AGENDA #5b
BUDGET WORKING PAPER
TO: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
FROM: Kathryn Spatz, Parks & Recreation Director
SUBJECT: Current Programming for Individuals with Disabilities in the Community
DATE: May 30, 2001
This is in response to a recent question concerning programs and activities currently offered in the community for individuals with disabilities.
The Orange County Parks and Recreation Department currently appropriates funds for one full-time position for Special Populations programming. Responsibilities include: supervisor of the Senior Games program, liaison to the Youth Council, all programming for teens, and all programming for individuals with disabilities. Programming for individuals with special needs is estimated to be 20 to 25% of the position’s responsibilities. The position for Special Populations programming is currently vacant. The County is not providing any programming for individuals with disabilities at this time. When staffed the program consists of two to three outings a month, such as picnics, watching professional sporting events in person, and facility tours. These trips have been limited to a maximum of 12 participants. There are no structured, regularly occurring classes or activities and the outings are specifically for adults. The County’s Parks and Recreation Department has in the past offered one or two outings a year for teens with disabilities.
One of the Recreation Supervisor positions with the Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department spends between 5 and 10% of her time programming for individuals with special needs. The Carrboro programs target teens and adults in group homes. Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department sponsors 6 to 12 events a year. Dances have proven the most successful activity.
The Town currently funds a 25-hour per week Recreation Specialist position in the Parks and Recreation Department to plan, operate, and oversee the Chapel Hill/Orange County Special Olympics program. The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for individuals with mental retardation by giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
The Chapel Hill/Orange County program currently involves over 200 athletes and 250 volunteers in activities including swimming, soccer, softball, basketball, golf, weight lifting, track and field, bowling, and equestrian events. Special Olympics programs in the State are divided into school-based activities (specifically for school age youth in special education classes) and community-based activities (for everyone).
The current school-based program in Orange County is limited to bowling in the fall and swimming in the spring. The program is a joint effort, coordinated by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Orange County Adaptive Physical Education Teachers in cooperation with the Chapel Hill Recreation Specialist mentioned above. The Town provides the site for swimming, pays for rental time at the bowling site, and is responsible for finding volunteers essential to operate the program.
The community-based portion of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Special Olympics program is the largest, most inclusive in the state. Although most Special Olympics programs have significantly larger staffs than the one part-time position in Chapel Hill (Durham Parks and Recreation currently has 4.5 fulltime positions for its program), our reliance on volunteers has enabled the Chapel Hill/Orange County program community-based program to grow beyond those of much more populated counties, including Wake and Durham.
Special Olympics is, by definition, restricted to athletic programs for individuals with mental retardation. As recently as 10 years ago, the Town’s Parks and Recreation Department offered a comprehensive series of organized on-going activities for citizens with disabilities. A popular, well-utilized summer camp specifically for youth with special needs was provided at the Frank Porter Graham School. The Department sponsored a series of adapted arts and craft, nature, and exercise programs. Most of these programs were eliminated when the concept of mainstreaming took hold. In recent years, funding for the Mainstreaming Recreation Specialist has been deferred.
We believe citizens within the disabled community in Chapel Hill want a spectrum of opportunities. While in some cases--such as a pottery class--an individual with special needs may wish to be mainstreamed, there are other activities--such as day camps--in which he/she may need a specialized environment. In my opinion, the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to move beyond reasonable accommodations for an individual’s participation in a specific program to true inclusion—valuing diversity, creating complete communities, and reaching out to all citizens. Current staffing levels do not permit such a proactive effort.
One interim solution may be to reallocate the 8 additional hours per week contained in the Manager’s Recommended Budget for the Parks and Recreation Department’s Administrative Clerk’s position to the part-time Recreation Specialist responsible for Special Olympics programming. Additional hours would allow this position to serve as the point person for inquiries regarding adaptive programming and inclusion. The individual in this position could also serve as liaison to individuals with disabilities to better serve all residents. While the need for Parks and Recreation Department additional administrative support is true, we believe outreach and support to citizens with disabilities is a greater community need. I recommend that the 8 additional hours per week contained in the Manager’s Recommended Budget for FY2001-02 for the Administrative Clerk be reallocated to the Recreation Specialist currently responsible solely for Special Olympics programming.