N.J. Admin. Code § 17:24-2.2

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024

Section 17:24-2.2 - PSAP: required and recommended staffing

(a) Each PSAP shall be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

(b) Each PSAP shall, at all times, be staffed with the number of call-takers necessary to permit the PSAP to answer all calls within 10 seconds, except that during the average busiest hour 10 percent of the calls may be answered within 20 seconds.

(c) Each call-taker and dispatcher position in a PSAP, except as provided in (d) below, shall be staffed by a person certified by OETS as qualified on the basis of the following:

1. Current certification in a Basic Training Course approved by the Commission consisting of either:

i. A Basic Training Course approved by the Commission, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following topics:

(1) Interpersonal Communications;

(2) Telecommunicator Role in Public Safety;

(3) Overview of the Police Function;

(4) Overview of the Fire Function;

(5) Overview of the EMS Function;

(6) Public Safety Telecommunications Systems;

(7) Radio Broadcasting Rules and Procedures;

(8) Public Safety Records Systems;

(9) Telephone Techniques;

(10) Enhanced 9-1-1 Systems and Operating Procedures; and

(11) Telecommunicator Legal Issues; or

ii. Past certification in the APCO Institute 24 Hour Public Safety Telecommunicator Basic Training Course for New Jersey, which was a course developed by the Associated Public Safety Communications Officers' Institute that was adapted to provide training in unique features of the New Jersey 9-1-1 emergency enhanced telecommunications network and system and was approved by OETS, if the call-taker either:

(1) Demonstrated to OETS that he or she has had 320 hours of work experience as a call-taker or public safety dispatcher in a local emergency telecommunications center in New Jersey prior to the local center's implementation of the 9-1-1 system; or

(2) Obtained a determination from OETS that a public safety telecommunicators basic training course, which the person had successfully completed, provided training that, when supplemented with the APCO Institute 24 Hour Public Safety Telecommunicator Basic Training Course for New Jersey, will be substantially equivalent to the APCO Institute 40 Hour Public Safety Telecommunicator Basic Training Course for New Jersey;

2. Successful completion of annual in-service training during each year of service following initial certification, consisting of an 8-hour program developed by the local PSAP and approved by OETS to address technical developments and improve the provision of 9-1-1 services;

3. Except for a call-taker or dispatcher in a PSAP that directly transfers emergency medical service calls to another agency that is staffed by emergency medical PSDP personnel who meet the requirements of this paragraph and (c)4 below, current certification CPR training approved by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services;

4. Except for a call-taker or dispatcher in a PSAP that directly transfers emergency medical service calls to another agency that is staffed by emergency medical PSDP personnel who meet the requirements of this paragraph and (c)3 above, and unless the person meets the requirements of (c)1ii(1) above, current certification in an Emergency Medical Dispatch Training Course approved by the Commission which utilizes Emergency Medical Dispatch Guidecards approved by the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services, Office of Emergency Medical Services, meets ASTM Standard F 1552-94, and follows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Emergency Medical Dispatch, National Standard Curriculum; and

5. Except for a call-taker or dispatcher in a PSAP that directly transfers emergency medical service calls to another agency that is staffed by emergency medical PSDP personnel who meet the requirements of (c)3 and 4 above, call-takers and dispatchers who meet the requirements of (c)1ii(1) above shall:

i. Become certified, prior to December 2002, in a 24 Hour Emergency Medical Dispatch Training Course approved by the Commission specifically for individuals meeting the requirement of (c)1ii(1) above which utilizes Emergency Medical Dispatch Guidecards approved by the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services, meets ASTM Standard F 1552-94, and follows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Emergency Medical Dispatch, National Standard Curriculum; and

ii. Shall be exempt from the requirement of (c)2 above from the date of completing the training required in (c)5i above until December 2003.

(d) Persons who are not certified as provided in (c) above may be utilized to substitute for a certified call-taker or dispatcher under the following circumstances:

1. A certified call-taker or dispatcher is scheduled for duty but unavailable due to illness or an emergency. Substitute call-takers or dispatchers are not to be used for coverage for meal breaks or other routine scheduled breaks; and

2. The person is one who meets the following requirements:

i. Has successfully completed the U.S. Department of Transportation's "First Responders: Emergency Medical Care Training Course," or "Crash Injury Management for Traffic Law Enforcement Officers" or "EMT Course";

ii. Has a current CPR certification in a program approved by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services;

iii. Has successfully completed an eight-hour introductory course on the New Jersey 9-1-1 emergency enhanced telecommunications system which has been prepared by the local PSAP and approved by OETS; and

iv. Has successfully completed annual in-service training during each year of service following completion of the introductory course on the New Jersey 9-1-1 emergency enhanced telecommunications system, consisting of an eight-hour program developed by the local PSAP and approved by OETS to address technical developments and improve the provision of 9-1-1 services.

(e) A PSAP serving a municipality identified by the most recent census as having a non-English speaking population of greater than five percent of the population, shall either:

1. Have a language interpreter available at the PSAP; or

2. Have a language interpreter immediately available, under contract, by telephone conference call.

(f) The following PSAP call-taker and dispatcher training is recommended but not required for PSAPs that directly transfer emergency medical calls to another agency that is staffed by emergency medical PSDP personnel who meet the requirements of (c)3 and 4 above:

1. A current AHA, ARC or NSC CPR certification; and

2. Current certification in an Emergency Medical Dispatch Course approved by the Commission which utilizes Emergency Medical Dispatch Guidecards approved by the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services, Office of Emergency Medical Services, meets ASTM Standard F 1552-94, and follows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Emergency Medical Dispatch, National Standard Curriculum.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:24-2.2

Amended by R.1991 d.124, effective 3/4/1991.
See: 22 N.J.R. 3453(a), 23 N.J.R. 704(b).
Amended by R.2000 d.350, effective 8/21/2000.
See: 32 N.J.R. 1912(a), 32 N.J.R. 3174(b).
Rewrote the section.
Amended by R.2011 d.114, effective 4/18/2011.
See: 42 N.J.R. 2598(a), 43 N.J.R. 1043(a).
In (c)3, deleted "in American Heart Association (AHA), American Red Cross (ARC), or National Safety Council (NSC)" following "certification", and inserted "approved by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services"; and in (d)2ii, deleted "ARC, NSC, or AHA" following "current", and inserted "in a program approved by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services".