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1.
Liability Considerations:
A. Administrative:
Up front planning and preparation will benefit you.
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Determine what you want to accomplish with CERT. What is the scope
of your program? After determining the goal and objectives of
your program, use these as your standards to achieve when training
your CERT members. What knowledge and skills do you want the participants
to have? When do you want them to apply these skills? What kind
of refresher training will you conduct? How involved will you
be in the organization and support of these teams? Will you facilitate
communication for the overall program? You will use these standards
to evaluate and modify your program. -Communicate these standards
frequently to CERT participants during training. Make sure they
understand the expectations and limitations of the program.
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Determine what information you need from the participants and
collect this information during Session I. Collection after the
fact is difficult and time consuming. Documentation of whom is
involved and what training they have received is essential in
protecting you and the CERT member.
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Determine what the participants need to sign to take part in the
training. (Sample below) Do this during the first session.
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Determine your jurisdiction/State's position on volunteers' involvement,
liability, and eligibility for worker compensation. Communicate
this information to participants during session I so that they
can make an informed decision about their involvement in the program.
(See Utah's Volunteer law below)
B. Expectations for Instructors:
Instructors should have a fundamental knowledge of instructing adults
and a clear understanding of what the participants need to accomplish
during their sessions. (See training expectation guidelines developed
by Utah for Sessions II through V below) Training should be fun,
yet focused. Instructors should believe in and want to be part of
the program. Instructor should concentrate on transferring only
the necessary skills outlined in the standards. CERT emphasizes
need to know skills and not nice to know. An instructor talking
about personal experiences does enrich the training, however, an
instructor must always remember that hands-on activity is the strength
of this training. Use instructional assistants during activities
to insure safety and to provide feedback to the participants.
Since CERT involves physical activity, the instructor should inform
the participant to consider their physical condition before taking
part in any activity. For instance, we do not want people with back
or heart problems lifting people in the Light Search and Rescue
session etc. Advise participants to use common sense and participate
as best they can. (Physical limitations should not preclude someone
from taking the training and participating as part of a CERT. Someone
with physical limitation can comfort people, work in the medical
treatment area, organize or document actions during a disaster.)
Instructors need to reinforce that during training or a disaster
rescuer safety is the highest priority.
The bottom line for the instructors is that they have demonstrated
the skill and guided the participants through a hands-on activity
using the skill.
C. Expectations of Participants:
Participants' need to operate within the standards of your program
and fully participate to the best of their ability in your initial
and refresher training. Participant need to complete all forms required
by your organization before taken part in Sessions II through VII.
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