Hello Folks,

I'm hoping to get some input on a situation I am not quite sure how to
handle.  My museum is affiliated with a park district - although we have
separate organizational structures and monies.  The park district provides
summer camps for children and invites and provides staff for developmentally
disabled children to join the camps.  If deemed necessary, their staff work
with the children one-on-one.

Because of this affiliation, some parents expect us to do the same thing;
however our budget is far more limited than the park district.  Because we
have no formal policy, we did accept developmentally disabled children into
our summer camps last summer and paid to have staff work with them one-on-one.

I have two main concerns:

1)Neither I nor any of my staff is specifically trained to work with children
who have severe disabilities and how to incorporate them into a
"recreational/educational" program.

2) I am concerned about the financial strain that this causes on the budget
to hire one-on-one assistants.  It costs us more money to hire a person for
the week than the parents pay to send their child to camp.

Has anyone else dealt with something like this or can you recommend where I
can seek assistance in developing a fair policy that both staff and parents
can understand?  I have to create a policy before our Summer Camps are
advertised.

Thanks in advance for any input you can provide.

Kimberly Stull
Education Resource Manager
Midway Village & Museum Center
Rockford, IL

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