THERAPEUTIC FACILITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT

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Rochelle Callis CRPD Therapeutic Recreation Program Final Report and Recommendations September 8, 2017 page 26 Inclusion Numbers: not every agency tracked numbers of inclusion placements, so our information is incomplete. Those that did shared a trend...inclusion demand, and actual post -assessment inclusive placements, are rising every year. inclusion Support Funding Sources: a correlation exists between the existence of dedicated funding and higher inclusion numbers. Santa Barbara, Eugene, Rockford, and the Illinois JPA all had a dedicated source, and at Eugene, administrators make it clear to program managers that budget overruns in this area are acceptable. The other agencies either did not track this or were funding inclusion support out of program resources, detracting from the development of new or other programs. We believe this latter approach is a disincentive to allowing inclusive participation. Training: in every instance, amongst different approaches, one constant remained... therapeutic recreation staffs trained program and facility staffs regarding inclusion. However, the "how" and "how often" varied widely. An unfortunate undertone in our interviews was "we train them and then they (program managers) do what they want anyway". We heard this in California, but not Oregon and Illinois. CATEGORY 8: Outreach, Fundraising, and Advisory Boards Outreach: all acknowledged the importance of outreach. All expressed a lack of time to conduct outreach activity. In our career experience, it requires at least 30 contacts before a new registrant with a disability attempts participation. Those contacts may be online, reviewing print materials, listening to other registrants discuss their satisfaction in the program, phone calls or in-person discussions, and group presentations, e.g., to an autism support group or epilepsy foundation meeting. Outreach is a proven way to grow participation. Fundraising: all recognized the need for supplemental sources of funding. in two instances, the therapeutic recreation program conducted their own campaigns (both in Illinois). In the other jurisdictions, the overall agency (parks and recreation department, city, or district) has a fundraising arm that does, from time to time provide a benefit the therapeutic recreation program. Advisory Boards: three had advisory boards, and two more participated in various networks that were similar to advisory boards. All agreed, as with outreach, that while valuable these are difficult to maintain. RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM OUR STUDY OF COMPARABLE AGENCIES 1. Name a current employee as the ADA Coordinator. A search of the CRPD website shows "NO RESULTS" when a search for the ADA Coordinator is initiated. The CRPD has more than 50 employees and therefore, per ADA title II section 35.107 it must name a "responsible employee" for ADA implementation, typically known as an ADA Coordinator. THE W - T GRO4-' DBA RECREATION ACCESSIBILITY CONSULT nC ONE SOURCE. INFINITE SOLUTIONS.