Should Summer Camps be Accredited?

However, what do you know about the camp you're sending your kids to?

Only about 25% of camps nation wide are accredited from American Camp Association.
ACA points out there's no federal regulations when it comes to camps, it's different in each state.

In Arkansas, the Department of Health inspects kitchens and pools, but there's not an oversight agency for all camps.

Joseph Phiefer Kiwanis Camp is one of the only accredited camps in Little Rock.

ACA has overseen camp safety nationally for a century.
Camp director Sanford Tollett explains Phiefer camp as it's called has been accredited through ACA since 1978.

"In Arkansas there's basically no standards right now for the camping industry," says Tollett.

"It was a choice to choose to be accredited and it means that you meet certain standards in the camping industry that are world-wide accepted," explains Tollett.

Tollett says the accreditations process can be tedious and it includes site, health, transportation and operational regulations.

If a camp has an ACA sign, it had to meet up to 300 health and safety standards. If not ACA recommends parents have their own check list.

ACA reccomends parents check counselor to camper ratio, ages of counselors, and counselor training.

A few miles away director David Gill says Ferncliff Camp meets ACA standards without the accreditation.

"Even if nobody is looking over our shoulder we have obligations for parents and kids we want them to be safe," says Gill.

To do that Ferncliff camp has a live in RN, and gill says like ACA counselors, their counselors are trained in CPR and their lifeguards are certified.

"Our facilities are significantly better than when we went through accreditation, so I think we've met and actually exceeded those standards for the most part," says Gill.

Gill says their watchdog is the motivation to protect Ferncliff's reputation.

The two camps Today's THV' visited, one with accreditation and the other without, seemingly had a lot in common in terms of safety features.
They both have international camp counselors and have been around for more than 70 years.

However it boils down to choice, because they both agree no state agency is forcing their hand. If camps keep kids longer than four hours they have to be licensed through DHS.