THERAPEUTIC FACILITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT

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Rochelle Callis CRPD Therapeutic Recreation Program Final Report and Recommendations September 9, 2017 page 13 itself. Well-trained staff facilitate participants in activities, with the goal of skill development in mind. In addition, other goals may be assigned to individuals based on input from families or other therapies. Staff also are'provided specific training on behavioral issues that may arise, and the correct responses or method for managing those behaviors. Programs range from weekly summer camps to swimming to weekly sport and activity programs to one -day special events and trips. Many of the participants are young adults or adults, so there is a strong independence, daily living and social skills component in all of the programs offered. The different durations of programming each have their own advantages. As mentioned earlier, trust is a big factor for these families. Single day or special events can be that "foot in the door" program that introduces participant and family to staff and vice versa. The longer weekly or full week programs provide that consistency that is helpful in the development of motor skills and social skills. Due to the nature of this population, once they have registered in the programs, they come back again and again and again. While this is a great testament to the program, the long-term effect is a limitation in new registrants if staffing does not increase and more programs are not added. As a part of our evaluation, we conducted two community feedback sessions on January 25, 2017. One, in the afternoon, drew some parents of persons with disabilities as well as other service providers. The other was held in the evening, drawing parents and one professional. Two themes were constant: families liked the current programs a great deal, and families wanted more programs. Some comments made by attendees led us to believe that some were unaware of the scope of the Therapeutic Recreation Program. As an example, one representative of a well-known advocacy group said she knew nothing about the Therapeutic Recreation Program, but wanted to quickly learn more. This "hair -on -fire" approach occurs often when people first learn about the program. However, once in the program, the attitude shifts subtly. In our review of participation numbers, we noted that registrants in a season have priority when the next season begins. While this allows continuity of participation, it makes it difficult for new registrants to participate in programs because the programs fill with prior registrants. This likely occurs even though CRPD allows residents priority registration. At one of these meetings, one commenter stated candidly "don't screw with the stuff that works", a reference to the many successful Therapeutic Recreation Programs, and the caring staff. This is an important issue: if, and when the Therapeutic Recreation Program changes, families will want continuity and connectivity. In small group exercises, we asked attendees to identify areas to address. Our informal discussion yielded ten priorities, and we list those below. While some are redundant, they provide some insight as to how the community sees the needs of the Therapeutic Recreation Program. We also note that some of these suggestions are already in place in current programs, e.g., social skills development. THE W -T GRo 1 DBA RECREATION ACCESSIBILITY CONSULT C ONE SOURCE. INFINITE SOLUTIONS.