Training Initiative Helps States Develop Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan

 

August 6, 2014

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Every year, emergency management officials have to decide what type of emergency preparedness training is most needed in their state. Until now, there hasn't been an organized way to determine this. Emergency managers have traditionally had to rely on anecdotal evidence and their own intuition when scheduling emergency preparedness training.

 
A new training initiative aims to help states develop their multi-year training and exercise plan, or MYTEP. The National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT) at LSU and the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC) of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), both members of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), are now offering the Readiness: Training Identification Preparedness Planning (RTIPP) course to states that would like to take a more systematic approach to preparedness planning.

 
The RTIPP course helps communities identify and fill preparedness training gaps at a local level by putting the gap analysis process together into accessible steps. The first step begins by assembling a team that includes individuals from all responding agencies in a jurisdiction as well as stakeholders from local, state, federal, tribal, private sector agencies, and non governmental organizations to assure participation of the whole community in the RTIPP process. Next a jurisdictional profile is developed. This profile identifies geographic characteristics, population characteristics, the response community, resource groups, critical infrastructure and key resources.

 
The jurisdiction then uses traditional gap analysis tools such as emergency operation plans and after action reports to determine whether it can meet specific needs and identify training gaps. In addition, the core capabilities outlined in the national preparedness goal, are also used to identify training gaps. This translates into a specific training goal that identifies the type of training needed and the people who need the training. With the training goal in mind, a MYTEP is filled out, in which NCBRT and NERRTC help participants find and schedule the needed courses.

 
The state of Florida recently participated in the RTIPP training initiative. NCBRT and NERRTC delivered 15 RTIPP courses within Florida's seven regions between January and July. Each course delivery included a train-the-trainer component. Upon completion of the train-the-trainer component, graduates were deemed eligible to be certified to teach the RTIPP course. Upon request, NCBRT and NERRTC will provide training materials to certified instructors. The goal of the training initiative in Florida was to enhance the training plan and identify training gaps in a more consistent and comprehensive manner across the state and, at the same time, to assist Florida in enhancing its cadre of sate instructors.

 
"We believe the RTIPP courses benefited the state and local jurisdictions' response abilities through the use of gap analysis to identify the correct courses to fill the gaps to help Florida be better prepared for all hazards," said Linda McWhorter, State Training and Exercise Officer, Florida Division of Emergency Management.

 

Participant feedback from the courses delivered in Florida has been positive. The most valuable part of the course was "the applicability to all disciplines in a way that will produce a comprehensive MYTEP for an entire county, region, or even state and the ability to have a MYTEP completed or at least have a good start upon completion of class," said one participant. Another participant says the course offered a "low stress, step by step explanation of the process." Other valuable aspects of the course participants noted were the group exercises and tools to find available resources to fulfill training goals.

 
Most telling though were the quantifiable results of the RTIPP courses. On average, region and county representatives in Florida found 10 preparedness gaps that could be closed with training offered by the NDPC, EMI, and other training partners. Although some gaps overlap from county to county and agency to agency, this number still represents training that is needed. With 3,141 counties or county equivalents in the nation, that's 31,410 potential training gaps nationwide that could be identified with the RTIPP course. In addition to helping states identify these gaps and develop a MYTEP, the RTIPP course helps states develop investment justifications for federal and state grants by tying training goals to national guidelines.

 
With so much at stake, preparedness planning can be a heavy burden for state officials, but when the low stress, systematic approach taught in the RTIPP course is applied, the planning process is not only easier, but also more effective. The two-day course walks participants through the ​steps of identifying training gaps, writing a MYTEP, and identifying training providers to fill the gaps.

 
About NDPC

The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium is a partnership of several nationally recognized organizations whose membership is based on the urgent need to address the counter-terrorism preparedness needs of the nation's emergency first responders within the context of all hazards including chemical, biological, radiological, and explosive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) hazards.

 
Since its establishment in 1998, the NDPC's impact on national preparedness has been substantial. The NDPC has conducted training in all 50 states and each U.S. territory. This training has benefited more than 1,900,000 people. Today, the consortium's various programs meet the training and education needs of more than 60,000 emergency responders and state, local, and tribal government employees. The consortium applies its expertise in academics, curriculum development, and instructional techniques to produce training programs that address the most urgent needs of the emergency response community.

 
For more information about the RTIPP course or the NDPC, please visit www.ndpc.us.