On January 16, 2018 the Town Council discussed Councilwoman Ruano's New Business item on the Special Needs Committee (Attachment A: New Business Item). The Special Needs Committee has been dormant for some time. Our special needs community needs activities and programs that specifically cater to their needs. The new Board will serve the Council in an advisory capacity.

The Resolution also provides for the membership of the committee to be representative of those populations being served.

In response to this community need, the Board will pursue the following workplan to realize their mission:

1.Collaborate with resource providers to secure grants and raise funds;

2. Develop and solidify relationships and partnerships with existing resource providers;

3. Increase participation in the Town's inclusive programs, services, and events; and

4. Establish a formal Town Inclusion Policy with community input for adoption by the Town Council.

Each task is described in more detail below.

1. Collaborate with resource providers to secure grants and raise funds;

The Special Needs Advisory Board is not funded in the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 budget. The Board will work in collaboration with Town staff to identify grants that the Town can apply for, and with other resource providers that have access to funding opportunities that the Town is not eligible for; both sources will facilitate meeting unmet needs of the various populations served by the Committee. In addition, the Board is encouraged to support, through promotion and awareness campaigns, fund raising events that directly address the unmet needs of Town residents that the Board identifies.

2. Develop and solidify relationships and partnerships with existing resource providers;

Working with third parties to provide resources, technical assistance and outreach support is one way the Board can work to ensure our programming and activities are relevant and accessible to all community members. The Board can focus on leveraging resources provided by the industry. Organizations specialize in providing client and family support as part of their core service delivery. The Board can develop relationships and establish partnerships with these organizations to connect them with the Miami Lake's residents to address specific requests as they come up. Partnering with other government agencies and external organizations can ensure our programming and activities are inclusive to all community members.

3. Increase participation in the Town's inclusive programs, services, and events;

The Town presently seeks to encourage and provide inclusive programming and make reasonable accommodations for people of all ages and abilities to participate. In its youth sports and community programs, the Town provides sensitivity training for coaches and instructors through UM NSU Card and through the National Alliance of Youth Sports. In addition, the Town requires all youth sports leagues and programs to make accommodations to allow all youth of all ages and abilities to participate.

The Town also encourages inclusivity in its camp programming through the YMCA. The goal of Y Inclusionis to Increase each child's ability to participate in activities alongside his or her peers and to create a mutual sense of belonging. Wherever possible, programs will serve youth in an inclusionary format that meets the needs of children of varying abilities and exceptionalities. The program serves participants who have physical, developmental, sensory or learning disabilities that result in significant challenges in areas such as communication, self-care, attention or behavior and who need more structured and intense supervision.

The YMCA has an agreement of collaboration with Community Committee for Developmental Handicaps (CCDH) to provide staff support, resources and training for working with children with special needs. Trainings include Discovering inclusion, An Administrator's Introduction to Inclusion Requirements, Encouraging Appropriate Behaviors, let's Play Together: Practical Solutions for Adapting Recreational Activities, Learning Together: Strategies that Work for All Children, and Introduction to Working with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

The YMCA utilizes an Intake Survey during the initial program registration. In order to match the child with the appropriate inclusion program. At times, parents may also provide the YMCA with a copy of an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) which may also be used to assess the child's needs. TheYMCA works with individual family members, caretakers and professional organizations to determine reasonable recommendations on a case-by-case basis. An Intake Interview is provided to determine specific needs of an individual. All of our programs are in natural settings in a least restrictive environment. Program staff actively participate to ensure needs are met and reasonable accommodations are made that do not impose an undue burden.

The Committee will work to increase residents with special needs' participation in our current programming.

4. Establish a formal Town Inclusion Policy with community input for adoption by the Town Council

The Town lacks a formal policy that ensures consistent implementation of the Town's inclusion standard across the Town. Creating and implementing a formal inclusion policy will allow the Town to maintain a consistent set of guidance and matching action. With a formal policy, this inclusion standard will thrive even through staff turnover, leadership changes, shifts in agency priorities and funding shortages.

For this Board to be successful and sustainable, an experienced staff liaison should be hired to serve the Board. The additional cost of the staff liaison is projected at $3,600 per year (10 hours per month at a rate of $30 per hour) which is approximately $1,800 once prorated for the balance of FY18. If this resolution is adopted, a budget revision will be presented at the April, 2018 regular council meeting to fund the Special Needs Advisory Board staff liaison. Funding is available in Elderly Affairs Committee due to budget savings for the Senior Social's ($900) and in Youth Activities Task Force ($900). If the Board's need for staff support exceeds the allotted time, we will bring this back to the Town Council to allocate additional resources.