Denis Gusty

Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

Text-to-911

2016 IJIS Mid-Year Briefing

15 September 2016

DHS

First Responders Group

Science and Technology Directorate

(Less Resilient Alerting Components)

National Public Warning System

IPAWS Program Architecture

Alert Aggregator/ Gateways

IPAWS OPEN

FEMA PEP StationsPresident • XM Sirius Radio• NPR• Premier Radio Networks

FEMA Operations

Centers

Text-to-911 Text-to-911 is intended to alert first responders when:

o An individual is hearing or speech impaired

o There is not enough signal to establish a voice call

o A voice call could draw undue attention to the victim and

escalate an already dangerous situation such as domestic abuse

or kidnapping

Of the more than 6,000 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs),

approximately 10% are currently capable of receiving Text-to-911

28 million people (approximately 9% of the population) are identified

as LEP (Limited English Proficiency)

Spring 2015, DHS S&T recognized an additional need to address

Text-to-911 for the LEP community

LEP Text-to-911

Goal: Provide nationally relevant translation capabilities to be used by PSAPs to obtain accurate text information from LEP users

June 2015, DHS received

proposals for this capability

Project initiated Feb 23, 2016

Cooperative Agreement

DHS Responder Technologies (R-Tech) entered into a cooperative agreement with the IJIS Institute to create standards and methodologies to address Text-to-911 requests from individuals in LEP communities

The IJIS Institute has partnered with the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT) and Cyracom Language Solutions to generate these standards and methodologies

Produce governance and standards

Produce scripts to handle Text-to-911 interactions

Conduct tests in 12 pilot PSAP sites

Major Accomplishments

Executive Committee formed

o Federal Agencies, National Associations, Industry Associations, National Coordinators

National Association of 911 Administrators

Department of Transportation, National 911 Program Office

NG9-1-1 Institute

State Coordinator Virginia Department of Emergency Management

AT&T

Motorola

Governance Plan crafted

Major Accomplishments

Technical Working Group formedo Public Safety Practitioners and Solution Providers

Hexagon

Hitech Systems

TriTech Software Systems

Priority Dispatch

Comtech

West Public Safety

ESRI

Zetron

Airbus DS Comm

Verizon

AT&T

Motorola Solutions

Major Accomplishments

Operations Working Group formedo PSAPs and Public Safety Practitioners

National Association of EMS Officials (NEMA), Representative

Butler County PA Emergency Services 911, Coordinator

National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC), Outreach and Technical Services Coordinator

Michigan Public Safety Communications System (MPSCS), Director

Emergency Communications Department Monroe County NY 911 Center, Emergency Communications Supervisor

Questions?