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The North Central Texas Emergency Communications Districts (NCT9-1-1) has announced the 2021 winners of the Annual 9-1-1 Awards. These awards are presented to individuals or groups who show an outstanding commitment to the 9-1-1 industry. We are proud to have so many dedicated professionals working with us to help save lives every day. The nominees are submitted by their Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) supervisor or manager and the winners are selected by a majority vote from the supervisors, managers, and NCT9-1-1 staff. The agency of the year, however, is determined by the NCT9-1-1 staff. Congratulations to the award winners!

9-1-1 Telecommunicator of the Year – Ricky Huff, Springtown Police Department

The Telecommunicator of the Year is categorized as an individual who takes command and makes independent decisions relating to the proper emergency response. This individual thinks and responds quickly as the emergency situation dictates while addressing the needs and concerns of the caller.

9-1-1 Agency of the Year – Frisco Police Department

The Agency of the Year is handpicked by the NCT9-1-1 staff for demonstrating a superior commitment to furthering 9-1-1 in North Texas.

9-1-1 Team of the Year – McKinney Police Department

The Team of the Year are a group of two or more individuals who worked well together when handling a call. The individuals on the Team of the Year included:

• Supervisor: Randi Wiggins Beard
• Aaron Roberts
• Amanda Hammer
• Ashley Beckle
• Ashely Cooper
• Emilee Powell
• Gwen Smith
• Mallory Ransom
• Taryn Gray

 9-1-1 Supervisor of the Year – Holly Bicknell and Valerie Hughes, Cleburne Police Department

The Supervisor of the Year demonstrates a positive and professional attitude toward all aspects of his or her roles and responsibilities. He or she is familiar with all operations and functions expected of subordinates and demonstrates that knowledge on a regular basis while monitoring staff performance. He or she creates plans and objectives and offers praise or corrections to staff when needed.

9-1-1 Training Professional of the Year – Caylin Milligan and Chelsea Dyer, Corsicana Police Department

The Training Professional of the Year uses their creativity, initiative, and diligence consistently while assisting callers or coworkers. He or she is knowledgeable of policy and procedure and reliable when informing others.

9-1-1 TDD/TTY Above and Beyond Award – Corsicana Police Department

The TDD/TTY Above and Beyond Award is given to the PSAP that had the most TDD/TTY calls and demonstrated a commitment to serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities.

Transcript

Let’s talk about some complex state legislation that probably affects your school.  

The first is Kari’s Law.  

Your school’s campus is made up of multiple buildings, floors, classrooms, and offices, which are all connected by a multi-line telephone system.  

When someone wants to reach an outside line on one of these phones, they have to dial a prefix digit, like 9.  

Unfortunately, that also applies when dialing 9-1-1. 

Some students, staff members, or visitors may not know that an additional digit is needed to dial 9-1-1, which could delay a response during an emergency.  

So, Kari’s Law requires these phones to have direct dialing to 9-1-1. 

Kari’s Law also requires that 9-1-1 receives a dispatchable location, which just means that the 9-1-1 call taker knows the street address, floor level, or classroom or office number of the emergency. 

The other legislation is the Ray Baum’s Act. 

Ray Baum’s also requires you to have a designated person who is notified when a 9-1-1 call is made. This is usually a security guard or receptionist.  

All businesses in Texas must be compliant with Kari’s Law, or have a waiver on file, as of September 2016.  

So, what do you do now? 

Contact your multi-line telephone provider to find out your road to compliance. 

Also visit NCT911.org/karislaw to learn more about Kari’s Law and the Ray Baum’s Act so that you can keep your students safe.  

Whenever there is a discussion of Kari’s Law, there is usually a mention of the Ray Baum’s Act. This act talks about FCC requirements for a variety of organizations and buildings that utilize multi-line telephone systems, like those found in businesses, hospitals, and schools.

Ray Baum’s is named for the lawyer Ray Baum, who served on a congressional staff and advocated for the telecommunications industry throughout his career. Though he passed away in 2018, the act was named to honor his accomplishments in furthering telecommunications goals all over the country. 

What does the Ray Baum’s Act require?

The total act touches on a lot of topics involving communications standards, but what should interest you as one of the businesses listed above is Section 506. This section discusses emergency services mandates directed at the FCC to require organizations that use a MLTS to include a “dispatchable location.”

What is a dispatchable location?

According to the FCC, dispatchable location includes the “validated street address of the 911 calling party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the caller’s location.” Currently, when a student, patient, or office worker calls 911 on a phone that utilizes a MLTS, the 911 public safety answering point will receive the address that is registered with the system. Therefore, if a campus is made of multiple buildings, 911 would receive the registered address, which may not be the location of the caller. By requiring a dispatchable location, not only will 911 know the correct street address, but it will also receive the floor level and/or suite number.

Are you compliant?

To become compliant with Section 506 of the Ray Baum’s Act (and Kari’s Law for that matter), you can start by connecting with your 9-1-1 authority. If your business is located within the NCT9-1-1 service area, you can connect with us about Ray Baum’s compliance by visiting this resource page.