WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE SIX FLAGS THEME PARKS A Project Presented to the faculty of the Department of Recreation, Parks & Tourism Administration California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In Recreation, Parks & Tourism Administration by Jamie Lynn Jackson SPRING 2017 © 2017 Jamie Lynn Jackson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: A TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES OF SIX FLAGS THEME PARKS A Project by Jamie Lynn Jackson Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Dr. Jamie Hoffman, CTRS __________________________________, Second Reader Dr. Elizabeth Erickson ____________________________ Date iii Student: Jamie Lynn Jackson I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. __________________________, Graduate Coordinator ___________________ Dr. Katherine Pinch Date Department of Recreation, Parks & Tourism Administration iv Abstract of WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: A TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES OF SIX FLAGS THEME PARKS by Jamie Lynn Jackson In 2015, the Americans with Disabilities Act celebrated its 25th Anniversary. While this law has helped open up doors to millions of people with disabilities, there is still not a well know training to assist people who work with and interact with people with disabilities. This project was designed to assist the Leadership and Supervisory team at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to better assist guests with disabilities. At the time of this project, Six Flags had a minimal training for team members on how to assist and interact with guests with disabilities. This program will assist the Leadership team members at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to best assist guests with disabilities. _______________________, Committee Chair Dr. Jamie Hoffman, CTRS _______________________ Date v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my committee members, Dr. Jamie Hoffman and Dr. Elizabeth Erickson for their words of encouragement and tireless hours of reading and critiquing over the years. As well as the fabulous professors of the CSU, Sacramento Recreation, Parks and Tourism that have greatly contributed to my learning opportunities. To the Leadership team at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom who has been very accepting and open to the project. I could not have asked for a more supportive and interactive team to assist me with my research and keep me motived over years. Finally, I could not give enough thanks to my family. First, to my parents, Marlene and Dwight Jackson; thank you for the many hours of dinner in my room, days at the library and numerous reminders to keep going and all I was working for. Next, to my sister, Katie Jackson; thank you for always being my rock and for helping me through my many sleepless nights. Thank you also for the numerous nights that I slept on your couch to allow me to get to the library early or stay late. I could never thank you all enough for your encouragement and reminder of what I was working for. Thank you. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………....1 Statement of the Problem……………………………………………………….7 Purpose of the Project………………………………………….…………….....8 Limitations……………………………………………………………………...9 Delimitations…………………………………………………..……………......9 Definition of Terms…………………………………………….……………...10 2. LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………….………….…..13 History of the Americans with Disabilities Act………………...……….……14 Inclusion in Recreation……………………………………………..………....29 Hiring, Training and Development…………………………………...……….32 3. METHODS………………………………………………………………………..42 Setting…………………………………………………………………………42 Training Modules……………………………………………………………...43 Supervisor Information Card………………………………………………….43 4. RESULTS………………………………………………………..……………..…45 Section 1: Introduction...…………………………………………..……….....45 Section 2: Power Point Training…………………………………………........47 Section 3: Supervisor Information Card……………………………………....78 vii 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION…………………………………………….79 Appendix A…………………………………………………………………………....82 Appendix B………………………………………………………………………....…86 References……………………………………………………………………………..88 viii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION On June 13, 1866, the United States Congress passed Amendment XIV, later ratified on July 9, 1868, which addressed the citizenship and rights of citizens of the United States of America (“14th Amendment”; “The constitution of the United States: Amendments 11-27”). Section 1 of the Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdictions thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (“14th Amendment”; “The constitution of the United States: Amendments 11-27”) The 14th Amendment gave all persons who were born United States citizens, or those persons who became naturalized citizens, the same protection of civil liberties and the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness. The 14th Amendment was the basis for the argument brought before the Supreme Court during the fight for civil rights in the 1950s and 60s. Under the 14th Amendment, all persons receive the same treatment and protection as part of their civil right, “an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury” (“14th Amendment”). The Civil Rights Movement provided the basis for the argument that would be presented for the development of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which would later translate into the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (“Statutes, regulations and case law protecting individuals with disabilities,” 2 2004). However, before the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act were signed into law, people with disabilities had a long fight to ensure they received the same rights that other Americans enjoyed. When America was first founded, Congress provided health coverage for seamen who were sick or had a disability. This was extended to members of the military during the Civil War, when Congress created a “disability system” which focused on income supplementation (Stefan, 2001). After World War I, Congress changed the focus of laws for veterans to focus on vocational rehabilitation; both programs were only focused on those persons who served in the military, not on the civilian population. Congress’s response was to pass the Fess-Kenyon Act which extended vocational rehabilitation to all persons “disabled in industry or in any legitimate occupation” (Stefan, 2001, p. 79; Mezey, 2005). The Fess-Kenyon Act was signed into law June 2, 1920; however, it was replaced with the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1943 on July 6, 1943 (Fess-Kenyon, 2012). Vocational rehabilitation began to extend to all people when Congress voted in to law the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1954. The purpose of the expansion was to “aid physically handicapped individuals,” as well as defining the population as “people under a physical or mental disability which constitutes a substantial handicap to employment” (Stefan, 2001, p. 79; Mezey, 2005). The passing of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1954 allowed Congress to pass the first disability insurance program Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Although at first the program was not a major step towards equal treatment, it did give medical assistance to an extremely small group of people; it 3 was only available to those between the ages of 50 and 64 who could show proof of employment for at least 20 quarters prior to the impairment (Stefan, 2001). It appeared that there was finally medical assistance for persons with physical and mental disabilities; however, it only covered those whose impairments prevented “any substantial gainful activity” and were expected to result in death, or at least be of “long- continued and indefinite duration” (Stefan, 2001, p. 79). The SSDI continued to grow and now covered any person who becomes disabled after a minimum of 10 years of work. In 1965, Congress went on to sign into law an additional program for insurance assistance, the Medicaid program, which was designed to help those who could not afford the cost of health insurance (Stefan, 2001). At the time Medicaid was signed into law, the Civil Rights Movement was in full force and the idea of ensuring civil rights for all turned into a wild fire of change for people who had been discriminated against based on the color of their skin (Civil Rights Act of 1965), their sex (Fair Voting Act of 1965), or their disability (Stefan, 2001; Mezey, 2005). For members of the community who had a disability, the Civil Rights Movement helped show and strengthen the argument that all persons should be treated equally, and “disabilities rights should be treated and recognized as civil rights” (Mezey, 2005, p.10). Members of the community believed that the “focus should be on the