PDRMA provides a wide variety of educational programs and resources for members. While we develop and deliver many of them, we also partner with other organizations to address property/casualty, health, risk management, and wellness topics.
In partnership with the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA) in Glenview, Ill., PDRMA brings additional specialized training opportunities to our members. NIPSTA is an intergovernmental agency that provides training and educational services to public-sector employees. We identify these targeted NIPSTA courses on our website.
PDRMA supports the National Safety Council (NSC) Defensive Driving Course (DDC-4) to help minimize the exposure and loss associated with transporting patrons and operating a fleet program.
Members interested in becoming a DDC-4 instructor should contact the NSC for a schedule of classes in their area. PDRMA serves as a DDC-4 Training Center and provides the required books, videos, and materials at no charge to member instructors. We subsidize the instructor development course to a $200 maximum.
Our 10-Minute Trainings include quick, interactive worksheets and activities instructors and supervisors can use to reinforce and refresh staff skills, knowledge, and competencies. These trainings are available in English and Spanish.
Our library of safety and risk management pamphlets, flashcards, books, posters, train-the-trainer programs, stickers, tri-folds and more resources are available to PDRMA members free of charge. Agencies can use these materials to supplement the videos/DVDs and CDs in our library and reinforce targeted training topics.
To support member training programs, PDRMA has a large selection of free videos, DVDs, and related materials. Titles include a variety of safety, health, wellness, risk management, human resources, park and recreation, special recreation association, and forest preserve-specific topics. You can download/stream the majority of our video/DVD selections, many of which are also translated into Spanish.
Members can use the tools in our Playground Safety Audit Kit to check their playgrounds for compliance with American Society for Testing and Materials standards and Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines. The kit includes probes, gauges, and other tools needed for a comprehensive playground safety audit, and members can check out the kits for a month. Agencies should use the tool kit in conjunction with the "Playground Safety is No Accident" textbook.
PDRMA provides agency staff with sound-level meters to determine the noise level of mechanical equipment. Sound-level testing of equipment and locations helps members determine the need for a Hearing Conservation Program. Members can check out sound level meters, and PDRMA Risk Management Consultants can provide information on how to use the testing equipment.