June 21, APCO filed comments regarding improvements to Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The WEA system is used by authorized public safety agencies to send emergency messages to mobile devices in specified geographic areas. The Federal Communications Commission sought comment on proposals to improve the WEA system by requiring wireless service providers to collect information on performance metrics, such as the speed, accuracy and reliability of WEA message delivery. APCO offered several recommendations to make the performance measures more useful for public safety agencies and to make broader improvements such as supporting multimedia in WEA messages.

APCO recognizes that ECCs being short staffed is a growing issue in the industry. To address this issue, APCO developed a new page on the website to collect resources that can help ECCs identify and address the causes of staffing shortages. On the website you will find:

• Recorded webinars
• PSC articles
• APCO RETAINS
• APCO Institute course
• Conference sessions
• Project 43 Report: Broadband Implications for the PSAP - Workforce section

We will continue to add resources to this page as they are developed.

APCO recently received final approval for APCO ANS 1.101.4-2022 Standard for Public Safety Telecommunicators When Responding to Calls of Missing, Abducted and Sexually Exploited Children. Calls involving missing children are often identified as one of the most difficult and stressful calls for public safety telecommunicators and other responders. The revision of this standard is designed to serve as best practice guidelines and operational models in support of effectively and efficiently processing these calls for service as well as identifying resources available to telecommunicators and law enforcement.
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Earn CDEs for recertification with these upcoming online courses.

Start on June 29:

• Crisis Negotiations (8 CDEs)
• Disaster Operations and the Communications Center (8 CDEs)
• Emergency Medical Dispatch Manager (8 CDEs)

Start July 6:

• Bullying and Negativity in the Communications Center, 2nd Edition (8 CDEs)
• Comprehensive Quality (16 CDEs)

Start July 13:

• Communications Center Supervisor, 5th Edition (24 CDEs)
• Communications Training Officer, 6th Edition (24 CDEs)
• Fire Service Communications, 2nd Edition (32 CDEs)
• Fire Service Communications, 2nd Edition (Canada)
• Fundamentals of Tactical Dispatch (16 CDEs)
• Law Enforcement Communications (32 CDEs)

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