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To strengthen and improve summer camps so that future generations will benefit from the enriching experiences that they offer.
We've made safety our highest priority. After an exhaustive review of safety standards in the camping industry, we've developed our own set of standards that, in many cases, exceed those required by the American Camping Association. Maintaining these high safety standards is an essential directive for all CampGroup camps.
Our directors are free to devote themselves entirely to their own individual camps. CampGroup takes care of all the administrative details with full-time support personnel, so our directors can focus totally on their programs, activities and leadership... the very things that make each camp uniquely appealing to parents and children.
CampGroup is constantly improving the facilities at each of our camps. With greater access to capital, the camps can continue to improve and maintain their facilities in top condition. Better, safer, state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, well-maintained cabins... major expenditures like these are all part of CampGroup's long-term capital improvement program.
We've blended long-standing traditions with the latest technology. Each CampGroup camp offers the best of both worlds. While your child is enjoying an idyllic summer, you can rest assured that you're only a mouse click away. Improved Internet access and constantly updated web pages keep the communication lines open for parents and children during camp and throughout the year.
We're nurturing leaders for today and tomorrow. With their outstanding skills, caring and capabilities, the staff is the key ingredient to the success of every child's summer experience. Our recruitment programs are in full swing throughout the year, as we continually seek out the finest supervisors and instructors to meet campers' and parents' highest expectations.
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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
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What is ACA-Accreditation?
- ACA Accreditation assures parents that the camp has had a regular, independent safety audit that goes beyond regulations in most states.
- Accreditation is different than licensing.
- Licensing, with surprise inspections, focuses on enforcement of minimum regulations - often in just sanitation and food service.
- Accreditation, with scheduled visits, focuses on education - supporting best practices in all aspects of camp operation.
- Licensing varies significantly from state to state.
- Accreditation standards and process are nationally developed, tested, and accepted - both by camp professionals and legal/regulatory authorities.
- Licensing is required and imposed. Accreditation is voluntary. Camps who are accredited have demonstrated their commitment to providing a safe and nurturing environment for children.
- To be accredited, camps must first comply with up to 26 mandatory prerequisite standards on critical health and safety concerns such as emergency exits and lifeguards.
- Then, camps must demonstrate substantial compliance with 20-40 additional standards in each of ten separate operational areas to earn ACA accreditation: five operational management areas such as facilities and staffing and five program areas such as aquatics and trips.
- No accreditation process, no licensing program, no set of regulations or laws can guarantee safety. But accreditation is the best evidence for parents that a camp is committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for their children.
(Source: www.acacamps.org)
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