Managing Emergencies

In the event of an emergency, please follow the policies set forth in the handbook to the best of your ability. Depending on the nature of the emergency, your camp may be “on their own” for a period of time. In the absence of communication with the Home Office, we will rely on you to use your best judgment when making decisions about the safety of children and staff.

Shelter in Place

The Site Administrator will make the decision to “shelter in place” in a safe location when conditions are present to cause skin or eye irritation, breathing difficulties, or any other unsafe or potentially unsafe environment in an area of the premises that would otherwise be occupied by campers or team members.

Emergency actions will be closely monitored and followed. Everyone will remain in their assigned classrooms with the windows and doors locked. Once public safety officers have determined the area to be safe, further instruction will be given.

Student/Parent Reunification Procedure

In an emergency, the camp must establish an alternate safe area for parents to go to pick up their children if the primary pick-up and/or drop-off area is rendered unsafe or unusable. This area must be away from both the danger/damage and the students assembly area. This information should be communicated to families using functional communication channels, including but not limited to: ProCare (newsletter function), email, phone, and campus signage.

In a typical release the following steps will be followed:

1. Parents will report to the assigned area and provide the PIN number(s) for their child/children.  If ProCare is unavailable, the parent/guardian must present an ID that matches the name of the parent or Emergency Contact listed on the camp roster. The Site Administrator should possess a printed copy of the roster.

2. A runner will go to the student assembly area and retrieve the child/children requested by the parent or adult. The runner will escort the camper back to the pick-up area.

3. Parents will be asked to follow the camp’s sign in/out procedure, indicating they picked up the child/children.  This is normally ProCare, unless the severity of the incident is such that ProCare/internet is inoperative, in which case an alternate medium of photo ID and paper-based sign-out can be used.

4. If the child is in the First-Aid area the parent will be escorted to that area for reunification with their child/children.

DO NOT release students to people without the PIN code (or a photo ID if technology is not working). A well-intentioned friend may offer to take a child home; however, camp staff must be certain that students are only released to the appropriate people so students’ families will know where they are.

For an extended period assign staff members to specific roles:

 

1. Camper supervision

2. Traffic control

3. Check-out procedure

4. Search & rescue

   1. Check rooms: make a slash on door upon entering, complete an X upon exiting

5. Medical

6. Food & water