Visit Supplies in the Mail!

In March, visit assignments went out by email to all camps and visitors participating in visits this summer. In addition, Camps will receive a copy of the visit assignment form and Visit supplies will be mailed to all visitors by Friday May, 9th.

What's inside Visitor Packets*:
(*Expense reimbursement request is now available online so it is not included.)

• Copy of Assignment Form

• Standards Visitor Reference Guide Booklet

In addition Lead Visitors will receive:

• Camp Profile Form for all Assigned Camps

• Score Form (1 per assigned camp)

• Immediate Corrective Action Form (1 per assigned camp)

• Return Envelope (1 per assigned camp)

What you can find on the web:
If you need forms, most can be downloaded from the web at any time.

Visitor Resources:
http://www.acacamps.org/volunteers/standardsvisitors/ http://www.acatexoma.org/accreditation/acc_visitor.htm
Score Form:
http://www.acacamps.org/protected/standards/Scoreform.pdf
Written Document Preview:
http://www.acacamps.org/accreditation/07Preview_Checklist.doc
Expense Reimbursement:
http://www.acatexoma.org/accreditation/accforms/acc_expense.htm 

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Most Misunderstood Standards

Below some of the most misunderstood standards from summer 2007 and clarification of how and/or when these particular standards should be scored.

HR-4A - Staff Screening

This summer, this standard was the most often missed mandatory standard. Twenty-five (25) camps missed this standard and needed to complete the Immediate Corrective Action (ICA) process. The mandatory portion of this standard requires camps to check all staff – paid, volunteer, and contracted against the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) and to have a signed Voluntary Disclosure statement from these same staff. This was most often missed because camps were not clear that the NSOPR had to be checked. Camps that missed this standard thought that checking their local or state sex offender public registries, or using an outside company or contractor to do background checks, would be sufficient for meeting compliance with this standard. Unfortunately, only FBI fingerprint-based background checks would meet this standard, other than actually checking the NSOPR itself. Occasionally, this standard was missed because a camp did not have voluntary disclosure statements from the staff.

HW-17 - Availability of an AED

This standard was often misunderstood in that visitors scored whether or not a camp had an AED on site versus whether or not a camp had assessed the need for the camp to have one (or more) on their site. The standard asks if the camp has done an assessment.

PA-8 - Impaired Mobility Procedures

This standard is not intended just for individuals in wheelchairs but for all those persons that may have impaired mobility or levels of independence (someone on crutches, etc.). The purpose of this standard is for camps to think in a broader sense and to have written safety procedures designed for the specific types of mobility impairment of the campers served. As you work with camps prior to the visit, please discuss this issue.

OM-1- Review of Foundational Practices

The standard calls for written evidence of a policy that was put into practice, which recommends the Foundational Practices are reviewed annually. The Foundational Practices is a stand-alone document that precedes the standards in the Accreditation Process Guide. These Foundational Practices are specific processes and practices that have been associated over time with quality camp management. Most of the practices are former standards that have become commonly accepted by camp professionals and/or the public. This body of knowledge (in the form of a list) should be reviewed annually, noting any changes or issues that need to be addressed to assure that these Foundational Practices are applicable to the specific camp's setting. Written evidence may be dated check marks and notations in the document related to the Foundational Practices or other notations regarding the review process of this body of knowledge. The ACA-Accreditation Standards Resource CD-ROM contains a review sheet listing the Foundational Practices.

HR-9A- Camper Supervision Ratios

The intent of this standard is to confirm that campers are supervised in a ratio that meets their social and developmental needs and the breakdown of supervision is easily visible by age groups. It is also intended that those ratios involve only those staff that have the responsibility, authority, and training to supervise campers. Be aware of camps that may be averaging staff-to-camper ratios often including every staff member on the site, even those not trained to work with campers, which may mask supervision ratios that do not meet the minimum required by the standard especially in the younger age groups. You should ask to see the age/group breakdown and check to see that it is in practice.

A special note: Many of the ACA summer Hotline calls involved situations of camper behavior and supervision. Many of these situations develop at times when campers are in less structured or unstructured activities with minimal or no staff supervision. The intent of HR-9 in total is to help camps think through their supervision policies for the protection of both camper and staff. As visitors, we can help guide that process by asking appropriate information-gathering questions when scoring the standard. A complete summary of this past year's Hotline calls can be found in the fall 2007 issue of The CampLine.

HW-22- Record Maintenance

This standard includes, as applicable, health histories, health-exam forms and laboratory tests, medical diagnoses or recommendations, first aid records of injuries requiring more than one-time treatment, permission-to-treat forms, health logs, medication logs, incident reports, and workplace measurements and assessments of harmful or toxic substances. Camps may also want to consider including each year's health policies, treatment procedures and protocols, along with information on health-care providers and insurance providers. While state laws vary, minors usually have up to two years after they reach the age of adulthood to instigate litigation on their own behalf. Staff records of persons who have had exposure to bloodborne pathogens or other toxic or harmful substances are required by OSHA to be maintained for a period of thirty years. Other staff health records are to be maintained for the duration of employment plus thirty years." (This UNDERLINED PORTION is a slight change from what is currently stated in the Interpretation and reflects the updated OSHA Regulations. We will be notifying all camps of this information via Inside ACA in December.)

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