John Jokantas
HANCOCK COUNTY — Indiana requires people to undergo minimum training before they can work in a variety of professions. Law enforcement officers, auctioneers and nail technicians are just a few.
The state did not, however, mandate such preparation for those picking up the phone on the other end of a 911 call. That is, until a law recently went into effect authored by a state senator representing Hancock County with the help of the county’s 911 director.
The new law requires 911 centers to establish a basic training program for their public safety telecommunicators by the end of 2023. Among the minimum requirements for such programs are a basic 40-hour telecommunicator course as well as courses in incident management, information systems that aid law enforcement, and how to guide someone through CPR over the phone.
Indiana Sen. Michael Crider, R-Greenfield, authored the legislation with help from John Jokantas, Hancock County 911 director.
Jokantas said the concept of mandatory minimum training for public safety telecommunicators has been kicked around for years in Indiana until recently getting the push it needed. He and 911 leaders in the other “doughnut” counties around Marion County speak regularly, he continued, adding that when he asked them what they thought of mandatory training, they all responded with support.
“They’re kind of my sounding board, and we work very well together,” Jokantas said, adding the cause started picking up more support across the state after that.
Hancock County’s 911 center and many others throughout Indiana already fulfill the minimum training requirements outlined in the law, Jokantas said.
“It’s really just to set those minimum standards,” he said. “…We’re setting that initial standard, saying, ‘This is where we want everybody to be by the end of 2023.’”
With all of the support in mind, Jokantas approached Crider about drafting a bill, and the senator was receptive.
Jokantas noted how the classes listed in the law can be taken online and that the Indiana Statewide 911 Board already pays for public safety telecommunicators to take them, and more classes as well.
“One of the biggest goals was to not make it an unfunded mandate,” Jokantas said.
The law also requires public safety telecommunicators to take 24 hours of continuing education training each year.
“That’s going to force everybody to continue their education, continue developing within their profession,” Jokantas said.
Hancock County already requires 18 hours of continuing education a year — a mark Jokantas said most employees hit by summer, so he doesn’t see six more hours being problematic.
“We want our team to continue to grow. We want our team to be able to serve this community like they deserve to be served,” he said.
The law doesn’t list specific classes for continuing education but rather gives 911 centers the ability to choose how to accomplish the requirement. They can pursue training that’s specific to their own areas, as Hancock County does, Jokantas said. He added the 911 center is able to accomplish that during employees’ regular work hours, preserving the overtime budget.
“The biggest thing was to have as little financial impact as possible on the agencies,” Jokantas said.
He acknowledged there’s no formal monitoring to ensure 911 centers follow the new law. Other motivators exist, however, like the possibility of an incident involving a 911 center spurring a lawsuit leading to questions over whether the law’s requirements are met.
“And if you can’t prove it, it’s not going to look good for you,” Jokantas said.
Before becoming a state senator, Crider worked with public safety telecommunicators often throughout his 30-year career as a conservation officer.
“I think Hancock County has always been blessed with outstanding dispatchers,” Crider said. “They do a great job and they already exceed the requirements we’re asking for, but the desire was really to establish that statewide and ensure those folks are well-trained and ready to take the public’s calls for help and the public safety folks that they serve.”
Also heavily involved in the legislation was Heath Brant, 911 executive director for Johnson County Public Safety Communications, and Ty Wooten, director of government affairs for the Salt Lake City-based International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and former Hancock County 911 director.
“When anybody calls 911, they expect the person on the other end of the phone is going to be well-trained at their job because lives are on the line,” Brant said.
Wooten echoed that notion.
“People call us on their absolute worst days, and they need to know that the folks who are answering the calls and sending out the help have been trained,” he said. “I would venture to say that most people in the state of Indiana would be surprised to know that there was no minimum training requirements for 911 telecommunicators. So we’re just bringing that ability to ensure that equity across the board.”
Wooten added that the recent law makes Indiana the 33rd state in the nation to have mandatory minimum training for public safety telecommunicators.
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law earlier this month after no nay votes in either the Indiana Senate or House of Representatives.
