Use this essential tool to create a solid budget. Perhaps no area of employment process has changed more in the last ten years than the expectations of the public and the hopes of camp professionals to find quality staff who can contribute positively to the growth and development of youth. Over the last ten years, camps have increasingly used federal, local, or state background checks to help determine the appropriateness of applicants to work with children. In 1999, a new ACA-accreditation standard went into effect requiring background checks or the use of voluntary disclosure statements with all staff having access to children. State regulations are changing frequently in this area.
Some states already mandate criminal background checks.
Others have only recently permitted camp directors to access such records. The following chart represents practice in this area as of 1998.