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FISCAL YEAR 2004 APPROPRIATIONS

The American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) is the largest national association of recreational therapists, health care providers who use recreational therapy interventions to improve function of individuals with illnesses or disabling conditions. Recreational therapy is a health care and human service discipline that delivers treatment services designed to restore, remediate and/or rehabilitation functional capabilities for persons with injuries, chronic illnesses and all disabilities.
March 2003.

ATRA POSITION:

In these uncertain times, it is our responsibility to assure that those individuals whose lives have been impacted by disability are not left behind from a health or economic perspective. The investment in recreational therapy services, demonstration projects, professional preparation and efficacy research will contribute to the future cost-effectiveness of the health care system and further integrate our patients into the mainstream of American life. Therefore, Congress should use FY 2004 to address the growing unmet needs of individuals with disabilities.

· We advocate for $5 million of FY 2004 funding for demonstration projects for recreation programs for individuals with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education’s Recreation Program for People with Disabilities (funded through the Rehabilitation Services Administration--RSA) has funded the recreation program for people with disabilities for the past 18 years. This program is critical to building a national network of local adaptive recreation programs. There is a high demand for these programs that greatly assist people with disabilities to participate fully in community recreation activities.

· ATRA supports a FY 2004 funding increase for the Rehabilitation Services Administration. RSA provides vocational rehabilitation services to approximately 1.2 million individuals with disabilities, including vocational evaluation, counseling and guidance, education and vocational training, job placement, and post-employment services. With over 70% of people with disabilities unemployed, funding for RSA programs should be significantly increased.

· ATRA supports a significant increase in funding for the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in FY 2004. NIDRR has been level-funded in FY 2003 and in the FY 2004 budget proposal at $110 million. An increase is needed to ensure a continued commitment to disability and rehabilitation research. As funding for these research programs has remained stagnant, medical research funding at the NIH has doubled over the past five years. A significant increase in NIDRR funding is long overdue in order to meet the needs of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. We request that a portion of this funding be used to study recreational therapy, efficacy, and outcome-based research.

· The National Center for Medical and Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) is housed within the National Institute for Child Health and Development at the NIH and is tasked with fostering the development of the scientific knowledge needed to enhance the health, productivity, independence, and quality of life of persons with disabilities. Considering the breadth of NCMRR’s agenda in addressing medical rehabilitation and disability research issues, ATRA believes it should receive a substantial increase in FY 2004. ATRA supports using a portion of this increase for the NCMRR to include recreational therapy efficacy and outcome-based research.

· ATRA supports the funding for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the Department of Education. This includes Special Education (IDEA) programs that provide access to recreational therapy where deemed necessary to meet a child’s individualized educational needs. Additionally, we support the funding of personnel preparation grants that include the preparation of recreational therapy professionals. These grants are imperative to ensuring adequate training programs to meet the health care demands of the aging and disability populations.

· ATRA supports a significant increase of funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This increase should be used to fund the excellent health services research conducted by the agency with a specific focus on the agency’s emerging disability research agenda. The increase should also be used to fund research on health costs, quality, and outcomes related to recreational therapy efficacy and outcome-based research.