Provided by the Ohio Department of Administrative Services

COLUMBUS__Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced that Washington and Monroe counties are the first in the state to fully implement Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1). Governor DeWine made the adoption of NG9-1-1 across Ohio a priority of his 2024-2025 Executive Budget to improve emergency response times and ultimately save lives.

“Every second counts when we are talking about saving lives,” said Governor DeWine. “Next Generation 9-1-1 makes emergency services more efficient, especially in the rural areas of Ohio where it is critical to have strong and reliable communication infrastructure.”

NG9-1-1 technology provides citizens with advanced communication capabilities when calling for emergency services, such as text messaging. NG9-1-1 technology also supports more efficient emergency management by reducing the number of call transfers between 9-1-1 call centers with more precise identification of the location of callers using cell phones.

Early data from Washington County shows the benefit of the new system in counties with multiple 9-1-1 call centers. From December 18 through 22, 37% of calls were routed directly to the 9-1-1 center servicing location, eliminating the need for call transfers.

Washington and Monroe counties are among ten pilot counties joining the initial migration to NG9-1-1, a list that also includes Athens, Carroll, Champaign, Columbiana, Hardin, Harrison, Morgan, and Union counties.

Ohio’s Fiscal Year 2024-2025 operating budget funded $46 million in infrastructure costs for NG9-1-1. The Ohio 9-1-1 Program office, within the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS), coordinates communication concerning 9-1-1 issues among state, federal, regional, and local public safety officials and manages the state’s long-term strategy for migration to NG 9-1-1.

“The DeWine Administration’s leadership was critical to getting this migration moving, and we’ve been incredibly pleased to work with our partners to start bringing Next Generation 9-1-1 to life in Ohio,” said DAS Director Kathleen C. Madden.

The statewide system is expected to be operational in the spring of 2025. At that point, any counties that have yet to migrate to the system have five years to do so.