Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation has received accreditation through the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) and the National Recreation and Park Association (NPRA).
The county’s parks and recreation department first earned the CAPRA accreditation, which stays in effect for five years, in 2016.
To pass the reaccreditation process, the department had to demonstrate compliance with more than 150 standards, from quality of operations to management to service to the community. CAPRA accreditation is the only national accreditation for park and recreation agencies, and is a measure of an agency’s overall quality of operation, management, and service to the community.
Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation manages 167 parks, 53 recreation centers and 118 playgrounds. It serves an area encompassing 1,020 square miles.
Its programs and accomplishments include:
- Afterschool and summer programming for more than 10,000 participants in the last three years
- More than 350 recreational and education programs serving nearly 6,000 children, adults, seniors, and people with disabilities
- Improving turf at more than 100 high-use sports fields in at-risk communities
- Converting decommissioned wastewater treatment plant into Carrollwood Village park. The park’s playground, splash pad, pump truck, fitness challenge course and walking trail attract more than 71,000 visitors annually.
- Tree management program that includes the evaluation of 11,000 trees and planting 27,000 by 2024 to mitigate the impacts of urbanization.
CAPRA is comprised of representatives from the NRPA, the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials, the International City/County Management Association, the Academy for Leisure Sciences, the Armed Forces Recreation Network and the Council of State Executive Directors.
