Assessing summer camp safety

By asking the right questions and ensuring appropriate safety policies and guidelines exist, parents can ensure their child’s summer camp provides a lifetime of good memories.

Summer camps can provide amazing opportunity for learning and fun. However, it’s important that parents carefully assess the policies at the summer camps they choose for their children.

In addition to checking for safety protocols relating to swimming, boating, food and fire, parents should assure that the camp has the necessary protocols in place to protect kids against abuse, harassment and bullying.

“Summer camps offer so many wonderful opportunities for growth, enrichment and fun, but parents should be vigilant in checking out camp safety policies before choosing one,” says Judi Fairholm, national manager of the RespectED program. “When young people are away from their family and support system, they can be particularly vulnerable.”

While no Canadian statistics are available on how widespread the incidence of abuse and bullying at camps is, growing anecdotal evidence, combined with work done in the United States, indicates the danger is very real.

Children and youth might experience a variety of behaviors at camp. For example, camps without appropriate safeguards can allow bullying and harassment to flourish. Peer cruelty can be amplified by close living quarters, group mentality and insufficient adult supervision.

Emotional abuse and harassment can occur when there is tension between staff and campers, or where staff have not been trained to handle challenging situations. Vulnerable children and youth may be rejected or degraded.

There is also the devastating potential for sexual abuse of young people, perpetrated by either staff or other campers.

“Camps that do not have proper screening and monitoring in place can inadvertently create a situation in which predators have access to potential victims,” Fairholm explains. She adds that in addition to conducting reference and criminal record checks on all counselors, camps should enforce policies that ensure a counselor is never alone with one child, and that younger children aren’t left unsupervised with older youth.

Parents should ask the following questions before selecting a camp:

• What risk management policies does the camp have in place?
• How are the counselors, other staff and volunteers screened and selected? Are criminal reference checks done on all personnel? 
• What kind of discipline is allowed at the camp? Will yelling, insulting, or any physical force be tolerated from camp personnel? 
• What training have camp personnel received? Have counselors been trained in group dynamics, conflict resolution and bullying/abuse awareness and prevention?
• How are incidents of violence - bullying, harassment, and abuse - dealt with? 
• Are campers made aware of who to talk to and what to do if they are feeling unsafe?
• Are there appropriate procedures in place to prevent counselors or other personnel from being alone, one-on-one, with campers? 
• Are there at least two counselors or adults in each sleeping unit?
• Are age groups reasonably established and kept separate for activities and sleeping?
• Who makes sure the guidelines are enforced, and how?

The Canadian Camping Association website provides acomprehensive checklist for parents seeking to assess camp safety.