Agenda - 02-03-1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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12u PROGRAM SUMMARY Problem Concern: The Orange County Recreation and Parks Department was created by the Board of County Commissioners in 1975 to supervise recreation facilities and activities. The Orange County,Council on Aging, formed in 1970, became a line department of county governmentin 1980. Although both agencies had worked together on a number of projects, the cooperation was on an ad hoc basis with no regular cooperative service plan. InIJanuary of 1980, Recreation and Parks and the Council on Aging issued the first formal program plan for older adult activities. The plan. called for a division of iresponsibilities and provided a written framework to operate the scheduled activities within. However, due to personnel changes within each agency, the committment to cooperation began to erode. Although several annual activities and special events continued to be co-sponsored, there was no. regular meeting schedule for regular program planning. Each department continued to offer leisure-related programs, excursions, and activities for county residents 60 years and older on an individual basis. While there was no conflict or animosity between agencies, in many cases programs of a like or similar nature were offered in public facilities within the same time period. As a result, programs and activities often reflected mediocre or insigni- ficant participation and created confusion among registrants in identifying which program was sponsored by whom and where to obtain further information on the activity. It became obvious to personnel in each department that a more effective and efficient means of administering programs with county resources would be through a cooperative agreement. Solution: As a result of a number of meetings between respective department directors and the appropriate program and activity coordinators, the Department of Recreation and.Parks and Department on Aging formed an agreement in March of 1984 to renew the committment to cooperatively sponsor programs offered to the citizens of Orange County 60 years and older. Jointly sponsored programs and activities are offered at the lowest participant fee as possible and in most cases are free to Senior Citizens that possess a Senior Tar Heel Discount Card issued by the Department on Aging. News releases, PSA 's, and other information distributed to the public indicate the joint sponsorship of these programs. Through a monthly calendar issued by the Department on Aging to all registered county senior citizens, information on leisure programs, 'excursions, and activities is made available at no cost to the participant. To perpetuate the initial cooperative efforts, staff members from each depart- ment meet formally Hon a quarterly basis to plan programs, establish manpower responsibilities, transportation requirements, and establish registration proce- dures. Through these meetings, each agency commits to a plan that utilizes the available resources in the most efficient manner. A program flow chart of responsiblilities can best illustrate how the Recrea- tion and Parks Department and the Department on Aging establish a cooperative pro- ject plan: Secure facilities--Sched. Manpower ivart. Planning Meetin /(Rec. & Parks) (Rec. & Parks) g g--Sched. of Activities/ ' Implemen./E al. Rec. & Parks/Aging) (Rec. & Parks/Aging `Secure Transpor.----Manage Regis. / (Aging) (Aging) Responsibilities vary from project and usually require many more steps than involved in the example flow chart. However, the process is basically the same.