Congratulations on completing CERT Basic!
We enjoyed having you in class with us and hope you want to join us and continue learning and serving your community with Montgomery CERT.
How do I join the Montgomery CERT organization?
Whether you want to keep updated on training opportunities, be an occasional volunteer, or be actively involved in responding to emergency situations, joining the organization is as easy as completing CERT Basic. Once you graduate, your membership status will be automatically updated from Student to a Category 1 Member unless you specifically ask not to be included on the organization’s roster. (If you do not want to be included on the roster, please email hr@montgomerycert.org with your request.)
As a member, you will have access to most of the training opportunities.
Category 1 Members are not deployable and cannot take part in responses or volunteer to represent Montgomery CERT at events, but keep reading for more info on how to participate in the Go-Team and/or Outreach team events!
Update Your CERVIS Profile
Our volunteer management system is called CERVIS and is where we keep personnel records and where members can register to take part in events and training classes.
Every member has an account that is set up during CERT Basic. If you have never logged in before, you will need to set up a password. Follow these instructions for accessing your CERVIS account. If you know your username and password you can log in to CERVIS at http://montgomerycert.org/CERVIS. (This easy-to-remember link will redirect you to https://www.cervistech.com/acts/console.php?console_id=0120&console_type=login)
Please take a minute to log in and verify the accuracy of your information. Please be sure to confirm your address and emergency contact info and upload a photo of yourself! CERVIS can send messages to SMS-enabled phones, so verify that your primary phone is your cell phone and that the SMS box is checked. This is especially important if you want to participate in the Go-Team or the Outreach team.
How do I become a Category 2 Member?
The process includes the following:
- Complete CERT Basic training including FEMA courses IS-100 & IS-700 and receive a graduation certificate. If you’re missing any part of your CERT Basic curriculum, you can attend the units when they’re being taught for the current class.
- Get entered in to Montgomery County’s Personal Information Management System (PIMS). This is the database that tracks all employees and volunteers at the county level and is separate from the CERVIS account that you logged into earlier. To start the process of being entered into PIMS you will need to e-mail to hr@montgomerycert.org to request a PIMS appointment by phone. The PIMS phone appointment takes about 15 minutes to complete. During this brief call you will need to provide some personal information including your social security number.
- Schedule an appointment to be fingerprinted for a background check conducted by Montgomery County. During your PIMS phone appointment the Montgomery County CERT HR representative will review the fingerprinting form and collect the information that is required by the county. The HR representative will also answer any questions you have and provide you with more information on how to schedule the appointment.
- At the fingerprinting appointment you will receive a letter stating that you have been fingerprinted by the county. Scan this letter and send it hr@montgomerycert.org.
Once we receive the letter indicating that your fingerprinting is complete a CERVIS administrator will review your profile and confirm that you have met all of the requirements and then you will be added to the Category 2 Membership in CERVIS!
Note that it is required that all Category 2 members have an active CPR certification, and for many events have completed the 800 MHz radio training. Both of these classes are offered regularly and you can sign up for those events in CERVIS.
Also note that it can take a few months to receive your county ID card after you have completed the PIMS and fingerprinting process however you can still participate in Go-Team and Outreach opportunities while you are waiting for your ID card. Please be patient with this process. All MC-CERT members are in the same queue as other county volunteers and new hires and getting ID cards printed is not a fast process.
If you have any questions about the Go-Team or Outreach, please email board@montgomerycert.org
How can I get more information and find out what’s going on with Montgomery County CERT?
We will push out information to your email account listed in CERVIS. Please be sure to check your junk/spam folder regularly to make sure nothing got trapped in there.
We also share quite a bit on social media. Please like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MontCoCERT/ and join the private group for Montgomery County CERT members at https://www.facebook.com/groups/63673377911/