AGENDA #7e

 

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

 

TO:                  W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

FROM:            Kathryn Spatz, Parks & Recreation Director

                       

SUBJECT:       Number of Participants Served in Town Community-Based Therapeutic Recreation Program Participation

 

DATE:             April 30, 2003

 

This memorandum is a follow-up to a citizen petition regarding the new Community-Based Therapeutic Recreation Program. In the current fiscal year, the program has served 59 participants through the 3^rd quarter. We anticipate that approximately 85 citizens will be served by the Town’s special needs program this fiscal year.

 

Individuals with disabilities have participated in a range of programs, from pure inclusion in summer day camps, sports camps, and cooking camps to specialized programs designed for individuals with special needs, including adaptive aquatics, bowling for fun, creative expression and ceramic sculpture art classes, and Friday Fun Nights. Additional classes scheduled this summer include tumbling and horticulture/nature.

 

Since the funding for inclusion staff was initially appropriated, the Parks and Recreation Department has been able to decrease its dependence on paid staff for this program from 100% to 40%. This has enabled the staff to better utilize the limited funding for expanded year-round programming for individuals with special needs.