A report just released is critical of Florida's 911 system and details 18 recommendations for improving the system. The 68-page study was funded by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice. The report calls Florida's 911 system a patchwork of agencies, protocols and technologies cobbled together to respond to emergency calls.

The report's findings include:

• There is no board, office or person with the authority to monitor how emergency calls are handled. There is no statewide data to assess error rate or response time.
• Florida underfunds its 911 system. Florida's 911 fees are in the bottom third of all states, its fee collections are declining, and it pays less than two-thirds of the cost of 911 service, leaving the rest to cash-strapped counties. And state law prohibits spending 911 funding on dispatch services, seen as an integral part, if not the purpose, of a 911 system.
• Florida's 911 calls are answered in 258 call centers, all with their own standards for training, protocol and equipment. Florida recommends, but does not mandate, training for 911 call takers. As a result, centers do not necessarily employ industry best practices and standards, and Floridians receive uneven levels of service.
• Florida's 911 system still has a rural-urban divide, even though a stated goal of federal law establishing modern 911 systems is to improve service to rural areas.
• Florida has yet to establish N11 service, which would reduce the instances of 911 centers being overwhelmed by inappropriate calls.
• Florida's coordination of equipment used for emergency response remains incomplete and hinders seamless communication throughout the state.
• Florida has made significant progress in incorporating new technology into the 911 system, but other infrastructure vulnerabilities have been unaddressed.

You can download the entire 68 page report below.