CPRE Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Recreation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A park agency wants to eliminate financial barriers to participation for low-income residents. Which policy approach is most comprehensive?
- Offering a small number of partial scholarships on a first-come, first-served basis
- Implementing a universal fee assistance program with a simple application, active outreach, and multiple subsidy levels based on income (Correct answer)
- Making all programs free to all participants regardless of income
- Eliminating all programs that require fees
Correct answer: Implementing a universal fee assistance program with a simple application, active outreach, and multiple subsidy levels based on income
A well-designed fee assistance program with active outreach reduces financial barriers systematically and equitably, while remaining financially sustainable for the agency.
Question 2: Environmental justice in parks contexts refers to:
- Compliance with EPA environmental regulations
- The fair distribution of environmental benefits — including quality parks and green space — and equitable protection from environmental hazards across all communities (Correct answer)
- Enforcement of park rules in all neighborhoods equally
- Environmental education programming for school-age youth
Correct answer: The fair distribution of environmental benefits — including quality parks and green space — and equitable protection from environmental hazards across all communities
Environmental justice links park equity to broader patterns of environmental inequality, recognizing that low-income communities and communities of color often have less access to quality green space.
Question 3: Which programming approach is most likely to reduce participation barriers for individuals experiencing homelessness?
- Requiring all participants to provide a permanent mailing address
- Partnering with social service agencies, waiving fees, and designing programs that are welcoming and responsive to the needs of unstably housed individuals (Correct answer)
- Directing homeless individuals to social service agencies rather than recreation programs
- Limiting park program participation to permanent residents of the service area
Correct answer: Partnering with social service agencies, waiving fees, and designing programs that are welcoming and responsive to the needs of unstably housed individuals
Partnerships with social services and trauma-informed program design create pathways to recreation for people experiencing homelessness, recognizing their equal right to public recreation services.
Question 4: A CPRE candidate is reviewing their agency's ADA Transition Plan. This plan is required for agencies with 50 or more employees and must include:
- A list of all full-time park employees and their salaries
- An inventory of barriers in programs, services, and facilities and a schedule for removing those barriers (Correct answer)
- A plan to hire additional employees with disabilities
- A commitment to fund all ADA improvements within one fiscal year
Correct answer: An inventory of barriers in programs, services, and facilities and a schedule for removing those barriers
The ADA Transition Plan must identify physical and programmatic barriers and set a schedule with cost estimates for removing them, demonstrating the agency's commitment to accessibility improvement.
Question 5: What is implicit bias in the context of park staff hiring and service delivery?
- Deliberately discriminatory policies written into agency procedures
- Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect decisions and behaviors without the individual being aware of their influence (Correct answer)
- Bias that has been formally acknowledged and corrected through training
- Preferences that are explicitly stated in job postings
Correct answer: Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect decisions and behaviors without the individual being aware of their influence
Implicit biases operate below conscious awareness and can influence hiring decisions, program design, and customer service quality even when individuals hold egalitarian values.
Question 6: The 10-Minute Walk campaign, championed by NRPA and Trust for Public Land, advocates for:
- Ensuring all park trails have 10-minute activity circuits
- Every person in every city having access to a quality park or green space within a 10-minute walk from their home (Correct answer)
- Setting a 10-minute maximum wait time for recreation center check-in
- Providing 10 minutes of free parking at all park facilities
Correct answer: Every person in every city having access to a quality park or green space within a 10-minute walk from their home
The 10-Minute Walk campaign addresses geographic park equity by setting a proximity standard, highlighting communities with inadequate park access and driving investment in underserved areas.
CPRE Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Recreation 2
A park agency wants to eliminate financial barriers to participation for low-income residents.
Which policy approach is most comprehensive?