BY KIRSTY McDONALD

PALS Family Resource Associate

Planning PALS Summer 2021 Programming in our constantly evolving COVID landscape has proven exceptionally difficult. To help us to understand the situation and make important decisions, we are relying on the guidance and advice of health experts. We are fortunate to have access to the resources listed below, and we consult these resources regularly so that every decision we make is well-informed and based on the most up-to-date and accurate data available. We want our PALS Family to have access to the same resources we do, and we’re sharing these resources in hopes that our participants and their families can better understand the many factors influencing our decision making.

The COVID Tracking Project.
1. What is it? The COVID Tracking Project collects the COVID data from all states in the USA every day and presents it in a very user-friendly format. It pulls all of the information from each state’s COVID dashboard and collates in one place.
2. How do we use it? This resource allows us to quickly gauge a state’s position in terms of case numbers, vaccine distribution and community spread, and we then use this information to understand the ‘why’ behind the other resources. This makes it easy for us to see and compare all of the available information for all states in which we have programs.

Center for Disease Control (CDC).
1. What is it? The official CDC monitoring website for the federal government and the top experts in disease control.
2. How do we use it? The CDC also has a tracker, but this tracker is a weekly tracker and so the information is less real-time but allows us to visualize trends. The CDC website also has some great information specific to summer camps and provides guidance on the factors that should be taken into account when making decisions.

The American Camp Association (ACA) Field Guide.
1. What is it? The ACA are the industry-leaders in summer camps in the USA and their guidance and standards are considered the industry best practices. Here, they’ve compiled suggestions and guidance from the CDC recommendations for summer camps.
2. How do we use it? This Field Guide has clear, detailed information on the practical implementation of the CDC guidance and we have consulted this guide heavily as we look towards summer and making decisions on the policies, procedures and expectations we would need to have in place in order to run safe and successful programs.

The LuMind IDSC Foundation
1. What is it? The LuMind IDSC Foundation’s mission is to “accelerate research to increase availability of therapeutic, diagnostic, and medical care options and we empower families through education, connections, and support.”
2. How do we use it? LuMind has conducted research on the interaction between Down syndrome and COVID and also the co-occurring conditions that are often present in those with Down syndrome and how these impact or are impacted by COVID. This resource reminds us of the additional layer of complexity that we are faced with in planning our programs and makes clear that we need to take all precautions to keep our community safe.

We are leaning on information from a wide variety of sources and making informed decisions with the health and safety of our community at the core. In doing so, we are remaining ever flexible and responsive to changes in COVID numbers, vaccine rollout, and expert guidance and recommendations.

More than ever, our community needs space to connect, build friendships, and be part of something bigger. We are confident that our summer programming will reflect our commitment to the health and safety of our community, while remaining true to our mission of building a world of belonging through transformative friendships. We’re looking forward to a summer of PALS Magic, and we hope to see you there!