Medford eyes inclusion specialist, regional summer program for kids with disabilities

What started out as a plan to launch a regional summer program for kids with disabilities turned into a broader project when discussions between the Medford City Council’s Education and Culture Subcommittee, parents and the Recreation Department veered into an unconsidered direction.

Because everyone has limited resources, funding and staff, City Councilor George Scarpelli wants to create a tri-city recreation program with Somerville and Melrose for kids with disabilities. He would like to build a partnership with parents as well as city leadership and bring an inclusion specialist under the umbrella of the Rec Department to pull it all together.

Parent Tonya Sullivan, however, finds that worrisome and she’s not alone.

Sullivan is well versed in Medford’s efforts to launch a summer program for kids with disabilities. She said her son, who is now 21, has been through a variety of programs, from toddlerhood to teendom and none of them stellar.

“I just want to take a minute to be honest, when our kids currently participate in inclusive activities in Medford, it’s intermittent at best,” she said. “It’s when the supports are available, and it’s often taking part in a peripheral manner.”

She added that more often than not, many kids have to go out of town to be able to participate, as her child did. But she also said the focus on an inclusion specialist must be broader than just a recreational program.

Inclusion - what?

“The initial request was for an inclusion specialist for the city to look at recreation, transportation, the library, the post office, restaurants, grocery stores, police and fire stations, hospitals, banks, art centers, places of worship, parks, pathways, ponds, voting centers, city council and school committee meetings, celebrations in Medford, Medford events, venues with live entertainment, local craft fairs, holiday celebrations, farmers markets, employment opportunities, just to name a few,” Sullivan said. “Basically every aspect of what makes a city a city.”

Sullivan said they simply want to make sure wherever the inclusion specialist ends up being housed, their view isn’t defined by that particular office. She asked Scarpelli and his fellow councilors to look at other options because their kids with disabilities will grow up to be adults with disabilities.

“And wouldn’t it be great if they could navigate the city more easily because the inclusion specialist helped in all areas for all stages of life,” she said.

Patricia Chery agreed. She said she is very excited to work with Scarpelli, but parents have fought hard to get the idea of a city-wide inclusion specialist on the table and they want to get it right.

“We don’t want it to be, you know, just another 3-to-4-p.m.-on-a-Saturday-program,” she said. “It needs to be bigger.”

Scarpelli called the parent’s comments regarding inclusion for all stages of life a kick in the pants, but he also defended the Recreation Department. 

“We’ve had some hurdles because of limitations,” he said.

But he believes that Recreation Department Director Kevin Bailey, working with a parent organization, can craft programs that do work for disabled residents aged 0-99.

“Because that’s what the Recreation Department’s for,” he said. “The Recreation Department isn’t just about sports.”

His plan is to use the Recreation Department as a conduit to work with the school and the library and all city entities to create access for everyone everywhere.

Sullivan still wasn’t sold on the idea and pressed the subcommittee to look for another department to house the inclusion specialist, someplace where the position would be more well-rounded, she said.

Scarpelli reminded Sullivan the position has yet to be approved or funded and this was really an information gathering session to bolster their position with the mayor and full council. He said he hoped the meeting was going to be the start of something amazing.

City Council President Isaac “Zac” Bears said he doesn’t think anyone disagrees about the need for a citywide approach to address inclusion, but the question is how do build a foundation with the resources they have and then figuring how to grow it with more resources.

“I don’t have the answer to that question, but I think that is the path,” he said.

He suggested that if the budget is going to only support one person then it might be better to put that someone in the inclusion office or the mayor’s office because then they would have a citywide scope and could liaise with all departments.

Bears also pointed out Medford already has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office, which is supposed to reach across the city.

Scarpelli suggested they start with a working group that included someone from the DEI office, schools, recreation, parents, community volunteers, City Council and the mayor’s office. He also admitted they might be looking at two working groups, one to address citywide inclusion and one to look at his regional program for kids with disabilities.

Bailey agreed having a separate parent advisory committee focused on the recreation aspect would be a good idea.

Bears made a motion to keep the discussion in the Education and Culture Subcommittee for the time being because it would allow them to bring it up during budget discussion. On a suggestion from Scarpelli, he amended the motion adding that the Recreation Department establish a parent working group for recreation programming aimed at kids with disabilities.

The motion passed unanimously.