THERAPEUTIC FACILITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT

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Rochelle Callis CRPD Therapeutic Recreation Program Final Report and Recommendations September 8, 2017 page 22 amongst them) with a professional credential. CRPD staffs possess the Recreation Therapist Certified (RTC) credential. At the other agencies interviewed, one is a Certified Behavior Therapist. One is a Certified Park and Recreation Professional. One is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. Three have no professional credential, but decades of experience. It is very important to note here that with the exception of North Carolina, licensure or possession of the therapeutic recreation credential is not required for a professional to plan and conduct recreation programs for people with disabilities, or for that matter, therapeutic recreation programs. The State of California does require that practitioners providing therapeutic recreation, whether at a park district, city, or clinical setting, hold the RTC. This connects directly to the earlier philosophy discussion... as CRPD offers programs that are led by persons who are not an RTC, those programs cannot be referred to as recreation therapy. We endorse such credentials unequivocally however; possession of these credentials send a strong message to the public of people with disabilities that the District retains employees who have demonstrated minimum competence in planning and conducting complex programs for people with disabilities. It is our belief that the proliferation of other names for this service is due in part to the unwillingness, or inability, to hire and retain professional, credentialed, therapeutic recreation staffs. Years at the Agency: in mast instances, the employees overseeing the therapeutic recreation programs had been at the agency for more than twenty years. Most held a position at the agency prior to being elevated to lead the program. Status and Reporting: while all were full time employees with benefits, two (Eugene and Oxnard) spend significant time (50% to 60% on other duties). Most reported to the equivalent of the deputy to the recreation division bead. Other Full --Tune Employees in the Program: some unusual disparities exist in this category. Generally, the California entities had fewer full-time employees than those outside the state. At CRPD, there are two full-time staff. At Oxnard, there is a full time program overseer but his duties require him to spend more than 50% of his time on other work. His second is a part-time employee, scheduled at around 30 hours per week. The City plans to make this a full-time position. We must leave California to find more than two professional staffs, with Eugene at five, Rockford at five, and SRACLC at eight. Number of Program Employees Receiving ACA Benefits: parks and recreation agencies across the country have implemented different strategies for ACA compliance. One strategy, seen at CRPD and THE W -T GRo`All ffc DBA RECREATION ACCESSIBILITY CONSULT ONE SOURCE. INFINITE SOLUTIONS.