The Olson Group, Ltd. (OGL) led the design, development, and conduct of a workshop for New Castle County (NCC) and its neighboring in-state and out-of-state counties to discuss and develop a regional intra-state Mutual Aid Agreement in February 2016. Workshop discussion focused on past responses lessons learned and the mutual aid capabilities of the emergency management departments in all participating counties, from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. As a result of this workshop, NCC Office of Emergency Management developed a draft Mutual Aid Agreement (MAA) for intra-state responses that will apply region wide.
As a follow up to the initial workshop, OGL led another in October 2017 as an opportunity for the participating counties to review and refine the draft MAA, as well as discuss mutual aid issues and authorities, lessons learned, current challenges, and available resources for responding to emergency incidents in the region.