Title
Ray Graham Association Consulting Agreement
History
The Special Recreation Division of the Village's Recreation and Parks Department provides year-round recreation programming, special events and Special Olympic opportunities for people with disabilities. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, there were 2,892 program registrations serving 315 participants that ranged in age from 7 to 67.
Special Recreation provides a robust menu of professionally produced offerings. After the recent resignation of a key member of the Division, staff explored the assistance of an outside agency to evaluate current practices, program quality, effectiveness and efficiency.
Special Recreation Associations (SRA's) in Illinois include the South Suburban Special Recreation Association, which serves Country Club Hills, Hazel Crest, Homewood-Floosmoor, Lan-Oak, Matteson, Oak Forest, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Richton Park and Tinley Park, Park districts, and the Lincolnway Special Recreation Association, which serves Frankfort, Frankfort Square, Manhattan, Mokena, New Lenox, Peotone and Wilmington Island Park districts.
In the western suburbs, the Gateway Special Recreation Association was formed through an intergovernmental agreement between the park districts of Burr Ridge, Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Pleasant Dale, Westchester and York Center, the City of Countryside, and the Villages of Hinsdale and Willowbrook. Gateway contracts the services of the Ray Graham Association (RGA) to provide recreation programs. In addition to recreation programs, the Ray Graham Association offers early intervention, children's group home, respite programs, community learning centers, home and community based support, and employment services.
In an effort to examine its services, staff seeks to contract with the Ray Graham Association to provide leadership consultation and program support in a team approach which would include an onsite presence of a senior RGA manager.
Specifically, the Ray Graham...
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