Here at Alcalaw, we spent the summer advising camps about their abuse prevention efforts and harm response practices. Here are 5 things we recommend camps consider for next season:
Reports of peer-to-peer harm are up, and pre-camp preparation is critical. This might sound disheartening, but we are hopeful that efforts to raise awareness about this issue account, at least in part, for the increased reports by staff. We saw that camps who used our SummerSafe plan to prepare their internal reporting and response practices were less likely to make the kind of errors that can cause additional harm.
Policies need a legal review and a plan for implementation. Most camps have an abuse prevention policy of some type, but many have never had it meaningfully reviewed by a lawyer or truly considered how to implement its provisions. Without legal guidance about a plan for putting policy into action, sensitive situations can escalate quickly and costly mistakes can be made. Don’t wait to get a legally-compliant policy and implementation plan in place for next summer!
Staff training is not enough. Staff training is necessary. And it is not enough to prepare leaders to effectively respond to reports of harm. We saw that camps that combined staff training with legally-sound efforts to prepare their response protocols were well-prepared to handle reports of harm thoughtfully and effectively.
Communication is key. Managing expectations with families and campers about how camp will respond to harm reports is critical to a successful response strategy. We helped camps navigate sensitive situations by balancing transparency and privacy considerations with trauma-informed communication strategies.
Mandatory reporting can be tricky. In the abstract, it’s easy to say, just report abuse! But identifying reporting obligations and making reports in real life situations can be tricky. Questions we’ve heard from camp leaders: Does this qualify as abuse? What do I do if the kid lives in a different state than where they attend camp? What if reporting might cause additional harm? Should I tell the guardians about the report? This summer, we helped our clients better understand and fulfill their reporting obligations.
