For the most part, what camps are doing with kids is pretty good. Shipp supervises a staff of 10 inspectors responsible for visiting each of Michigan's residential summer camps at least once each year while camp is in session. Camps are told what week inspectors will arrive but don't know the exact day. Inspectors look at camp staffing, health services, food service, activities, policies and facilities. County officials also conduct annual environmental health inspections, which cover a camp's water supply, food service, sewage disposal, general sanitation and site safety.
Camps receive fire-safety evaluations by private firms at least once every two years.
Such problems generally are not serious or widespread, Shipp said, and are usually quickly corrected. Campers tied up At Wolverine Christian Service Camp in Columbiaville in Lapeer County, the state found that counselors tied a camper upside down to a pole by his ankles during the summer of 1999. During the same session, other children were reportedly tied up and thrown into a river, and one child was tied up in a dark room and threatened with paddles. The camp is supported by a group of 30 independent metro Detroit churches. The purpose was to get children to say they believe in God.