Rationale:
Emergency PIOs are responsible for ensuring that the
affected public receives accurate and timely information
during an emergency. Armed with good information, people
are better able to make good decisions and, by doing so,
contribute to the overall response goal of saving lives
and protecting property.
Some PIOs tasked with planning for, developing, and
disseminating emergency public information at the State,
tribal, and local levels bear this considerable
responsibility concurrently with other job assignments.
Others may have had limited prior experience or training
in public information techniques. These PIOs,
especially, must be provided with the opportunity to
learn and practice the skills they will use on the job.
The PIO Awareness Course (G289) is
designed to acquaint participants with the concepts
underlying the PIO role. Taken alone, this course can
provide a basic understanding of the PIO function for
those new to the position. Additionally, this training
is a prerequisite and foundation for more advanced
training that takes participants from the awareness
level to the mastery level in their public information
careers.
Course
Goal:
This course will orient the participants to the public
information function and the role of the PIO in the
public safety/emergency management environment.
Additionally, this training will prepare participants
for subsequent training to further develop their PIO
skills. |
Target
Audience:
The primary audience for this training is CAP Public
Affairs Officers and CAP Public Information Officers.
A secondary audience for this
training includes individuals who would benefit from a
general understanding of the emergency public
information function. This audience would include
members with responsibilities that would necessitate
their working with PIOs or the news media during an
emergency incident such as Incident Commanders and CAP
Corporate Officers.
Course
Strategy:
The 1-day Public Information Officer Awareness Course
will use interactive presentation to convey information
and engage the participants in learning.
Course
Objectives:
At the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Define emergency public
information and the PIO function.
- Describe how written products
are used to support public information activities.
- Describe how the PIO can work
effectively with the news media to communicate
emergency public information.
- Apply basic PIO skills to
public awareness campaigns.
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