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Ohio Credentialing System is Meant to Aid Disaster Response
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – An Ohio program intended to strengthen disaster response is adding a credentialing system to make it easier for certain private-sector partners to deliver supplies and medication in restricted areas during an emergency.
Officials say participating private-sector partners will be vetted by Ohio Homeland Security. Then law enforcement officers controlling access to a disaster area will be able to use a shared database to verify credentials for people associated with those partners.
The state’s public safety director is scheduled to discuss the credentialing and other efforts Tuesday in Cleveland at a regional meeting for the Ohio Public Private Partnership, known as OP3.
It was created in 2013 to boost cooperation and help get things back to normal after an emergency. It now includes about 175 businesses, government agencies, colleges and associations.