<p>On nearly every call they take, someone is in the middle of a potentially life-altering emergency.</p>
<p>Local 911 dispatchers have heard people die while they are on the phone trying to help, they have talked people out of committing violent crimes and have talked people down from suicide.</p>
<p>A 911 dispatcher is charged with talking to people who are having the worst day of their lives. They must quickly and accurately send firefighters, police officers or paramedics to people in need. They have to get information that could help first responders once they arrive on the scene.</p>
<p>“We might not be in the field, but our influence is the first on the scene," said Heath Brant, 911 executive director of the Johnson County Public Safety Communications Center. “If we don’t do the things we do, field responders are going into situations that are much more dangerous."</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>In the eyes of state and federal law, 911 dispatchers are considered clerical or administrative workers.</p>
<p>Now, local, state and national officials are trying to change that.</p>
<p>"Clerical workers do not have to listen to this type of stuff," Brant said.</p>
<p>A federal bill is being considered and the state’s 911 board is looking to change how the job is categorized statewide too. Officials are pushing to categorize 911 dispatchers as first responders so they are entitled to the same pay, benefits and honor that comes with that designation.</p>
<p>U.S. Rep. Norma J. Torres (D-California) introduced the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 earlier this year. The bill would reclassify the jobs of 911 dispatchers to first responders.</p>
<p>Torres was a dispatcher when she took a 911 call from a young girl who was being beaten by her uncle. Over the course of the phone call, Torres heard the girl plead with her uncle not to kill her and then heard shots ring out as the little girl was shot, according to clips of Torres on the House of Representatives floor.</p>
<p>Separate versions of the bill have passed both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Now, federal committees will compile the two separate bills into one. At that point, it will go to President Donald Trump for consideration, which could happen at any time, said Dan Henry, director of government affairs for the National Emergency Number Association.</p>
<p>Indiana’s 911 board is working to educate local representatives, senators and communities with hopes of possibly getting a statewide initiative introduced that would also reclassify the job here, said Ed Reuter, executive director of the state’s 911 board.</p>
<p>911 dispatchers are helping people in the midst of a crisis and frequently hear people being killed or dying by suicide, which can cause post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, Reuter said.</p>
<p>Dispatchers deserve to be called first responders, he said.</p>
<p>"They are kind of the unsung heroes of public safety," Reuter said.</p>
<p>Texas was the first state to pass its own state law to reclassify the job, and training companies that certify 911 dispatchers are also pushing for the change. The reclassification could come with more benefits for dispatchers and costs to the state, which is why educating lawmakers about the importance of the job and what dispatchers encounter is important, Reuter said.</p>
<p>Part of the push to reclassify the job is so dispatchers can make more money. Brant used the national push during county budget hearings earlier this fall to argue for higher raises for local dispatchers.</p>
<p>Locally, 38 people work as full-time dispatchers in the Johnson County Communications Center. The average pay is between $42,000 and $45,000 annually.</p>
<p>Indiana law does not require dispatchers who work in the state to have certifications, but local dispatchers together complete 3,000 hours of training annually, with each dispatcher required to take 24 hours of continuing education training every year. New dispatchers go through months of training, Brant said.</p>
<p>Dispatch workers have similar post traumatic stress disorder rates as fire fighters, police officers and EMTs, and deserve the same kind of pay and protection as those workers, Brant said.</p>
<p>The idea that 911 dispatchers are clerical was appropriate when 911 became live in early 1968, Brant said.</p>
<p>The first 911 calls were to the secretary in the office of the police department. The secretary would then call an officer who would go to the scene. More serious calls were simply radioed in to police officers who would deal with the situation, Brant said.</p>
<p>Technology has morphed and changed to the point that dispatchers now have more responsibility. Advanced technology, such as video calls, could be coming that would make the job even more difficult, Brant said.</p>
<p>"The tasks they are being asked to do," he said. "It is becoming more and more important."</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="At a glance" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>Here is the language of H.R. 1629, which is a bill that would reclassify the jobs of 911 dispatchers from clerical/administrative to first responder.</p>
<p>The act is nicknamed the 911 Saves Act.</p>
<p>Congress finds the following:</p>
<p>(1) Public Safety Telecommunicators play a critical role in emergency response.</p>
<p>(2) The work Public Safety Telecommunicators perform goes far beyond merely relaying information between the public and first responders.</p>
<p>(3) When responding to reports of missing, abducted and sexually exploited children, the information obtained and actions taken by Public Safety Telecommunicators form the foundation for an effective response.</p>
<p>(4) When a hostage taker or suicidal person calls 9–1–1, the first contact is with the Public Safety Telecommunicator whose negotiation skills can prevent the situation from getting worse.</p>
<p>(5) During active shooter incidents, Public Safety Telecommunicators coach callers through first aid and give advice to prevent further harm, all while collecting vital information to provide situational awareness for responding officers.</p>
<p>(6) And when police officers, firefighters, and Emergency Medical Technicians are being shot at, their calls for help go to Public Safety Telecommunicators.</p>
<p>(7) They are often communicating with people in great distress, harm, fear, or injury, while employing their experience and training to recognize a critical piece of information.</p>
<p>(8) In fact, there have been incidents in which Public Safety Telecommunicators, recognizing the sound of a racked shotgun, have prevented serious harm or death of law enforcement officers who would have otherwise walked into a trap.</p>
<p>(9) This work comes with an extreme emotional and physical impact that is compounded by long hours and the around-the-clock nature of the job.</p>
<p>(10) Indeed, research has suggested that Public Safety Telecommunicators are exposed to trauma that may lead to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder.</p>
<p>(11) Recognizing the risks associated with exposure to traumatic events, some agencies provide Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) teams to lessen the psychological impact and accelerate recovery for Public Safety Telecommunicators and first responders, alike.</p>
<p>(12) The Standard Occupational Classification system is designed and maintained solely for statistical purposes, and is used by federal statistical agencies to classify workers and jobs into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, analyzing, or disseminating data.</p>
<p>(13) Occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification are classified based on work performed and, in some cases, on the skills, education, or training needed to perform the work.</p>
<p>(14) Classifying Public Safety Telecommunicators as Protective Service Occupations would correct an inaccurate representation in the Standard Occupational Classification, recognize these professionals for the lifesaving work they perform, and better align the Standard Occupational Classification with related classification systems.</p>
<p>SEC. 3. Review of Standard Occupational Classification System.</p>
<p>The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, categorize Public Safety Telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification System.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
