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This guide provided by IPEMA and Voice of Play is intended to help families, caregivers and parents understand what it means to have an inclusive playground and play in their communities – and ways to start their own inclusivity campaign in their neighborhood.

Download Inclusivity Guide

Not sure where to begin when looking at your local playgrounds to see if it is truly inclusive? IPEMA and Voice of Play have put together this inclusivity checklist that parents, caregivers, and community members can use to see if their playgrounds are inclusive or not.

Download Inclusivity Checklist
IPEMA - Voice of Play - Checklist for Access

This checklist provided by IPEMA is intended to help owners of public play area’s understand how to use the Department of Justice’s 2010 Standards for Accessible Design. The Checklist provides everything you need to know about access route dimensions, surfacing requirements and play equipment ramps and transfer stations for playgrounds of all sizes.

Download Checklist
IIPEMA - Voice of Play - PEMA Installation Guide

Through research, consultation and collaboration with those on the frontline of the playground industry, IPEMA published a surfacing guide to provide a complete source of regulations concerning proper installation and maintenance of all IPEMA certified playground surfaces, including: artificial turf, engineered wood fiber, interlocking tile, poured-in place and rubber mulch. The guide provides an overview of different types of surfacing materials, as well as detailed information on the installation and maintenance of materials to ensure both safety and access.

Download Installation Guide

A mother of three living in Ohio is an inclusivity advocate, promoting the importance of inclusive spaces so that people like her daughter, who uses a wheelchair, can be more independent. This case study looks at how this mother and her local community came together to create a more inclusive playground space, and some of the ways they accomplished this amazing goal along the way.

Download Case Study
IPEMA - Voice of Play - Play Pledge

Outdoor play is an essential part of every child’s healthy growth and development. As a parent, please pledge to make your child’s play a priority by creating a “play program” with your child and signing the pledge below. Make a commitment to ensure that your child has an hour of outdoor play a day at home and/or at school.

Download Play Pledge

Links to Affiliated Groups

National Recreation and Park Association

The National Recreation and Park Association is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing park, recreation and conservation efforts that enhance quality of life for all people.

American Society of Landscape Architects

Founded in 1899, American Society of Landscape Architects is the professional association for landscape architects, representing some 16,000 members in 48 professional chapters and 68 student chapters across North America. The Society’s mission is to lead, to educate and to participate in the careful stewardship, wise planning, and artful design of our cultural and natural environments.

Canadian Parks and Recreation Association

The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) is a national organization dedicated to realizing the full potential of parks and recreation as a major contributor to community health and vibrancy.

National Playground Contractors Association, Inc.

The National Playground Contractors Association, Inc. is a non-profit trade association that supports the park and playground equipment installation industry.

National Parent-Teacher Association

National PTA® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of parent involvement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education.

National Association for the Education of Young Children

The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources. Founded in 1926, NAEYC is the largest and most influential advocate for high-quality early care and education in the United States.

National Child Care Association

The National Child Care Association (NCCA) NCCA is a professional trade association focused on the needs of licensed, private early childhood care and education programs.

National League of Cities

The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. Working in partnership with the 49 state municipal leagues, NLC serves as a resource to and an advocate for the more than 19,000 cities, villages and towns it represents.

US Play Coalition

The US Play Coalition is a collective of individuals and organizations that recognize play as a valuable and necessary part of a healthy and productive life.

IPEMA Members

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Links to Affiliated Safety Groups

ASTM International

ASTM International is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. Today, some 12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confidence.

ADA Access Board

The U.S. Access Board is a federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards for the built environment, transportation, communication, medical diagnostic equipment and information technology.

Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction.

National Program for Playground Safety

Since 1995, the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) has been the leader in research, training, and development of S.A.F.E. play areas in the nation! NPPS’ mission is to help the public create safe and developmentally appropriate play environments for children.

Other Helpful Links

Safe Kids Worldwide

Safe Kids Worldwide is a global network of organizations dedicated to providing parents and caregivers with practical and proven resources to protect kids from unintentional injuries, the number one cause of death to children in the United States.

Imagination Playground

Imagination Playground is an innovative playground equipment system that transforms any space—schools, children’s museums, parks and recreation, daycare centers, camps, hospitals, churches—into a play space that encourages learning, social development, movement and above all fun.

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! works to bring balanced and active play into the daily lives of all children, particularly those growing up in poverty in America. They do this by creating great places to play, inspiring communities to promote and support play and driving the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy and productive lives.

Let’s Play

Let’s Play is a community partnership led by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group to get kids and families to play nationwide. Their goal is to help families achieve healthy living by providing the tools, places and inspiration to make physical activity a daily priority.