On behalf of NAFTO’s Executive Board, I wanted to send an update on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and the impact it will have on our day-to-day operations moving forward. Due to the fluid nature of what our country, states, and communities are experiencing we are closely monitoring recommendations from various state Department of Health Services and the Centers of Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to provide the most up-to-date adjustments.
Our main focus is the health & safety of all our members, their families, and NAFTO staff. With that said, The National Association of Field Training Officers has taken several immediate actions and implemented several strategies to address both our responsibility to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as a leader in public safety, as well as, ensure our members and partners are taken care of. The NAFTO Executive Board has gone forward with the following:
NAFTO has cancelled all classes through April 2020 and is in the process of identifying the agencies that have already paid tuition. Our goal is to deliver a level of customer service equal to the high quality of our classes.
We are assessing future classes on a 30-day rolling period. As we have seen in the past few days, conditions and community expectations can change quickly, so we will use a level of common sense when applying guidance from CDC and local restrictions on travel, gatherings, etc.
All of our cancelled classes have a good-faith agreement with the host agency to be rescheduled so we can continue to serve the FTO community.
NAFTO Annual Conference:
As of today, our annual conference is still booked and will continue as planned. We have had internal discussions with our event planning representative at Helmsbriscoe and other training organizations to understand the options available should this health crisis persist into June. Unless the climate changes, we are due to address our conference in mid-April. Until then, we will maintain the status quo, not as a measure of ignorance, but as an attempt to maintain normalcy during this period.
The National Executive Board will immediately notify all members regarding the details of our conference as time passes and the details become more salient.
Who you can contact for future needs:
Refunds – Refunds qualify for classes that NAFTO has cancelled as a result of travel bans and/or public gathering restrictions. For matters regarding refunds please contact President Paul Hasselberger at paul@nafto.org
Course Credit – Course Credit qualifies for classes that NAFTO has cancelled as a result of travel bans and/or public gathering restrictions. For matters regarding course credit please contact President Paul Hasselberger at paul@nafto.org
Classes – For questions regarding classes on the NAFTO calendar please contact Training Coordinator Graham Tinius at training@NAFTO.org or Executive Director Dan Greene at director@nafto.org
Annual Conference – For questions regarding our annual conference please contact Executive Director Dan Greene at director@nafto.org
What is COVID-19? – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
Travel Restrictions? – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html
We will continue to closely monitor the situation during what we all hope is a short pause and will update our members as new information is made available. When classes resume, we will be sure to take any additional precautions to assist while we maneuver this unique circumstance.
Finally, all of us at NAFTO hope you are all safe and healthy and wish you the best through this health crisis. The health of our families, blood and bond, take priority during this difficult time.
Stay Safe,
Dan Greene
Executive Director
