Council Disabilities Awareness Committee Serving youth who have special needs and disAbilities can be challenging. We need to provide a supportive environment for these youth that requires leaders who are knowledgeable and understanding of the challenges that these youth experience. Every Council has individuals who meet the understanding and knowledgeable criteria, and it makes sense to harness those resources to better serve youth within the Council. Establishment of a committee comprised of these individuals can provide a valuable service to both the youth and Scouting. In this session you will be guided on the following: (NEXT SLIDE) What is it? How do you set one up? What does it do?

OVERVIEW What is the Council Committee? What does the Committee do? How do you set up the Committee? What is the Committee structure? What are the Committee responsibilities? Here are the steps that we will follow in this presentation: What is the Council Committee? What does the Committee do? How do you set up the Committee? What is the Committee’s structure? What are the Committee’s responsibilities? Note: The official document that includes the information I’m presenting is the Scouting for Youth with DisABILITIES Manual (#34059) which you have been provided.

WHAT IS THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE? Council and District Guidance for Scouting youth Resources Advocacy for the Youth Teaming with Advancement Committee First of all, “what is the committee”: It can be at Council and at Districts It provides guidance to Council (District) on providing Scouting for youth with special needs and disAbilities It is a resource for Units and Leaders It is an advocate for the Youth who have special needs and disAbilities It, in particular, works closely with Advancement Committee

WHAT THE COMMITTEE DOES? Increase membership Promotes awareness and opportunities Develops positive relationships Enhances the Scouting program So, what does the Committee do for the Council in terms of the Youth who have special needs and disAbilities? It helps the Council increase the number of youth served by identifying those available youth in the community who have special needs/disAbilities It provides awareness of and opportunities to serve those youth It develops positive working relationships between Council and those “affinity” organizations and individuals in the community It provides advice to the Council elements on plans, programs and techniques for serving youth who have special needs/disAbilities

SETTING UP THE COMMITTEE Council leadership identifies need Recruiting- Committee Chair Appointing- Staff Adviser Chair & Advisor Determine Scope for committee Number of youth Agencies and organizations Interested individuals Potential funding sources How do you set up this Committee? This can come about because the Council leadership has identified this committee as a need, or because an interested individual has approached the Council President and/or Scout Executive and requested that a Committee be established The Council President, with the Scout Executive, recruits a committee chair; The Scout Executive appoints a staff adviser. The next step in this process is the key to successfully addressing the needs of the Council! The Chair and the Adviser determine scope for the committee. They need to: determine an approximate number of youth to be served (or already in units) identify agencies and organizations serving special needs in the community, who can assist the committee and potentially sponsor special needs-specific units identify interested individuals to serve on the committee (you want to pick people that know or are very interested in special needs) identify potential funding sources for special units and/or programs to support the Council’s special needs programs

SETTING UP THE COMMITTEE (continued) Chair and Adviser recruitment Council (District) event/meeting Sub-committee reporting Then, The Chair and the Adviser recruit people to serve on committee The Council (District) plans to hold an event/meeting to launch the committee It is suggested that the Committee should organizationally report directly to the Membership/Relationships committee of the Council (District) --- this is suggested in light of the direct linkage to membership of and service to youth with special needs/disAbilities within the Council; however, there is also a strong argument for including the committee in support of the Advancement & Recognition Committee, although that only addresses PART of the Committee’s functions

COMMITTEE STRUCTURE Chair Vice-chair Staff Adviser Coordinators for: Marketing Sales Service Program and Finance Potential Committee Organization --- one size does not fit all Councils (Districts)(These are guidelines for you) There are several approaches currently in existence that have been successful. The following positions are suggested for consideration: Chair Vice-chair Staff Adviser Coordinators for: marketing, sales, service, program and finance e.g. --- Program Coordinator(s) (subject matter expert(s)) for Activities, Advancement, Camping, Training and Roundtables

RESPONSIBILITIES – UNITS/VOLUNTEERS Promote inclusion Guidance and resources New-unit campaign Qualified volunteers Unit/District/Council events Promote attendance Provide support for program Ensure Needs of Youth Responsibilities [not necessarily in order of importance, not all-inclusive or all-required] Promote inclusion (both in traditional units and with Non-traditional special needs units Provides guidance and resources (to volunteers and professionals) Helps conduct a new-unit campaign (forming special needs units, as appropriate) Identifies, recruits & TRAINS adequate qualified volunteers (District and unit level as needed) Develops and staffs District and Council-wide event (a specific special needs activity like “The Great Race 2 Autism Awareness”, a Disabilities Awareness Challenge, or as part of a larger event) Promotes attendance of volunteers and staff at training opportunities (with specific special needs/Disabilities awareness training separately or as part of a position-specific training) Provides support for activities, advancement, camping, training and Roundtables Ensures that the needs of youth with special needs and disabilities are included (and considered in all aspects of Council actions)

RESPONSIBILITIES - COUNCILS Special Needs budget Council-wide training opportunities Nomination procedures Advise Advancement Committee National Resources Assist Camping Committee Information and education Short-term task forces Responsibilities Helps identify and solicit special needs portion of council budget Seeks opportunities to conduct workshops (Council-wide, UofScouting, Pow-Wows, CCS, Training Academy) Promotes and completes nomination procedures (for BSA awards: Torch of Gold and Woods Services) Advises Council Advancement Committee (on applications for registration beyond the age of eligibility, extensions and appropriate rank-specific modifications) Reviews and uses National resources (participates in network with NDAC and shares national e-newsletter) Assists Council Camping Committee (on accessibility/ADA of Council properties/facilities) Provides informational and educational releases (e.g., local Council newsletter articles including reprints from the NDAC e-newsletter) Establishes short-term task forces (to address Council-specific issues or to implement special needs/disabilities awareness initiatives)

SUMMARY Establishing a Disabilities Awareness/Special Needs committee in your Council or district will benefit scouts, parents and leaders. A DAC WILL help enhance the scouting program by; increasing membership, improving program, providing guidance, and helping to provide and build resources. Whether you have a small district committee or a larger council wide committee, any size committee can help our Scouts. There are multiple resources available at the council, area, and national levels for leaders to access. We can be a valuable resource to not only our volunteers, but also the council staff where we can provide meaningful information and expertise that will benefit the life of a Scout with special needs.