The Department of Recreation and Parks is a recognized leader in opportunities for individuals with disabilities and is pleased to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to register for general recreation programs of their choice. Howard County Recreation & Parks Department has developed an inclusion process to better accommodate Howard County residents with disabilities. This process has been recently updated. To ensure that we meet your program needs, please call Victoria Taylor, Therapeutic Recreation Supervisor 410-313-4708 Vtaylor@howardcountymd.gov or Susan Potts, Therapeutic Recreation Manager 410-313-4628 spotts@howardcountymd.gov at least two weeks before the program begins to request accommodation services.
The Process to Request Accommodations:
- Choose Your Fun! Look through the seasonal activity guide and find a class or program you or your family member would like. Howard County Recreation & Parks has a multitude of programs to choose from. You are always welcome to call us if you would like some guidance when choosing a program.
- Once you know what program you’d like to participate in, the next step is to register. When registering, let it be known that you will need an accommodation and make a note of whether or not you are a Howard County resident. (Those that are not a Howard County resident are welcome to participate in our programs, yet additional staff will not be provided. We will try to train staff the existing staff for out-of-county residents.) You may register online, over the phone, or in person at any of our community centers or headquarters.
- Once registered for a program, the next step is to request an accommodation through our Accommodations Portal. This portal will ask you for information about the program you have registered for as well as what type of accommodation you are requesting. A notification will be sent to the Therapeutic Recreation team when your request has been submitted.
- After your request has been made through our portal, an Accommodation Assessment link will be sent to you via email or the postal service. This assessment needs to be completed two weeks prior to the start of a program. This assessment will allow our team to better serve you and your loved one and gives our staff more information on how to make a program a success.
- Note: You only need to complete the Accommodation Assessment once a year; you must send all accommodation requests through the Accommodation Portal for each and every program (and section, for example, a child registered for the same camp two weeks in a row will need to put in two requests).
- Once our team has received the completed Accommodation Assessment, we will reach out to you within five business days with a phone call or an email confirming your request and to discuss strategies for inclusion. Please remember that increasing the staff-to-participant ratio is never guaranteed and is judged on a case-by-case basis. We will make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations on an individual basis.
- Please note that all required paperwork must be completed for requests to be reviewed.
If you would like to check the status of your request or if you have any questions regarding inclusion services, feel free to contact our therapeutic recreation team. We would be happy to help!
Victoria Taylor, CTRS, Therapeutic Recreation and Inclusion Services Supervisor
Office: 410- 313- 4708
Email: vtaylor@howardcountymd.gov