Adds 3 representatives of children's interests to the state camp safety advisory council; directs a study of improving the regulation of youth camps

2 Co-sponsors

• Ruben Diaz
• George Onorato

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the membership of the state camp safety advisory council; and to direct the commissioner of health to conduct a study of youth camp safety

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends section 1390 of the Public Health Law in relation to the make-up of the State Camp Safety Advisory Council. The council shall be expanded to twelve members from the current nine members by adding three members, who do not operate a children's camp, to represent the interests of children; currently, only one member is so designated. The existing membership structure will otherwise remain the same; three members to represent youth camps operated in New York for profit; three members to represent youth camps operated in New York for not-for-profit; one member to represent youth camp consumer interests; and one member to represent summer day camps and traveling summer day camps operated by municipal corporations and other entities subject to article 13-D of this chapter. This section also stipulates the procedure to fill a vacancy on the council. Although current law specifies the length terms for council members, the law lacks sufficient provisions relating to succession. The bill stipulates procedures required to take upon the expiration of a member's term and time frame to fill a vacancy on the council. Section 2 mandates the Commissioner of the Department of Health to conduct a study of the feasibility of improving the statutes, rules and regulations governing, and the practice utilized by youth camps. The study shall gauge the feasibility of establishing a uniform, standardized training and testing system for camp counselors, and providing periodic mandated workshops and testing for local health inspectors and youth camp directors. The study will review the minimum standards for first aid and water safety and review the counselor/camper ratio for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation training. The commissioner is directed to issue a cost estimate for each of these programs. Subpart 7-2 of the State Sanitary Code already outlines certain guidelines relating to camp procedures for counselor training, duties of local county health inspectors, and camp directors. According to the guidelines, camps must create a Written Plan and submit it to the Department of Health. Although the plan must meet certain general criteria, camps have some discretion as to the composition of the plan. This legislation would strengthen the current law by working for the creation of a standardized statewide plan for counselor training and testing, as well as further specify and strengthen the duties and responsibilities of camp directors and county health inspectors. Section 3 sets the effective date.

Justification

In the summer of 1998, Jeremy Scheinfeld drowned at an overnight camp in New York State. Jeremy, who was ten years old at the time, drowned in a kill while participating in a camp activity off camp grounds. According to the County Investigation Report, "several campers were almost lost in this event". This senseless tragedy could have been prevented through the proper supervision and training of camp staff. This legislation intends to guard against such a tragedy occurring in the future by altering the composition and membership procedures of the State Camp Safety Advisory Council and reviewing the state safety guidelines for camp staff and campers. The Department of Health (DOH) indicate that it could implement most of the recommendations with the proper resources, this legislation requires DOH to conduct a feasibility study to determine the exact cost to implement these recommendations. The study will examine the current safety and staff guidelines relating to the creation and implementation of a new youth counselor orientation and testing program, the establishment of minimum standards of proficiency for counselors in water and first-aid safety, and a review of the current counselor/camper ratio for CPR. The study will also examine the current requirements for local health inspectors and camp directors.