Crystal Lake DEI Policy

From the Crystal Lake Park District Policy Manual:

Policy Number: 9.3.2 Date Adopted: 3/18/2021
Policy Name: Community Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Last Revision: 3/18/2021

INTRODUCTION

The Crystal Lake Park District is committed to creating and promoting inclusion across all public spaces, places, facilities and programs that the Park District manages. Through the Community Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy and supporting practices, the focus is to ensure that everyone has access to the benefits of quality parks and recreation, including those who have been historically marginalized, those with a physical or cognitive disability, the LGBTQ+ community, racial and ethnic minorities, and new Americans refugees and immigrants.

The Crystal Lake Park District defines inclusion as the process of including all persons, regardless of their ethnic origin, socioeconomic level, age, color, language or abilities.

Policy Goals

The Community Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy outlines the Crystal Lake Park District’s approach to ensuring inclusive environments and equitable opportunities for all community members in local parks and recreation.

This policy ensures that:

• Community members utilizing Crystal Lake Park District facilities, programs and services have equitable and appropriate access to programs and services, regardless of ability, race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or country of origin.
• Staff, community partners and stakeholders engage in the support of all community members and promote inclusive behaviors in park and recreation facilities and in public spaces throughout the community.
• The Crystal Lake Park District establishes and maintains an organizational infrastructure for management, oversight, implementation and communication about the policy and its established goals and objectives.
• The Crystal Lake Park District will continuously improve inclusive practices.

This policy applies to all community members, staff, and sites in the Crystal Lake Park District.
Staff Training

The Crystal Lake Park District staff will participate in trainings grounded in effective training models using evidence-based content. Training will be comprehensive (covers multiple topics), based on credible research and delivered by qualified personnel. All new staff members will be quickly oriented to inclusive policies and practices.

Organizational Support

The Crystal Lake Park District and staff will put in place organizational supports that create a social environment (including positive relationships among staff, youth, families and community) that encourages all to be inclusive. This includes:

Staff

Demonstrating an attitude of inclusion, including nondiscriminatory language and actions.

Determining and addressing any potential unintended outcomes of activities, programs or parks to ensure that they do not limit participation or cause worse outcomes based on ability, age, sexual orientation, identity, religion or country of origin.

Providing educational materials about inclusion to all constituents at community events when possible.
Sharing and discussing practices during community meetings when possible.

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Communications

Providing positive messages about diversity and inclusion through written and verbal messaging, posters, pictures and publications.

Environmental Support

The Crystal Lake Park District will establish environmental supports and practices that promote inclusion for all community members. Examples of environmental supports include:

• Program adaptation for inclusion, depending on the individual needs and abilities of participants
• One-on-one trained staff support throughout the program
• Language interpretation, including but not limited to:
  o Sign language interpreters
  o Braille
  o Language translation services
  o Audio/visual support
  o Large-print signage
• Build environment enhancements, including modified equipment and ramps
• Gender-neutral restrooms and changing rooms
• Culturally sensitive program hours
• Signage and additional facility enhancements (artwork, murals, etc.) that promote diversity and inclusion
• Does our agency communicate a vision that values the participation of all people as members of the community?
• Does our agency’s improvement plan include inclusive practices with action steps to support implementation?
• Is there adequate, regularly scheduled, ongoing planning time for agency staff to collaborate on inclusive programsand events?

Continuous Improvement

The Crystal Lake Park District will work to continuously improve our equity and inclusion efforts, through meetings, community engagement events, public forums, surveys and monitoring economic and health indicators.

The Crystal Lake Park District will work to monitor the following indicators to track progress of inclusive efforts:

• Does our agency engage the whole community by providing multiple opportunities and modes for participating?
• Are there professional development opportunities for staff regarding inclusive strategies and supports?
• Are community members from all populations engaged in programing, utilizing facilities and taking part in future planning conversations?
  Resources

The Crystal Lake Park District recognizes that this document is an ever-growing resource and aims to keep it updated as it does with all policies. For more on inclusion and equity, we encourage staff and community members to visit the National Recreation and Park Association’s Parks for Inclusion website, www.nrpa.org/ParksForInclusion. This policy was developed using the NRPA Park’s for Inclusion Template.

Glossary

The Crystal Lake Park District provides these definitions for historically marginalized audiences, including those with physical or cognitive disabilities, the LGTBQ+ community, racial and ethnic minorities, and new Americans (refugees and immigrants).

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Individuals with a disability include those with:

• Hearing difficulty (e.g., deaf or having serious difficulty hearing)
• Vision difficulty (e.g., blind or having serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses)
• Cognitive difficulty (e.g., because of a physical, mental or emotional problem, having difficulty remembering, concentrating or making decisions)
• Ambulatory difficulty (e.g., having serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs)
• Self-care difficulty (e.g., having difficulty bathing or dressing)
• Independent living difficulty (e.g., because of a physical, mental or emotional problem, having difficulty doing errands alone, such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping)
• New Americans include immigrants, refugees and/or noncitizens living in America
  LGBTQ+ community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer), defined as:
• Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women.
• Gay: A man who is attracted to other men.
• Bisexual: An individual who is attracted to both genders.
• Trans: An umbrella term that seeks to incorporate individuals whose gender identities do not match their biological sex, for example, someone who is born male-bodied and identifies as a woman.
• Queer or Questioning: Individuals who experience fluidity in their experience of sexuality or gender and, therefore, do not identify strictly as LGB or T. The term ‘Queer’ can also include those who do not identify as either gender.

Racial/Ethnic communities, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, are composed of several different race categories — black, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, other, and two or more races. Hispanics are also considered a minority, although Hispanic or Latino, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as an ethnicity rather than as a race.

Other considerations include religious communities, such as Muslim, that practice cultural traditions based around gender.