Youth Camp Compliance
Texas Youth Camp Safety Act
Compliance Procedures
(For All Adults 18 and over in Camp)
New for This Year: All adults must have a criminal background check done within 90 days of camp. For El Rancho Cima, please send the full name of the adult, their birth date and zip code along with your Troop number and council to kathy.bozarth@shac.org as soon as possible.
Please note that if you are attending a Youth Camp in the State of Texas, you must follow specific procedures if you are an adult over the age of seventeen to be in compliance with State Law. Youth Camp is defined as District Day Camps and Summer or Winter Resident Camps in the Sam Houston Area Council. Please read the following memo:
TO: All Adults in Sam Houston Area Council Day or Resident Camps
FROM: Brett Lee, Program Director
SUBJECT: Texas Youth Camp Safety Act Compliance Procedures (Revised)
DATE: September 2, 2009
This memo will set forth immediate procedures to be followed so that all adults in Sam Houston Area Council camps will be in compliance with the Texas Youth Camp Safety Act.
BSA Membership
All adults in camp must be registered members of the Boy Scouts of America. An adult member is defined as any person, older than seventeen years of age, who holds a current BSA membership registration. (This includes all unit leaders and parents serving in the capacity of a unit leader attending any day or resident camp. The SHAC Winter Camp is considered a resident camp.)
Before the above listed individuals have in-camp contact with youth, documentation must be in the hands of Camp Administration. We recommend that this be done at least two weeks prior to the opening of day camps or upon arrival to the Camp Business Office for all resident camps.
The following documents must be on file at the camp and available for inspection, and must be returned to the Professional Staff Advisor at the conclusion of camp:
- Official BSA Membership Roster (responsibility of Unit Leader);
- Completed Adult in Camp State Compliance (Texas) form (responsibility of adult and Unit leadership); and
- Copy of Sexual Offender database check (responsibility of adult and Unit leadership).
Please highlight adult member names on the official BSA Membership Roster.
Please ensure that the Adult in Camp State Compliance form is complete in its entirety. Do not overlook any area of the form.
To obtain a Sexual Offender database check at no charge, the individual should go to the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Records Service website at:
https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/Portal/index.aspx
Enter the Sex Offender database. Search using first name, last name and date of birth. Print out the results. (You may print by highlighting the results page, FILE, PRINT, check SELECTION box and then PRINT. Print two copies and then attach to the Adult Application.
NOTE: These documents contain sensitive information and must be secured in a locked file on site. Access is to be limited by only those who have a genuine need to know.
Youth Protection Training
All camp staff members, as well as unit leaders, must successfully complete the Boy Scouts of America’s online Youth Protection Training before they can have contact with campers at a youth camp. The portal to your “myscouting” logon for the training course is available at:
http://www.myscouting.org
There is one document that must be on file at the camp with Camp Administration and available for inspection. These documents are returned to the individual as they depart camp.
- Copy of the Youth Protection On-line Training Certification Card page. (Responsibility of Camp Staff and Unit leadership).
After taking the test, click on SUBMIT. You will be directed to a page giving the results and that asks you to close the page and to REFRESH. If you do not REFRESH, the yellow or blue dot next to Youth Protection Training, the dot will not change to green. You may also close out and re-logon so that the page refreshes automatically.
Once the dot is green, click on
Youth Protection Training again and a window will open. Click on VIEW CERTIFICATE. Print the certificate (FILE, PRINT, OK).
This certificate is good for 24 months from the date taken. If your on-line completion certificate is dated anytime after January 1, 2008, your certificate is current for the Winter Camp 2010.
NOTE: In summation, you must have the four referenced documents on file with Camp Administration to be able to participate in a youth camp in the State of Texas.
