES Act (H.R. 2351) from this legislation. The 9-1-1 workforce is chronically under-funded and under-recognized, contributing to high rates of burnout and turnover. Changing their federal classification from "office support" to "protective service" would cost nothing, but it would more accurately reflect their specialized training and skills, as well as their crucial role in public safety. Ultimately it would benefit callers in crisis. We urge the bill’s sponsors and more than 100 bipartisan cosponsors to keep up the effort to enact this legislation.

The FCC’s creation of a national three-digit number for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis and the July 2022 implementation deadline for communications providers to deliver 988 calls necessitates consideration and clear documentation on how 988 will work cooperatively with public safety entities and Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) to effectively address mental health caller needs and response-resource allocation.

The NENA 9-1-1/988 Operations Work Group seeks to provide call and information sharing solutions to ECCs and 988 call centers. The goal is to provide uniform best practices to stakeholders in the ECC environment and the new 988 system and begin to define the roles, responsibilities, processes, and training resources needed for each entity to properly handle callers experiencing mental health crises. The standard developed by this work group will also define how the 988 system can interconnect and utilize the 9-1-1 system for accurate 988 call routing and support for text messaging to 988.

The group will meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month at 1PM Eastern.

Click here to volunteer!