New Jersey Emergency Management Association

Recertification​

Recertification is required every four years.   Documentation must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of an NJCEM certificate, so as to allow for a proper review of the submission and to assure no lapse in certification for the individual applying.

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Recertification:

• 50 training hours during the certification period (4-year cycle).

• 3 professional contributions during the certification period (4-year cycle).

• Maintain active membership with an emergency management professional association (i.e. NJEMA)

 

***Reciprocity Applicant

Provide proof of current certification as an IAEM CEM® (certificate or award letter).

 

                                  

1. Training

• Please reference the IAEM CEM training allocation table USA for approved training courses.

• NOTE: Items used for training cannot be used as a contribution in the same application.

 

2. Professional Contributions (at least 3 different contributions of the options below)

1.    Emergency Management Conferences. The candidate must have attended two emergency management conferences. There is no specific length of time that the conference must be. However, the applicant must provide proof of attendance rather than just registration. Proof can be demonstrated with a certificate of attendance from the conference provider.

2.    Leadership Role. The leadership role validates a candidate’s demonstrated work in a leadership activity supporting emergency management. This role typically takes the form of committee chair or task force leader, or supervisor of a committee, organization or program tasked with supporting an emergency management-related activity. The activity cannot be a normal role or function of the candidate, as identified in the job descriptions that the candidate must provide with his or her application packet. An example of a leadership role might be assessor team leader on an EMAP on-site assessment, CERT team leader, or chairperson of the steering committee for hazard mitigation plan update.

3.    Active member of Emergency Management Committee. The candidate must submit a letter or other certifying official document from the jurisdiction/agency to verify that the member is active.

4.    Service Role. The service role validates a candidate’s demonstrated work in a service activity supporting emergency management. This role typically takes the form of committee member, task force member, volunteer or employee in an activity related to emergency management. The activity cannot be a role or function of the candidate, as identified in the job descriptions that the candidate must provide with his or her application packet. Examples could include EMAP assessor, exercise role player, or volunteer with the Red Cross, Salvation Army or a faith-based organization supporting emergency management activities. Additionally, volunteering at an emergency management conference could meet this requirement.

5.    Speaking Engagements. The candidate must deliver a speaking engagement of a minimum of 30 minutes or more on topics related to emergency or disaster management. Speaking about fire prevention, crime prevention or first aid does not meet the spirit of the requirement. Documentation to validate the activities include letters from a supervisor or sponsoring organization leader; the letter should clearly name the candidate as having completed the speaking activity, the duration, dates, locations, subject matter, outline, photos, videos, or other modes showing that the candidate did perform the activity. The speaking engagements can be professional groups, church groups, public or professional. 

6.    Platform Teacher for Training. A candidate must complete training or instructing a course of three hours of platform speaking time, which must be validated with a letter or letters from the sponsoring organization or a candidate’s supervisor on official letterhead. Technician-type training, such as CPR, PPE, fire service, HazMat, or similar training, is not acceptable. Emergency management, disaster or incident command training would be examples of acceptable training to meet this requirement. The validation letter or letters should identify dates, locations, and subject matter, and should clearly identify the candidate’s name as having performed this activity. Additional documentation may include pamphlets, brochures, newspaper, or newsletter articles. Class outlines or payroll sheets can help to meet this requirement. The candidate may use more than one course of instruction; however, the total teaching time must equal or exceed three hours of platform instruction.

7.    Course Development. The candidate must design or make a significant revision to an emergency management course of at least three hours of instruction. A PowerPoint presentation with the candidate’s name alone will not meet the requirement of course development. Acceptable documentation may include letters from a supervisor or sponsoring organization, course syllabus and lesson plan, which clearly shows a time commitment and candidate relationship to the development of the course, and that the course is clearly emergency management related.

8.    Awards. The candidate must have received the award directly related to emergency management.  Awards given to the candidate by an organization or program external to the candidate’s agency, which rise to a level which exceeds employee of the month or “attaboy/attagirl” letters, can meet this standard. The award must be given to the individual and not a group of employees. The FEMA Professional Development series does not satisfy this requirement. Adequate supporting documentation must be provided to describe the submission, and supporting letters of attestation from a supervisor, manager or sponsor on official organization stationery must be provided. Examples of this contribution include, but are not limited to, state emergency management awards and volunteer agency awards.

9.    Emergency Management Article. The candidate must write and have published a substantive article (content or word count), pertaining to disaster or emergency management. The article must have an independent editorial review and be published in a document that is beyond the control of the candidate. Examples of this are the IAEM Bulletin, the monthly newsletter published by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), the Journal of Emergency Management, or other similar professional publications that rise above the level of staff documents, internal reports, or flyers. Documentation to validate this attestation would include a copy of the article or letter from a supervisor or sponsoring organization identifying publication date, independent editorial review process, candidate’s participation (primary authorship or secondary) and circulation figures.

10.    Plan Writing. The candidate has written and/or is the signer of an Emergency Support Function or annex document in an approved Emergency Operations Plan. The candidate may also be the author of an approved Continuity of Operations / Business Continuity Plan. Proof of this contribution can be the signature page from the respective document clearly showing name and signature of the candidate. If the candidate is not the signer but was the writer, the candidate would need a letter from the plan signer on official letterhead verifying that the candidate in fact wrote the plan.

11.    FEMA Applicant Briefing. The candidate must have attended a FEMA applicant briefing for a Federally declared disaster. Proof of this contribution may include a copy of the sign in sheet for such a briefing or a signed letter from the State or Federal person delivering the briefing.

12.    Exercise Planning Team for Operations-Based Exercise. Applicant has been on the exercise planning team for an operations-based exercise (drill, functional exercise, full-scale exercise). Proof of this contribution can include exercise documents bearing the candidate’s name.

13.    All Hazard Position Specific Training. The candidate must have completed the All-Hazards Incident Management Team (O305) or any other ICS position specific course. If this certificate is used as a contribution, the course hours may not be applied as training in the same application.

14.    DRI International Continuity Certification. The candidate has any continuity related individual certification from DRI International.

15.    Legislative Contact. The candidate contacts an elected representative at the national or state level (in writing), either by e-mail or letter, and discusses an emergency management related issue. Some subject examples might be Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG), Hazard Mitigation Grants, Homeland Security Grants related to emergency management activities or other issues, such as communications interoperability, warning coordination, evacuation planning, or special needs populations in emergencies or disasters. In order to qualify, the documentation must include both the candidate’s letter or e-mail to the elected official and the response from the elected official.

16.    FEMA Professional Development Series (PDS) Certificate. The candidate must have completed the seven required FEMA Independent Study courses for the PDS program. Proof for this contribution must be the FEMA PDS certificate itself. If this certificate is used as a contribution, the course hours may not be applied as training in the same application.

17.    FEMA Advanced Professional Series (APS) Certificate. The candidate must have completed the required and elective courses for the FEMA APS program. Proof of this contribution must be the FEMA APS certificate itself. If this certificate is used as a contribution, the course hours may not be applied as training in the same application.

18.    FEMA Emergency Management Professional Programs. The candidate must have completed the FEMA National Emergency Management Advanced or Executive Academy. If this certificate is used as a contribution, the course hours may not be applied as training in the same application.

19.    Emergency Management Social Media Content Manager. The candidate must be one of the people responsible for the emergency management social media page (i.e., Facebook, Twitter). Proof of this contribution can be demonstrated by providing a screen shot of the administrator page of the social media platform showing the candidate’s name as an “admin.”

20.    Audiovisual Contributions. Audiovisual contributions are movies, videos, films, radio interviews, training CDs and similar submissions. This category of contribution may be part of a candidate’s regular job functions, based upon the job descriptions provided by the candidate. No formally defined time requirement has been established in support of this requirement. However, in the past, 10–20-minute short subject videos (pertaining to emergency management activities) have been successfully validated in this category. A PowerPoint presentation does not meet the spirit of this standard. Adequate supporting documentation must be provided to describe the submission, and supporting letters of attestation from a supervisor, manager or sponsor on official organization stationery must be provided.

21.    Other. Other is the “wild card” of professional contributions. This category is broad and generalized by design to afford the candidate the maximum range of flexibility in citing his or her contribution. An example would be an assignment on a disaster response in another jurisdiction. Another example might be significant involvement in a comprehensive emergency management project. Adequate documentation typically includes letters from supervisors, managers or supporting organizational heads on official agency letterhead that explain or describe the work completed or that the candidate was involved in. Photographs, video segments and newspaper articles also may validate the candidate’s participation. In order to receive credit for the professional contribution, suitable documentation must be present, not just a telephone number.

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3. Application Fee ​

• Prior to expiration: $50 for NJEMA members; $250 for non-NJEMA members.

• After expiration: $100 for NJEMA members; $350 for non-NJEMA members. 

• Upon submission of your application, you will receive an emailed invoice.  Your application will not be reviewed until payment is received.