CampGroup | Traditions of Excellence

CampGroup Safety Standards Exceed Requirements of the ACA and State Health Departments. In the past, CampGroup camps have demonstrated their commitment to safety by complying with the accreditation standards of the American Camping Association (ACA). ACA representatives visit and accredit member camps once every three years. All CampGroup camps are ACA accredited. Although each of our camps is unique, all of our directors feel strongly that to achieve the level of excellence we seek at our CampGroup camps, all of our camps should go beyond even the ACA standards. We want to exceed those standards in many areas, particularly safety. Thus, CampGroup developed its own safety standards.

The standards address nine separate areas: alcohol policy, sexual harassment, the creation of a physically and emotionally safe environment, driver training, trip safety, aquatics and camper supervision. Many of the specific practices identified go beyond ACA requirements. For example, the ACA requires that there be one adult in every waterski boat; we will have one adult driver and one adult spotter.

Development of our new practices is not an end, but a beginning. CampGroup's mission is to constantly review and improve ongoing practices to assure our children and parents that our camps are the safest and best run in camping.

We have eliminated the use of 15-passenger vans
We have created alcohol and drug-free environments at camp
We require a criminal background search on all staff members
We have developed an extensive power boat safety test
We have developed water safety ratios that exceed ACA requirements
We require staff/camper ratios that exceed ACA requirements