About Us

The manner in which 911 services are provided throughout Colorado varies. 911 call centers are largely run at the local level, and as local resources differ, so does the level of service that’s offered by local entities. For instance, while all 911 call centers in Colorado provide enhanced 911 for landlines (2020: the state is currently undergoing a transition from the legacy 911 network to a statewide ESInet), not all call centers provide wireless enhanced 911, the ability to locate cell phone 911 callers by latitude and longitude. Some public safety answering points (PSAPs) are operated independently of the agencies for which they dispatch. Others are departments within those agencies. Some are multi-disciplinary, dispatching for police, fire, and EMS. Others are not. Some have state-of-the-art equipment, while others make do with what they have. The one thing they all have in common is that while the public safety dispatch centers of Colorado are run locally, they need to work together to accomplish their missions effectively, and they need to be run by individuals well-informed about upcoming issues, technologies, and legislation affecting their industry.

The Colorado 911 Resource Center exists to support those 911 professionals keeping the public and public safety responders of Colorado safe. It does this by creating a statewide information database and clearinghouse where 911 professionals can learn about current issues, how other authorities and PSAPs do business, see sample policies and organizational documents, and make their voices heard.

One of the primary purposes of the Resource Center is to facilitate communication and collaboration between 911 professionals and policy makers in Colorado. This is done through a variety of media, including a comprehensive website, newsletters, email lists, a Colorado 911 blog, and regional meetings. Specifically, the Colorado 911 Resource Center website (www.co911rc.org) contains information concerning upcoming public safety communication-related training and meeting opportunities, grant and funding information, and general information for 911 professionals.

In addition to these services, the Resource Center produces research into 911 issues at the request of Colorado 911 professionals, can assist in communication with vendors, telecommunications providers, and legislators, and advocates for the improvement of 911 services with state and federal agencies and elected officials.  Additional training for 911 dispatchers hosted by the Resource Center is also planned.

The Colorado 911 Resource Center is a nonprofit agency created by order of the Public Utilities Commission to provide assistance to 911 authorities and public safety answering points throughout the state. The members of the Resource Center’s Board of Directors are elected from the membership of the Public Utilities Commission 911 Task Force. This ensures that the Resource Center’s direction is represented by stakeholders with a thorough understanding of Colorado’s public safety communications issues.

The Colorado 9-1-1 Resource Center is an independent nonprofit 501(c)3 private foundation. The Colorado 9-1-1 Resource Center is not a state 9-1-1 coordination office and does not have legal authority over the operation or provision of 9-1-1 services in the state of Colorado.

Projects and Services 

The Resource Center has a lot of projects and ongoing services.  Here is a list of some of our major initiatives.

Ongoing Services and Tasks

• Meet with local 9-1-1 Authority Boards to keep open the channels of communication.

• Attend and bring back information from national meetings, disseminating this information to Colorado's 9-1-1 professionals:

  • Association of Public Safety Communications Officials Annual Conference

  • National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators

  • National Emergency Number Association Annual Conference

  • National Emergency Number Association 9-1-1 Goes to Washington

  • National Emergency Number Association Technical and Operational Development Committees

• Attend regular business meetings and annual conference of the state chapters of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials and the National Emergency Number Association. 

• Attend the meetings of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission 9-1-1 Task Force and facilitate remote participation by stakeholders.

• Monitor state and national legislation and regulation with potential impact on 9-1-1 in Colorado. 

• Conduct informational web conferences for Public Safety Answering Point and 9-1-1 Authority representatives as needed. 

• Organize an annual Colorado and 9-1-1 Goes to Denver event. 

• Act as a source of information and background for Colorado state legislators on issues concerning 911. 

• Maintain and continually improve the website of the Colorado 9-1-1 Resource Center.

• Participate in the publication of the annual Colorado State of 9-1-1 Report for presentation to the Public Utility Commission.  

• Assist 9-1-1 Authority and PSAP personnel as requested.

• Participate in the review and updates to the State 9-1-1 Plan, incorporating input from stakeholders.

• Maintain website and listserv for the Colorado 9-1-1 Training Standards Committee and facilitate their meetings.