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Rochelle Callis <br />CRPD Therapeutic Recreation Program Final Report and Recommendations <br />September 8, 2017 page 10 <br />perceived risks, lack of experience with that unserved population, an inability to serve lowest -incidence <br />groups, and perhaps, a willingness to serve those who are most persistent in their demand for services. <br />We raise here the issue of the multiple roles that the typical therapeutic recreation lead employee fills. <br />In many agencies, the lead therapeutic recreation employees wears many hats. These often include: <br />• outreach specialist, identifying new potential participants and explaining the benefits of TR <br />• inclusion specialist, assessing requests for modifications in programs other than the TR program <br />Lead trainer for TR and other agency staff related to disability <br />• Programmer, developing new programs as registrants request <br />■ Behaviorist, developing behavior plans for participants that require one <br />C Risk manager, developing and administering progressive discipline as necessary <br />o Program manager, with fiscal responsibility and planning roles <br />® Marketing and communications <br />Q Mentor and supervisor to other TR employees <br />6 Program planner, program leader, and van driver <br />• Manager of supplies and equipment, and <br />o Let's not forget custodian <br />We acknowledge that center staffs, program staffs, and facility staffs serving registrants without <br />disabilities often have these same roles. Typically, their bench has more depth though and they are <br />more often able to delegate some tasks to others. <br />In our interview of comparable agencies, for many of the staffs we spoke with, summer camps and <br />summer programs had not yet started. However, the exhaustion was evident already. It is atypical to <br />find that TR programs have an adequate number of staffs. This is a very real problem, as TR staffs <br />never catch up, and arguably may perform less than desired, when this task -stacking occurs. <br />Despite the contracting factors discussed on the preceding page, most therapeutic recreation <br />programs have a loyal and supportive base of participants. This is due in part to the fact that there are <br />THE W -T GRO <br />DBA RECREATION ACCESSIBILITY CONSULT � .0 <br />ONE SOURCE. INFINITE SOLUTIONS <br />