Independent verification and validation of Call Centers, Emergency Management and Command Center operations:

• Evaluation and Assessment
• Legislative and Regulatory support
• Requirements Definition
• Design User Interface
• Design and Develop Joint Operation Command Center

Design video systems in support of public safety and emergency management initiatives:

• Develop video surveillance policies and regulations
• Design video surveillance systems including camera location, network and monitoring
• Custom design video surveillance in support of specific event management
• Develop procedures and training programs

Design and develop Command Centers in support of public safety and other agency mission-critical operations.

• Develop video surveillance policies and regulations
• Design video surveillance systems including camera location, network and monitoring
• Custom design video surveillance in support of specific event management
• Develop procedures and training programs

Develop, design and manage Emergency Management Operations.

• Provide Emergency readiness assessment
• Develop Emergency management mission, policy and procedures
• Provide emergency support function agency coordination
• Provide interfaces to 9-1-1, 3-1-1, Police, Fire and other command centers
• Develop emergency management training programs
• Develop and provide table top exercises
• Manage Technology Implementation projects
• Provide monitoring and surveillance plans for emergency evacuation

Table top exercises are a critical tool in the development of responses to emergency situations. We have set up, managed and coordinated these exercises in a number of agencies to help define the issues and provide the basis for the development of an emergency response plan. Key tasks we have performed include:

• Develop the overall strategy and plan for the exercise.
• Provided the logistical support for the exercise including coordination fo the facility and attendees.
• Developed the scenario and organized the exercise.
• Coordinated the exercise activities.
• Developed the exercise summary and after action reports

Develop, design and manage 9-1-1 Police and Fire Emergency Operation Centers.

• Benchmark best practices
• Reengineer business processes
• Perform organizational analysis
• Develop policies, regulations and standard operating procedures
• Conduct staffing, qualifications and organizational analysis
• Assess police non-emergency processes and procedures for telephone routing
• Provide back-up facility planning and implementing for both 9-1-1 and 3-1-1
• Conduct analysis of police, fire and EMS 9-1-1 call routing and dispatching

• The protection of water resources from terrorist bio-chemical attack is high on the nation's homeland security agenda. The Costas Group, Inc. was recently contracted by a major urban water and sewer authority to conduct a security review and develop remediation and contingency plans.
• Monitoring and responding to threats to government facilities in the nation's capital is essential to providing for continuity of government operations under numerous scenarios. The Costas Group, Inc. was contracted by the Washington, DC government to develop an integration plan for alarm, sensor and video monitoring of all District-owned facilities. We were also contracted to design a central facility-monitoring center.

The Costas Group, Inc. has provided executive level support to health and human services agencies at the federal, state and local level. Our staff has relevant experience in this key governmental service area including program and functional areas such as:

• • Child and Family Services
  • Medicaid
  • TANF
  • Cost recovery
• • Health systems
  • Youth Services
  • Systems planning, design and integration
  • Call center design and implementation

The Department of Homeland Security has identified the threat from biological, chemical and radiological agents as a high priority. As part of a broader team, The Costas Group, Inc. was contracted by the Washington, DC Department of Health to review current emergency operations and develop new standard operation procedures. Also, we are tasked with identifying methods to improve current emergency response planning and response operations to wide variety of emergencies focusing on biological, chemical and radiological attacks. In addition, the Department has also tasked The Costas Group, Inc. to design a new call center to receive calls from citizens for information and services as well as to report health and environmental incidents as well as possible terrorist acts.

"On September 11th people just streamed out of the office buildings into the streets, the transportation systems were down and they had no where to go." This scenario lead the City of Philadelphia to engage The Costas Group, Inc. to develop an overall homeland security plan for the city and specifically an evacuation plan for the Center City area. The plan includes a variety of components such as authorization, notification, liability, evacuation options, and continuity of government operations is being considered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a best practice.

In Philadelphia, both 9-1-1 and the City's existing call centers are intake points for a wide array of information that have implications to homeland security. The Costas Group, Inc., designed a data management process for collecting the multiple sources of data into a single data base, that can be used for effectively evaluating potential threats and incidents. When merged with City infrastructure information and 9-1-1 data, the City has the ability to analyze the level and severity of threats to the city, its citizens and its infrastructure across multiple agencies and service functions.

The Costas Group, Inc. has performed detailed security assessments, requirements analysis and design for the integration of close-circuit television systems, incident command and control centers and related communications needs. They have designed and integrated the national capital region's preeminent communications and coordination operations centers for the Metropolitan Police Department ("MPD"), and the District's Emergency Management Agency.

These projects included the design and integration of the MPD Synchronized Operations Command Complex, for the Metropolitan Police Department, in conjunction with the US Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the new District of Columbia Emergency 9-1-1 Public Safety Communications Center, the District's Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Operations Center.

The Costas Group, Inc. also supported the City of Philadelphia's Homeland Security Preparedness efforts by identifying and evaluating three facility and technology improvement options for Philadelphia's Emergency Operations Center, and video surveillance utilization and installation requirements for the EOC. The Costas Group, Inc. also performed detailed security assessment and developed a comprehensive Emergency Response Plan for the District of Columbia Water Sewer Authority.

The Firm's principals have worked in management and technology consulting with government agencies for the past fifteen years, developing a significant knowledge and client base among government agencies. They have consistently developed a reputation for quality services and products to our clients.