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KCEM Program - Initial certification
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Guidelines and Application: CriteriaApplication |
Fill in the appropriate form, save it to your computer. Send completed NEW/INITIAL KCEM applications by mail to email to:
Gary Middleton, KCEM |
Contact Gary with questions about initial certification. For information about re-certification, |
ATTENTION: The KCEM Guidelines were revised by the KEMA Board of Directors in November 2023. The revised edition will supersede any previous guidelines.
CRITERIA FOR INITIAL CERTIFICATION: (Below are the Guidelines Effective January 1, 2024. Current Guidelines can still be viewed above).
1. Formal Education: At least a High School Diploma or equivalent.
2. Employment Requirement: Applicant must currently be performing the functions of an emergency management professional staff position within the state of Kansas. This position may be with a public, private or non-profit organization or business – as a full or part-time employee or as an unpaid volunteer. A copy of the applicant’s current job description or a letter from the applicant’s employer describing the emergency management related functions the applicant is currently performing must accompany the application.
3. Experience:
a. General: At least two (2) years of emergency management experience.
- This experience may be either paid or unpaid and may be from any combination of governmental (local, state, or federal), private business, profit or non-profit organizations.
- This experience must be in a position responsible for some aspect of emergency management (including the specifics outlined below). A position held in an emergency response type agency (such as fire service, law enforcement, emergency medical service, health care professionals, or the military) will not be considered without the specific emergency management function documentation.
- On the application, the name of the supervisor(s) for these positions and current contact information must be included for verification purposes.
b. Specific: Within the experience outlined above, the following specific experience is required:
- Planning: Must have taken either the FEMA Emergency Management Institute’s (EMI) IS-235 Emergency Planning Course, IS-236 Introduction to Deliberate Planning, or IS-362.A: Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools. This may be in the classroom, online, or as an independent study course.
- Exercises: Must have taken the following EMI online courses: IS-120 - An Introduction to Exercises and IS-130 - Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning, plus attend the two courses conducted by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management titled, KS-132 - Exercise Design for Discussion Based Exercises and KS-133 - Exercise Design for Operations Based Exercises. May take the following three courses in lieu of the KS132 and KS133: E/L/K139: Exercise Design and Development, E/L0050: Exercise Control and Simulation, E/L/K0131: Exercise Evaluation and Improvement. Only versions taken after July 1, 2021 will be considered in lieu of the KS132 and KS133. In addition, applicants are required to participate in the design, execution, evaluation, and proposed improvement planning for at least two exercises within the past four-year period. Official documentation must be provided for the three exercise phases (planning, execution, and evaluation), such as sign-in rosters from planning meetings, a list of participating involved agencies, After Actions Report, and Improvement Plan meeting rosters. The applicant must also provide documentation of completion of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).
- Training: Shall have successfully completed the current National Incident Management System (NIMS) training requirements for the emergency management function. For further clarification on the current NIMS requirements for EMs, please contact the Chair for Initial Certifications.
- Professional Education/Training: In addition to the above training, the applicant must have completed within the eight (8) years immediately prior to application, at least eighty (80) hours of professional education and training related to emergency management. This may be classroom, home study, or internet classes and will be eligible for the number of contact hours listed on the course certificate or course list. Of the eighty (80) hours:
i) At least forty five (45) hours must be from the EMI/FEMA/DHS curriculum that is emergency management related, but not from the EMI radiological curriculum. Of those forty-five hours, the following required emergency management courses must be included: IS-230.e Fundamentals of Emergency Management; IS-240.a Leadership and Influence; IS-241.b Decision Making and Problem Solving; IS-242.b Effective Communication; IS-244.a Developing and Managing Volunteers; IS-2200 Basic Emergency Operations Center Functions.
ii) The remaining thirty-five (35) hours may include other EMI/FEMA/DHS curriculum hours and/or up-to thirty (30) hours non-EMI/FEMA/DHS emergency training (e.g., SARA Title III, fire service, law enforcement, weather service, etc.) and not more than twenty (20) hours from the EMI radiological curriculum.
Duplicate classes that contained updated/revised/modified information may be accepted at the discretion of the committee.
4. Sponsorship: All applicants seeking initial certification must obtain and include with their application a letter of sponsorship from a current KEMA Board Member.
5. The applicant will submit a short (paragraph) biographical description of career, training, and/or personal achievements, and may also include brief descriptions of hobbies and immediate family information. The bio must also include a head and shoulders photograph of the applicant.