AGENDA #2a
BUDGET WORKING PAPER
TO: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
FROM: Kathryn Spatz, Parks and Recreation Director
SUBJECT: Response to Petitions Regarding Programming for Individuals with Disabilities
DATE: April 3, 2002
This is in response to recent citizen petitions concerning the potential expansion of Town parks and recreation programs for individuals with disabilities.
The Parks and Recreation Department currently has approximately $10,000 in this fiscal year’s budget for the use of hiring, training and employing part-time inclusion staff for summer day camp services in 2002. The Department’s base budget for next fiscal year which has been submitted to the Town Manager includes $25,000 for this purpose. Specifically, this money will be used to provide camp companions and inclusion supervisors for children with disabilities who have requested inclusion support or have been identified by the Therapeutic Recreation staff as needing inclusion support to function optimally in our summer day camps.
Additionally, the Parks and Recreation Department’s budget presentation to the Town Council included a request for approximately $60,000 to staff and operate a Specialized Recreation Camp for summer 2002. The Specialized Recreation Camp would serve those individuals whose disabilities prevent them from utilizing and benefiting from customary inclusion services and would target school-aged children (1st-12th grade). The Department has tentatively reserved a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School site in the event that funding for this camp is included in the Council’s adopted budget for fiscal year 2002-03. An outline of the proposed camp is attached.
The individual hired to fill the recently funded Community-Based Therapeutic Recreation Specialist position will move into that role full time as soon as his current Assistant Center Supervisor position has been filled. In the near future, we will contact and meet with local community organizations serving individuals with disabilities to better understand and assess their specific needs for recreation participation and barriers to inclusion. We plan to pursue the potential for some community partnerships in providing recreation and leisure services in our community and to search for supplementary sources of funding, outside of the Town, to assist with future programs. The Parks and Recreation Department is committed to increasing the number of programs and activities offered specifically for individuals with disabilities and to making these programs and activities more visible and accessible to all members of our community.
Staff is currently developing a recommended policy for Specialized Recreation programs and Inclusion Services and implementing disability awareness training for all Parks and Recreation staff. Additionally, we will continue to put the finishing touches on an inclusion manual for orientation and training staff to work in inclusive settings and create a database of potential volunteers and paid staff to facilitate Specialized Recreation programs in the future.
Robb English and I met with several members of The ARC staff, including Wendy Trueblood; Pat Conway, who recently petitioned the Council; and Andrea Rohrbacher, Vice Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission to review our plans and seek input. A follow-up letter from that meeting is attached.
ATTACHMENTS