TITLE 25 HEALTH SERVICES
PART 1 DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH
SERVICES
CHAPTER 265 GENERAL
SANITATION
SUBCHAPTER BTEXAS YOUTH CAMPS SAFETY AND
HEALTH
RULE §265.11Definitions
The following words and terms, when used
in this chapter shall have the
following
meanings, unless the content clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Act--
Code, Chapter 141.
(2) Adult--A person 18 years of age or older.
(3) Camper--A minor child, under 18, who is
attending a youth camp
on
either a day or boarding basis.
(4)
Commissioner--The
Commissioner of the Department of State
Health Services.
(5)
Day camp--A camp that operates during the day or any
portion of
the day between
consecutive days and that offers no more than two
overnight stays
during each camp session. To be eligible to be licensed as
a youth
camp, the camp's schedule must be structured so that each
camper
attends for more than four hours per day for four
consecutive days.
The term does not include a facility
that is required to be licensed
with
the Department of Family and Protective Services (formerly
the Department of Protective and
Regulatory Services).
(6)
Department--Department of State Health Services, 1100 West 49th
Street,
(7)
Executive Commissioner--Executive Commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission.
(8)
Firearm--Any device designed, made, or adapted to expel a
projectile through a barrel by using
the energy generated by an
explosion or a burning substance, or
any device readily convertible
to that use.
(9)
Hazardous activity--A camp
activity such as waterfront activities,
archery, horseback riding, challenge
courses, or riflery that requires
special technical skills, equipment,
or safety regulations.
(10)
Pellet gun--Any
device designed, made, or adapted to expel a
projectile through a barrel by using
compressed air or carbon
dioxide.
This
definition includes, but is not limited to, air guns, air rifles, BB
guns, and paintball guns.
(11) Permanent
structure--Man-made buildings such as dining halls,
dormitories, cabins, or other buildings that
are constructed to remain
stationary.
(12) Person--An individual, partnership,
corporation, association, or
organization.
In these rules, a person does not include a government
or governmental subdivision.
(13)
Primitive camp--A
youth camp that does not provide either
permanent structures or utilities for camper
use.
(14) Resident camp--A camp that for a period of
four or more consecutive
days
continuously provides residential services to each camper,
including
overnight accommodations for at least three consecutive
nights.
(15) Supervisor/counselor--Camp
personnel or youth group leader, 18
years
of age or older, who is responsible for the immediate
supervision of campers.
(16) Travel camp--A day or resident camp, lasting
for four or more
consecutive
days, that begins and ends at a fixed location, but may
move
from location to location on a daily basis.
(17) TCEQ--
13087,
(18) Waterfront--A natural, or artificial body of
water that includes, but is
not limited to, a lake, ocean, bay, pond,
river, swimming pool, or spa,
which is the site of any water
activity.
(19) Waterfront activity--A recreational or
instructional activity, occurring
in, on, or near a waterfront. Waterfront
activity includes, but is not
limited to, swimming, boating,
water skiing, scuba diving, rafting,
tubing, synchronized swimming or sailing.
(20) Youth camp--A facility or property, other than a facility required
to be licensed by the Department
of Family and Protective Services
that:
(A) has the general characteristics of a day camp, resident
camp, or
travel camp;
(B) is used for recreational, athletic, religious, or
educational
activities;
(C) accommodates at least five minors who attend or
temporarily
reside at the camp for all or part of at least four
consecutive days; and
(D) is not a facility or program operated
by or on the campus of an
institution of higher education or a private
or independent institution
of higher education as those terms
are defined by the Education Code,
§61.003, that is regularly inspected by one
or more local governmental
entities for compliance with health and
safety standards.
(21) Youth camp, general characteristics of:
(A) a youth camp provides
supervision, instruction, and recreation,
utilizing a variety of activities primarily in an outdoor, natural
environment, for children who
are apart from their parents or legal
guardians;
(B) a
youth camp operates only during school vacation periods, and
not more than 120 days per calendar
year; and
(C) a youth camp accepts a camper for a minimum of four
consecutive days for more than four hours per day.
(22) Youth
camp operator--Any person who owns, operates, controls,
or supervises a youth camp, whether or not
for profit.
Source Note: The provisions of this
§265.11 adopted to be effective
TITLE 25HEALTH SERVICES
PART 1DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES
CHAPTER 265GENERAL SANITATION
SUBCHAPTER BTEXAS YOUTH CAMPS SAFETY AND
HEALTH
RULE §265.12 Directors, Supervisors, and Staff
(a) On-site director required. Each youth camp shall be under
the on-site
direction of a qualified adult with at least two years of
experience
working with children. The director shall be
knowledgeable in camp
administrative practices and shall have at least one year
of leadership
experience with an organized youth camp, school or other
youth-serving
organization, such as the Boy Scouts of America or Young
Men's
Christian Association (YMCA).
(b) Adult supervisors. Each youth camp shall have at least
one adult
supervisor who is responsible for the supervision of no
more than ten
children in the camp. For any hazardous activity
the supervisor(s) must
be in the immediate vicinity (within
sight and/or hearing) of the campers.
An "all camp" sedentary
activity, not requiring physical activity, may
require less supervision, and each camp
shall establish its own
guidelines, but not less than one adult
supervisor to every 25 campers.
The camp director shall not be included in the supervisor
to camper ratio
in camps serving over 50 campers at one time.
(c) Supervision of hazardous activity.
Hazardous camp activities shall be
conducted by and under the direct
supervision of a qualified adult
capable of implementing safety standards
established by the department
or the camp. The specialist shall also
have documented training or at
least two years documented experience in
conducting the activity.
(d) Written personnel policies and practices. A camp shall
have written
personnel policies and practices for both campers and
staff. Supervisors
shall be informed of these policies and practices prior
to assuming
responsibility for campers.
(e) Staff member character and integrity records. The camp
management
shall ascertain and have on record information, such as a
letter of
reference, attesting to the character and integrity of
each staff member,
and information, such as training certificates, attesting
to the ability
of each staff member to perform the tasks required in his
or her position.
(f) Criminal conviction and sex offender registration
record
requirements. The camp management shall have on file a
record of any
criminal conviction for all adult staff members and all
adult volunteers
working at the camp. Camp management shall also
have on file a
written evaluation for an adult staff
member or volunteer, showing that
management has determined the person is
suitable for a position at the
youth camp despite a criminal conviction. If the records are located off-
site, a letter from the national or regional headquarters of the
organization
stating the names of individuals at the camp site for whom these checks
have been conducted, must be available at the camp site. All
records of
criminal convictions and written
evaluations for a camp or camping
organization must be located at a specific
site within
made available to department personnel
within two business days upon
request. Youth camps are responsible for ensuring that criminal
and sex
offender background checks have been conducted for international staff
obtained through the J-1 visa process, and
that documentation of these
checks are located with other staff
background checks at the specific site
within
may be obtained by:
(1) an annual criminal
background check consisting of either:
(A) performing a criminal background
check, such as the
Department of Public Safety Public
Criminal Records check, which may
be accessed at https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/dps_web/APP_PORTAL/index.aspx.
A hard copy printout of the search
results, whether or not the results are
positive, must be maintained with the sex
offender background
documentation; or
(B) including a question on an employment or volunteer
application
asking for a history of criminal convictions, such as
"Have you ever been
convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor?" If
this question is answered
with "Yes," then the camp must
obtain documentation of the criminal
conviction; and
(2) performing an annual background check using a Sex
Offender
Registration database for each staff member's permanent
residence and
educational residence if applicable. In
Registration database may be found at
https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/soSearch/default.cfm.
A hard copy printout of the search results, whether or
not the results are
positive, must be maintained with the criminal background
documentation.
(g) Sexual abuse and child molestation awareness training
and
examination program.
(1) Effective
accept the volunteer service of an individual for a
position involving
contact with campers at a youth camp unless:
(A) the individual submits to the licensee or the youth
camp has on
file documentation that verifies the individual within
the preceding two
years has successfully completed the training and
examination program
required by this subsection; or
(B) the individual successfully completes the youth
camp's training
and examination program approved by the department during
the
individual's first workweek, and prior to any contact
with campers unless
supervised during the first workweek by an adult who has
successfully
completed the program. The youth camp must have documentation on
file and available for inspection within two business days of request
by
the department verifying that the individual successfully completed the
youth camp's training and examination program.
(2) For purposes of this subsection,
the term "contact with campers"
does not include visitors such as a guest
speaker, an entertainer, or a
parent who visits for a limited purpose
or a limited time if the visitor
has no direct and unsupervised
interaction with campers. A visitor may
have direct and unsupervised contact with
a camper to whom the visitor
is related. A camp may require training
and an examination for visitors if
it chooses.
(3) A youth camp licensee must retain in the person's
personnel record
a copy of the documentation required or issued under
paragraph (1)(A)
of this subsection for each employee or volunteer until
the second
anniversary of the examination date.
(4) Prior to their use, the department
may approve training and
examination programs offered by trainers
under contract with youth
camps, by online training organizations,
or programs offered in another
format, such as a videotape, authorized
by the department.
(5) A training and examination program
on sexual abuse and child
molestation approved by the department
must at a minimum include
training and an examination on:
(A) the definitions and effects of
sexual abuse and child molestation;
(B) the typical patterns of behavior
and methods of operation of child
molesters and sex offenders that put
children at risk;
(C) the warning signs and symptoms
associated with sexual abuse or
child molestation, recognition of the
signs and symptoms, and the
recommended methods of reporting
suspected abuse; and
(D) the recommended rules and
procedures for youth camps to
implement to address, reduce, prevent,
and report suspected sexual abuse
or child molestation. Training shall
include the need to minimize one-on-
one isolated encounters between an adult
and a minor or between two
minors.
(6) The training program must last for
a minimum of one hour and
discuss each of the topics described in
paragraph (5) of this subsection.
(7) The examination must consist of a
minimum of 25 questions which
shall cover each of the topics described
in paragraph (5) of this
subsection.
(8) To successfully complete the
training program, each employee or
volunteer must achieve a score of 70% or
more correct on an individual
examination. If the examination is taken
on-line, the employee or
volunteer must retain a certificate of
completion indicating they
successfully completed the course.
(9) The department may assess a fee of
$125 to each applicant to cover
the costs of the department's initial
review and each follow-up review of
a training and examination program.
(10) All applications and fees shall be
mailed to the Environmental and
Sanitation Licensing Group, Department of
State Health Services, 1100
obtained by calling the Environmental and
Sanitation Licensing Group,
at (512) 834-6600 or may be downloaded from
www.dshs.state.tx.us/beh/gs/youth.htm.
(11) The department, at least every
five years from the date of initial
approval, shall review each training and
examination program approved
by the department to ensure the program
continues to meet the criteria
and guidelines established under this
subsection.
(h) Records retention. All applications,
background check reports,
training documentation, and other
required personnel documentation
required by these rules shall be
maintained in hard copy or electronic
format for a minimum of two years
following a person's last day of
service.
Source Note: The provisions of this
§265.12 adopted to be effective
April 16, 2006, 31 TexReg
3054