COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON THE DISABLED AND THE HANDICAPPED - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, December 4, 2007 12:45 p.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN JACK KELLY COUNCILMAN JUAN RAMOS COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO BILL 071002 - An ordinance amending Title of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Parks and 15 Recreation," by requiring the Department of Recreation to provide ten percent of all program activities and budgetary expenditures at one Class A Recreation Center to children with autistic disorders, under certain terms and conditions. - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
The Committee on the Disabled and the Handicapped is now in session, the public hearing, on Bill No. 071002. Will the Clerk please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 071002, an ordinance amending Title of The 10 Philadelphia Code, entitled "Parks and Recreation," by requiring the Department of Recreation to provide ten percent of all program activities and budgetary expenditures at one Class A Recreation Center to children with autistic disorders, under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. For the record, in attendance, members of this Committee, to my left, Councilman Kelly, Councilwoman Tasco. To my right, Councilman Juan Ramos and myself, Councilwoman Miller. Councilwoman Campbell, who is Chair of 3 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 this Committee, is not able to be here today, but we're going to move on without her. I see the witnesses are at the witness table. I knew we'd have two. We have three. Please identify yourself and proceed with your testimony. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: My name is William Carapucci, Deputy Commissioner of the Recreation Department. I'm here representing the Commissioner, Victor Richard. To my left is Carl George. He's the Therapeutic Recreation Specialist in our Department and the Supervisor of the Carousel House. To my right is Leo Dignam, Program Director in charge of all our day camps and children activities. I could read the testimony now that was prepared. Good afternoon, Councilwoman Campbell and honorable members of City Council. I am William Carapucci, Deputy Recreation Commissioner. I am here to 4 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 give public testimony regarding Bill 3 B 070951 (sic).
Just 07. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: It's B 071002. Accompanying me are Leo Dignam and Carl George. The mission of the Department of Recreation is to provide an array of physical, cultural and artistic activities that reach the mind, body and soul. The Department of Recreation believes in engaging children, adults, families and senior citizens in fun and safe recreation activities that promote self-esteem, healthy life-styles and stronger communities. The City of Philadelphia's Department of Recreation is extremely proud of the Carousel House. The Carousel House is a 24,000 square foot Class A recreation center solely dedicated to the services for the mentally and physically challenged. The Carousel House provides a multitude of 5 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 activities, including arts and crafts, music, swimming, organized games, trips and special events. The facility houses a multi-purpose meeting room with a performance stage, kitchen, full gymnasium, an indoor therapeutic pool, fitness/rehabilitation room, specially designed computer lab and a specially designed playground. The Carousel House also has ADA-accessible lift buses to provide daily transportation services to and from the facility. We believe the Carousel House meets the intention of the bill because the entire facility is dedicated to the mentally and physically challenged. We thank you for the opportunity to testify. We'd be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Are there any Committee members that have questions of this witness? Councilwoman Tasco. 6 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002
Good afternoon. Mr. Carapucci, I think we had this testimony last week sometime where we were talking about trying to provide services for disabled citizens in the community, and this bill sort of follows that trend. We have a deep appreciation for the Carousel House and don't believe you should get rid of it, but at the end of the day, it would be better for citizens to be able to access and have programs in their neighborhood without having to travel to a central location. Is that something that you all agree to? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Yes, we would agree to it, provided we had the additional funding and we had the additional staff that's specifically trained in that area of therapeutic recreation.
So if this legislation is passed, what would be the Recreation Department's response to implementing the ordinance down the line? 7 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Well, if I recall, when the Commissioner was here last week, he proposed having one facility in each district, so we'd have ten of these facilities, and that would be our goal. If we could have enough funding, enough staffing to put this program forward, we'd have to be up to ten facilities so that every area of the City is reached.
These would be separate facilities and not just a part of an existing? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: No. You could have a present facility. You'd have to find one in each councilmanic district that would fit the needs, and then with the additional funding, we could equip it and we need the staffing to do the specialized program.
Has 8 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 anybody come up with a projected cost, just an estimated cost? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: I think about $3 million, off the top of my head. I mean, we haven't come up with any clear-cut dollar figures, but if you're going to have, let's say, ten therapeutic recreation specialists, their salary is, you know, at least $50,000 per person, and then you're going to have the proper equipment in each center. If you take a look at Carousel House, we have eight full-time people because of the special needs. We don't have that at any rec center in the City. Our Class A rec centers presently have two full-time rec leaders and a part-time rec leader and a maintenance man. That's it. So the professional full-time staff, it would at least double if we were going to do this on a citywide basis.
Okay. Thank you. Are there any other questions? 9 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 Councilman Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Carapucci, how long would it take you to implement this program after the bill is approved? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: With the funding, if we could hire the people, I would say we could probably do this -- it would take us about six months, because we'd have to identify the centers, which I think that's not that hard to do. Then we'd have to make sure --
They would all be Class A centers, right? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Absolutely. We'd have to make sure we have the proper equipment and we'd have to fit it in to each particular community. So I would say at the earliest, sometime next September. You couldn't do it right now. So you'd need seven, eight 10 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 months of preparation, because -- nothing can be done overnight with this. This is a process. I remember when Carousel House was being built. That took us a long time to put that together. Now, today after it's been up years -- in 8 fact, I think this is the 20th year. 9 It's now fully functional and operating, 10 but -- so it won't be done overnight. At 11 the earliest, six to nine months, 12 possibly more than a year. 13
And that 14 would include the ten recreation centers? 15 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: 16 We would have to have that, because we 17 need the staffing, and it might involve a 18 little more. We need the people that are 19 experts in that area. We have to do this 20 the right way, because this is a situation where it's not just a regular recreation program. If you want a program that's what we've done for years, we could put that together for you in a month, but in this case, we want to take 11 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 our time and make sure we don't make any mistakes. But we can make the thing work with additional funding.
Thank you. I just want to remind you, Mr. Carapucci, that the ordinance 11 actually only requires one Class A facility in the entire City. I mean, it would be nice to do ten. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: With the additional funding and with the proper staffing, we could do a lot.
Great. Thank you. Does any Committee members have questions of this witness? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you. Thank you for your testimony. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: 12 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 Thank you.
I think we have Cecilia Thompson. Hi. You're here to testify on the bill?
Can you come up to the table, identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Cecilia Thompson. I'm an advocate with the Arc of Philadelphia. It's an organization that's been around for 60 years, and we provide supports and services for people with disabilities. I'm also a member of the Philadelphia Rights of Education Task Force, which is a federally mandated organization that provides systemic advocacy for those receiving special education of Philadelphia. Primarily I'm a parent of a nine-year-old son with autism, who is in full-time autistic support at Thomas 13 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 Morton Elementary School located on 63rd and Elmwood. Before I get started, I just wanted to say a few things of what they said about the Carousel House. My son did actually attend summer camp at the Carousel House this past summer, and before he was able to participate, he had to be interviewed by that person to make sure -- and the term that I was given, to make sure he was teachable for their programs. In addition, before he could even participate, I was told that he had to have a TSS worker, which is the therapeutic support person, for him to participate in that program. And they explain that on their forms, that if you have to have -- if they decide that you need a therapeutic support person, you have to pay extra monies for that therapeutic support person. In addition, although the main staff people may have had knowledge of 14 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 autism, the college students that they hired to support them during that time had no clue about the core deficits of autism. There was one incident where he was in the pool where they engaged him in play and when they stopped, because cognitively he was not able to stop or didn't understand that play time was over, the young lady wrote him up. When the TSS worker told me this, I immediately called the gentleman who was head of the summer camp, and he said no 14 problem, the staffer knew, they don't understand autism, he will not be written up. Because if you have incidents in the summer camp, you are not invited back to the Carousel House. And another incident was, they were having Olympics and they told him to run, so he ran, but he did not know that the word "finish" meant that he was to stop running. Again, because they did not take the time to pattern the game for him and let him know that you start here, 15 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 you run here and you stop, that he wasn't able to follow it. They just assumed. And, again, this is not to the main staff that he's talking about, but if you're going to have people that are going to be around children with autism, your staff needs to be first trained on the core deficits. They need to know that some children, you have to pattern the game for them and then have them do it a couple times before they can actually engage in the activity. So I wanted to make that point, because I know people are under the assumption that the Carousel House is the catch-all guru for all disabilities. And, again, their permanent staff might be fine, but those college kids and those support staff that they have there for the summertime for the summer camps, from my past experience as of last -- this past summer, they were not trained. And I just pointed out those two incidents. There were a few more, but, again, the 16 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 support staff was not trained on the core deficits of what autism is. So with that in mind, the request is that the ideal person should be a recreational therapist trained to provide programming for individuals on the autism spectrum. In lieu of a recreation therapist, there should be a person who has experience in providing age-appropriate programming for children and adults with autism.
And I say adults because there are some people who may be or who still have the mentality -- 15 because autism often times comes with 16 mental retardation, they still have the 17 mind set of maybe a four- or 18 five-year-old, but I believe that if 19 their parents or caregivers are 20 tax-paying citizens, they have the right to an opportunity to participate in programming. The staff should receive training regarding individuals on the spectrum. The training would include, 17 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 but not be limited to, being aware of the basic characteristics and core deficits of individuals on the autism spectrum, being aware of the needs of the individuals on the spectrum, and should this be permanent, they should be required to have yearly trainings and updates on interventions pertaining to the autism community. The staff should also understand the social complexities of individuals with autism to facilitate an inclusive experience. This means to, one, include children with autism in activities offered by that particular facility; and, two, development programming to include typical individuals and individuals with autism. Both will serve as a learning mechanism for typical individuals to understand individuals with autism and for individuals with autism to develop typical friendships with their peers. My first point is being done 18 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 successfully at the Palumbo recreation facility. There is a young man ten years old participating in the NFL Flag Football Program. The staff works with the individual and his challenges to include him in the football game. In addition to the staff being appropriately trained, the staff needs to possess a passion to providing programming for this population. It takes a lot of patience and love to work with individuals with autism. When you work with one person with autism, you work with one person with autism. The program should be adequately staffed depending on the functionality of the individuals. For example, if there are ten individuals with elopement issues, you would need at least five staff persons. However, if the group is high-functioning individuals in need of just social interaction, you may only need two staff persons. The Department of Recreation 19 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 should be given adequate funding to properly staff programs for individuals with autism. The program should take into consideration the unique sensory needs of children on the spectrum. This may include adjusting the lighting or providing a calm setting so the individuals can participate in the activities. There should also be a room -- there should also be set aside a "calm" room for individuals with autism. Often individuals with autism have moments of frustration, trouble communicating their thoughts or they have sensory overload where their brain cannot process everything in their immediate environment. This results in disruptive behaviors. A "calm" room would provide a place for individuals with autism to calm down so the staff can address the reason for the behavior. The programming should be age 20 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 appropriate for individuals with autism. You shouldn't have a 16-year-old -- the program for a 16-year-old should not be the same programming as for a five-year-old individual. The recreation centers that are selected to provide programming for children with autism should have visual symbols wherever signs are located and label objects to capitalize on the visual strengths of most individuals with autism. In conclusion, these programs should be placed in areas which have a high concentration of individuals with autism. There are 52 Class A recreation facilities in Philadelphia. If it is not immediately feasible to provide programs in all 52 sites, at least put the programs in those areas which have a high concentration of individuals with autism.
These figures can be gathered from the School District of Philadelphia, Community Behavioral Health, and Office 21 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 of Mental Retardation. Most important, as a parent of a child with autism, I often go outside the City of Philadelphia to find activities for my son which are specifically designed for children with autism. These facilities have the staff that have the expertise, training and patience to deal with my son and guide him through activities. However, these activities do come with a cost. Nevertheless, I pay the fees and drive an hour from my home because I love my son and want him exposed to a number of experiences. However, as a tax-paying citizen of Philadelphia, I should not have to drive an hour from my home to expose him to activities offered by the Department of Recreation. Yet, I do so because I want him around staff who have an understanding of autism, can accommodate his needs and utilize his strengths to get him to participate successfully in activities. 22 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002 I ask both the members of City Council and the Commissioner from the Department of Recreation to hear the concerns addressed today and provide programming for individuals with autism. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Are there any questions of this witness from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you. This Committee will move from the public hearing to the public meeting. Councilman Ramos.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill No. 071002 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at our next Council meeting. (Duly seconded.) 23 12/4/07 - DISABLED - BILL 071002
The ayes have it. Bill No. 071002 will be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and a request for rules suspension so as to permit first reading at our next Council session. That concludes the hearing of the Committee on the Disabled and Handicapped. Thank you. (Committee on the Disabled and Handicapped adjourned at 1:05 p.m.) - - - 24 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on December 4, 2007, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)