These steps provide guidance to law enforcement agencies that choose to go through the Ohio Collaborative certification process.  People and resources will be available to provide additional help if needed through any step of the process, from entering the database to the final onsite assessments.  Law enforcement agencies may request this assistance at any stage of the compliance process.

STEP 1:  Request for access into the Ohio Collaborative User Database  

Log onto the Ohio Collaborative website www.ocjs.ohio.gov/ohiocollaborative, you will then select the Law Enforcement Certification tab. On the right side there will be a box labeled Ohio Collaborative User Database. Click on the box and the user will be directed to identity manager. The user will enter their email and password. The user will then receive a link in an email and will need to answer a few security questions. The user will then click the box for OCJS Access Request. After the Ohio Collaborative team has approved the request for access, the user will receive an approved access notification email. The user will need to log back into Identity Manager by entering their email address and password to access the application.

There is a user manual available if needed.

STEP 2:  Submit compliance documentation for Self-Certification  

The agency should submit compliance documentation for each standard they are seeking certification in.  Each Group is labeled and has the associated standards for that Group listed as well. The requirements tab is where you will locate the standards and where you will upload your policy and compliance for each bullet point.

Once all compliance documentation has been uploaded, send a note in the database advising you have completed your submission and are ready for a review. An Ohio Collaborative staff member will send a note back advising they will review your documents and they will contact you if anything additional is needed.

The agency will receive an email from the database once the submission is approved. The email will advise to log in and print your certificate(s). You may also review or print the report.

STEP 3:  Onsite review for full certification

After receiving notice of Provisional Certification the agency will be contacted by the assigned assessor to schedule an onsite review at a time mutually agreed upon by the assessor and the agency.  Prior to the onsite review, the assigned assessor will explain the onsite expectations to the agency to ensure both the agency and assessor expectations are met during the onsite.  The onsite review shall occur no later than 60 calendar days from the initial assessor-to-agency contact. 

Upon completion of the onsite review, the assigned assessor shall have the final report submitted to the OCJS Executive Director within 7 calendar days of the onsite date. 

STEP 4:  OCJS reviews onsite report for full certification   

The OCJS Executive Director will review the final report submitted by the assessor to determine if the agency is in full compliance.  The agency contact shall receive notification of their compliance status no later than 30 calendar days following their onsite date, at which time an email will be sent advising to log in and print the final certificate(s).

STEP 5:  Maintain compliance

Agencies will be required to maintain Self-Certification compliance on an annual basis (Steps 1-2).  An onsite review will be required for an agency every three years (Steps 3-4).

Each year agencies shall maintain compliance documentation for all standards developed by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board.  This documentation shall be collected annually and available for review by representatives of the Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Certification program.  These documents provide proof that the agency is complying with the policies they have instituted and maintained their training standards.