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April 21, 2008, Washington, DC - The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International has won the Award of Excellence in the 2008 Associations Advance America (AAA) Awards program, a national competition sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and The Center for Association Leadership, Washington, DC.

APCO International received the award for its American National Standard for Calltakers When Handling Calls Pertaining to Missing and Exploited Children. The program is now in the running to receive a Summit Award, ASAE and The Center's top recognition for association programs, to be presented in ceremonies at ASAE's 9th Annual Summit Awards Dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC on September 23.

In an effort to develop best-practice guidelines for handling calls pertaining to missing and/or sexually exploited children, a joint steering committee on Call Center Best Practices in Cases of Missing and Sexually Exploited Children was developed. Members of the committee include APCO International, the National Academies of Emergency Medical Dispatch (NAEMD), the National AMBER Alert Initiative (U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs and Fox Valley Technical College), the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). These best-practice guidelines have been submitted through the APCO American National Standard (ANS) process facilitated by APCO's Standards Development Committee (SDC) and received designation from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an ANS on December 19, 2007. This nationally recognized standard is a reference created specifically for calltakers to present the missing and/or sexually exploited child response process in a logical progression from the initial call through the first response. This voluntary national standard, available to download on APCO International's website free of charge, is designed to be an important tool for agencies to enhance training, policies, and procedures.

Now in its 18th year, the prestigious Associations Advance America (AAA) Awards program recognizes associations that propel America forward - with innovative projects in education, skills training, standards setting, business and social innovation, knowledge creation, citizenship, and community service. Although association activities have a powerful impact on everyday life, they often go unnoticed by the general public.

"APCO International's program truly embodies the spirit of the Associations Advance America campaign. It is an honor and an inspiration to showcase this activity as an example of the many contributions associations are making to advance American society," remarked Associations Advance America Committee Chair Matthew D'Uva, CAE, president of SOCAP International

About APCO International

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of public safety communications. APCO International serves the professional needs of its 15,000 members worldwide by creating a platform for setting professional standards, addressing professional issues and providing education, products and services for people who manage, operate, maintain and supply the communications systems used by police, fire and emergency medical dispatch agencies throughout the world.