Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Q. Where do you get your funding for the C-CERT Train-the-Trainer program? A. Effective October 1, 2005, MSU was awarded a two-year, competitive training grant for $1,539,461 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Grants & Training (currently organized as Training and Exercise Integration/Training Operations or TEI/TO) to develop and deliver the C-CERT program. It was designated in the federal grant management system as Award #2005-T5-K012. The project was awarded a no-cost extension until Sept. 30, 2008. A new, continuation grant (Award #2008-GT-T8-K010) for $300,000 was awarded to MSU to continue the project for at least one more year, until September 30, 2009. Q. What is the cost to attend the C-CERT Train-the-Trainer program? A. This program is offered at no cost in terms of tuition or registration fees. Morning coffee service/continental breakfasts, lunches and afternoon refreshments are provided on site, generally subsidized by either the host institution, or the state Citizen Corps/Homeland Security program, or through funding from some other appropriate source as arranged in advance. The grant does not cover reimbursement for travel, lodging or per diem for trainees. In some states, the state administrative agency (SAA) for homeland security grants, or the state’s Citizen Corps/CERT program, or local emergency management programs may be able to provide reimbursement for eligible travel expenses for this DHS-approved course. Please check the policy in your state. Q. Will I be a “certified” CERT trainer if I complete this C-CERT program? A. Trainees who successfully complete all three days of the C-CERT Train-the-Trainer program will receive a Certificate of Completion, and should have the necessary skills and tools to conduct CERT training. The program does not, however, convey any professional certification, licensing, or credentialing as a CERT instructor. At this time, DHS-FEMA does not yet have such a system of standards or criteria developed for formal CERT instructor certification or “Master Instructor” program. Each state has its own approach or system for instructor certification. However, FEMA may implement a national standard CERT Train-the- Trainer curriculum or instructor certification program at a later time. Q. Will I be qualified to teach CERT to other groups outside the college campus environment if I complete this program? A. According to the national CERT director, someone who completes this Campus CERT T-t-T successfully should be qualified and able to train, or assist with training, CERT to almost any other group. However, some states have adopted more restrictive standards. Please consult the Citizen Corps/CERT director for your state. Q. I don’t have any experience as a police officer, firefighter, or EMT. Even after I complete this C-CERT T-t-T, I won’t have the confidence or competence to train people in many of the skill areas included in the standard CERT curriculum. Is it really worthwhile for me to attend? A. This is a common concern. However, the guidance of the national CERT program, and our approach, is to encourage CERT trainers to use local subject matter experts—professionals from the various public safety disciplines, from the American Red Cross, or other agencies—to assist them in teaching any units that the primary trainer is not confident about teaching. The C-CERT program manager or “instructor of record” needs to provide oversight and guidance for those “adjunct faculty” with the course content and objectives, and monitor to ensure that they keep to the CERT curriculum. It is not expected or even advisable that an individual CERT trainer should personally teach every unit in the curriculum. Q. I know that I’ll be issued a C-CERT backpack with personal protective equipment (PPE) in the class, but when I go back to my institution to start a Campus CERT team, it will be too costly to purchase the backpacks and equipment for my team. Can this grant help? A. Unfortunately, we cannot provide additional C-CERT backpack kits or other training equipment and supplies beyond what is issued to each person who attends the C-CERT T-t-T class. Trainees will be exposed to ideas, recommendations or options in class for how to obtain funding for equipping and training C-CERT teams, but the available funding sources and amounts will vary for each institution or state. Q. Will you provide me with CERT Participant Manuals to train my Campus CERT team through this grant? A. No. Everyone who attends our C-CERT T-t-T program will be issued one copy of the standard CERT Instructor Guide (IG 317) and a copy of our new Campus Annex to the Instructor Guide. The complete CERT Participant Manual (PM-317), along with PowerPoint slides and video-clip visual aids, are available for downloading from the CERT Web site. The cost of printing or duplicating the Participant Manuals should be a relatively modest cost which most schools can absorb as a matching investment. If not, the Campus Annex and C-CERT Web site offer ideas for seeking other funds to help with Campus CERT training and equipment. These include seeking other federal or state grants, alumni donations, foundation grants, or conducting special fund-raising activities and projects on campus. Q. Can we send students to this C-CERT Train-the-Trainer program? A. That may be appropriate in some cases, but the focus of this grant is to train C-CERT trainers or program managers—campus personnel, or local public safety officials who serve college campuses in their jurisdiction—who will go back and train Campus CERT teams, or teach CERT as a college course for credit or for continuing adult education. It is not designed to teach basic CERT to prospective Campus CERT team members. Basic CERT courses are widely available from other sources around the country. Q. Why doesn’t this grant help pay for personnel or overtime costs associated with implementing and administering Campus CERT teams? A. The purpose of this grant is to provide C-CERT trainers with the skills and resources needed to go back to their institutions and recruit, train, and lead Campus CERT teams. Presumably, most C-CERT trainers and supervisors will be current campus personnel or local public safety personnel. To make this program truly sustainable so that it would not disappear once the grant funding runs out (as it will!), each participating institution must make a matching investment in administrative time, or rely on help from volunteers. It is simply not within the scope, purpose or ability of this grant to provide reimbursement for full or part-time personnel to administer Campus CERT teams, or for contracting with local CERT instructors. Q. What other resources will be made available through this grant to assist my institution with implementing Campus CERT? A. A variety of other resources will be made available through the C-CERT Web site at www.c-cert.msu.edu, and through the DHS-FEMA, Citizen Corps, and CERT Web sites. These resources will include: a PDF version of the Campus Annex to the CERT Instructor Guide a test bank of objective (i.e., multiple-choice, true-false) CERT test items that trainers may draw from to design tests for their CERT classes sample syllabi for teaching CERT as an academic course for credit or as a noncredit adult education course for CEUs links to useful Web sites and official documents links to articles, papers, reports, training opportunities, best practices and lessons learned about Campus CERT supplementary or specialized C-CERT modules such as using Campus CERT teams for crowd management or traffic control, fire alarms, building evacuations, etc. templates for drills, tabletop exercises and other activities relating to Campus CERT scenarios or issues

This project is supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 2008-GT-T8-K010 administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Points of view or opinions in this document do not represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.