Agenda - 02-03-2009 - 7a - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment B Orange County Parks and Recreation "Sun Fun" Summer Camp Results of Parent Survey October, 2008 Purpose In response to grievances expressed by community members regarding the cancellation of the Sun Fun summer camp, volunteers from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council (PARC) undertook a brief survey of parents whose children participated in the 2007 Sun Fun summer camp. The purpose of the survey was to determine whether the participating families were able to locate affordable alternative camps for 2008 that met their needs and to document any hardships experienced as a result of the cancellation of the camp. Methods Sample: Parks and Recreation Department staff generated a list of the 149 children who participated in at least one session of the 2007 Sun Fun camp. Brief(3-5 minute)telephone interviews were attempted with parents of all 149 children in September and October of 2008. A total of 68 parents completed the survey(46%). Of the 81 non-respondents, 2 parents refused to participate in the survey; 12 were ineligible for the survey because the family had either moved out of state, the child(or foster child)was no longer living with the parent, or the child had aged out of the camp, and thus the survey questions were irrelevant; 34 had changed or disconnected their home phone numbers; and 33 were not able to be reached after several call attempts. Parents who had more than one child attend the camp were interviewed separately regarding each child. Survey Questions: We asked parents whether their child attended a summer camp in 2008. If the child attended at least one week of a camp, we collected data on the number of weeks attended, the cost per week for each camp, and financial assistance received. If the child did not attend a camp, we asked the reason for non-attendance. We read all parents a list of possible problems that families may have experienced due to the cancellation of the summer camp and asked them to respond by stating whether that problem was a concern for their family. We also asked all parents whether or not they would have enrolled their child in the Sun Fun camp if it had been offered in 2008. Two open ended questions were also posed to parents to elicit information about the value they place on the Sun Fun camp and concerns relating to the cancellation of the camp. A copy of the survey is appended to this report(Appendix A).