YMCA of the USA: CAP at CAMP
Audience: Camp Directors
This resource provides tools to further develop youth protection skills in camp staff and provides a framework to evaluate the implementation of youth protection policies during camp operations. The staff development resources build upon pre-camp training, which typically covers hard-and-fast rules to keep campers safe. These tools provide weekly opportunities for staff to continue learning, asking questions, and finding solutions to daily operational challenges and gray areas in youth protection.
Visual communication with staff Staff by using animated gif cards and sending them over as a text message, GroupMe, Slack, or other messaging platforms.
Each category assigns its own specific color group.
For example, blue color - supervision, green - consent, orange - responding, red- skill building, purple - accountability and light blue - awareness.
Youth protection reminder: SUPER-Vision
SUPER-vision goes beyond seeing campers. SUPER-vision uses sight and sound to identify power dynamics,
prevent youth sexual activity, and keep campers safe.
Youth protection reminder: Consent
Encourage Personal Boundaries. We are each the boss of our own bodies.
We have camp rules that establish general boundaries, but each camper can also define them.
Youth protection reminder: Responding
Responding to Camper-to-Camper Sexual Activity
An appropriate response to observing sexual activity between campers involves the necessary actions.
Youth protection reminder: Skill Building
Recognizing Red Flags Among Campers
Recognizing warning signs of camper-to-camper abuse, such as the following, can help us adapt our supervision practices.
Youth protection reminder:
Outside-of-Camp Contact
Offenders develop deeper relationships with families and youth through contact outside of camp. Outside contact often means more private contact, which puts campers
in a vulnerable position.
in a vulnerable position.
Youth protection reminder:
Secrets Aren’t Safe.
Surprises make people happy, are short-term, and don’t make anyone who knows about them uncomfortable.
Secrets exclude others—often because the information would cause others to be angry or upset—may involve a threat and have no set end date.
Be a Protector of Childhood
Pinwheels shining in the sun represent the bright future
all children deserve and our commitment to prioritizing abuse prevention.
all children deserve and our commitment to prioritizing abuse prevention.
