NIMS ICS All-Hazard Position Specific Training – A Way Forward A Special Presentation for the All Hazards IMT Conference Houston, Texas November 4 – 6, 2009 by Robert L. Ridgeway, Training Specialist, EMI/FEMA

Introduction NIMS ICS Position Specific training is designed to provide all- hazards competencies and behaviors for the eight Command and General Staff positions and for specific unit leaders under ICS The competencies in the training are focused around the ability of the student to assume the position responsibilities, lead assigned personnel, communicate effectively, and to ensure the completion of assigned actions to meet identified objectives for the position NEEP

Introduction (Continued) NIMS ICS Position Specific training should be completed by personnel who desire to eventually be certified as a member of a Type III Incident Management Team (IMT) or who desire to seek credentials/certification in an ICS Command and General Staff or unit leader position Students who wish to complete NIMS ICS All-Hazards Command and General Staff and Unit Leader position specific training should have completed ICS-100, 200, 300, and 400 training NEEP

Assumptions DHS/FEMA should have one agreed upon set of NIMS ICS Position Specific training materials based on all-hazards competencies and behaviors (THESE ARE THE MATERIALS) NIMS ICS Position Specific training should be completed by personnel who desire to eventually be certified as a member of a Type III Incident Management Team (IMT) or who desire to seek credentials/certification in an ICS position (Note: NIMS ICS Position Specific Training courses are not part of NIMS “required” training) The completion of ICS-100, 200, 300 and 400 training does not certify or credential a person in an ICS position as part of the National Emergency Responder Credentialing System or in other words the completion of ICS training (100 thru 400) does not qualify someone to be an incident commander; or a planning section chief; etc.

Assumptions (Continued) NIMS ICS Position Specific Training is needed Position Specific Training provides a “next-step” for ICS All-Hazard practitioners Position Specific Training promotes the establishment of Type – 3 Incident Management Teams Position Specific Training standardizes training for the Type-3 teams As certification and credentialing efforts progress nation-wide standardized training for ICS positions will benefit a national system of resource and personnel management

Assumptions (Continued) More training alone will not necessarily “qualify” a person to serve in an ICS position Personnel qualification relies on a combination of training, operational experience, job shadowing, participation in drills, exercises, ICS simulations, etc. NIMS ICS Position Specific Training should be conducted by qualified instructors (minimum instructor standards need to be established and adhered to) NIMS ICS Position Specific Training cannot simply be “released” through the Fire Discipline (we need an all-hazards approach)

Action Items NIMS ICS Position Specific Training needs a permanent home – one DHS FEMA element with the support of others; or roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined among all DHS FEMA elements (EMI will provide the “home) NIMS ICS Position Specific Training needs one set of permanent course codes (EMI will provide the course codes) NIMS ICS Position Specific Training needs one system to track course completions nationally (we can’t make the same mistake we made with the ICS 300 and 400 training; we have no idea who has completed this training nationwide) (EMI will track course and TTT completions) NIMS ICS Position Specific Training needs one location to post all course materials for access by the nation NIMS ICS Position specific training will be posted on docu-share and the EMI State website)

Action Items (Continued) Decisions need to be made on whether “train-the-trainers” will be required for the NIMS ICS Position Specific Training (Yes; EMI will conduct TTT for the 8 command/general staff courses) Instructor guidelines need to be agreed upon, finalized, and enforced for the NIMS ICS Position Specific Training (Instructor guidelines established) An implementation plan for the NIMS ICS Position Specific Training needs to be initiated and marketed nationally; plan needs to include all stakeholders (i.e. emergency management, fire, law enforcement, public health communities, etc.) (Plan under development) Decisions need to be made on finalizing existing course materials and conducting additional pilots (Underway; June timeline)

Action Items (Continued) All courses need to be submitted to TEI for approval and inclusion as approved training for homeland security dollar use (Will be done) Decisions need to be made on whether additional NIMS ICS Position Specific training needs to be developed and pilot testing Intelligence/Investigation Function Additional positions in ICS An assessment needs to be conducted on whether there are any FY08 funds available to use and allocated to support any “plan” we come up with on moving forward (Completed) Decisions need to be made on how to allocate any FY09 funds to support any “plan” we come up with on moving forward (Completed)

Implementation Plan Task Status/Due Date 1. Determine amount of FY08 Funding that remains and can be used to conduct NIMS ICS TTT Blue – Complete 4/3/2009 2. Assign EMI Course Codes to all NIMS ICS Training Courses 4/10/2009

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 3. Assign EMI Course Codes to NIMS ICS Command and General Staff TTT Blue – Complete 4/10/2009 4. Commit FY09 Funding for TTT and course offerings + stipend dollars 4/24/2009

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 5. Develop written procedures on the roll of regions and states in the conduct of NIMS ICS position specific training and TTT Blue – Complete 4/24/2009 6. Develop written procedures for training partners across the nation for course delivery 5/1/2009

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 7. Develop written procedures on tracking instructor and student completions for the training using EMI course enrollment process Blue – Complete 5/1/2009 8. Determine number of hours required for each of the 8 command and general staff position specific TTT

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 9. Finalize Instructor qualifications for the NIMS ICS Position Specific Training Blue – Complete 5/1/2009 10. Preparation, locations, and logistics for the conduct of Round 1 TTT (August – 2009/College Station, TX) 5/8/2009

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 11. Finalize presentation and materials for T&E Conference Blue – Complete 5/8/2009 12. Develop all materials to announce roll-out of the NIMS ICS Position Specific Training at the conclusion of the T&E Conference Green – On Target 5/15/2009

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 13. Market courses throughout the nation to emergency management partners Green – On Target 5/15/2009 14. Develop all materials to announce roll-out of the NIMS ICS Position Specific Training at the conclusion of the T&E Conference

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 15. Ensure all course materials contain DHS logo Green – On Target 6/1/2009 16. Obtain camera-ready course materials from USFA

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 17. Submit all course materials to FEMA NPD TEI for approval and inclusion as approved training for homeland security dollar use Green – On Target 6/15/2009 18. Post all course materials for instructor access on Docu-share and EMI Private Web-Site

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 19. Work with EMI Readiness staff member (NEW CORE EMPLOYEE) on all program requirements Green – On Target 6/15/2009 20. Work with FEMA NPD IMSI to determine funding availability for FY10 6/30/2009

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 21. Determine location and schedule Round 2 TTT Courses (October-November, 2009) Green – On Target 6/30/2009 22. Determine location and schedule Round 3 TTT Courses (April, 2010)

Implementation Plan (Continued) Task Status/Due Date 23. Schedule the conduct of all 15 position specific courses (EMI sponsored) in the fall of 2010 Green – On Target 6/30/2009 24. Take a break over the July 4th Holiday 7/4/2009

QUESTIONS FROM THE GROUP?? Issues for Discussion Instructor Qualifications (Criteria) TTT Conduct (Round 1, 2, 3) Procedures for Conducting a Course EMI Sponsored Course Conduct (All 15 Courses) Tracking Course Completions and Instructors QUESTIONS FROM THE GROUP??

National Response Framework