ACA Director of Research Dr. Laurie Browne shares the emerging themes from Phase 1 of the Five Year Impact Study. These preliminary findings point to the numerous ways camp prepares children for college, career, and beyond.
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The Best of Both Worlds. ACA Open Member Forum lets camp professionals engage in conversations that affect us all. ACA Connect local communities allow you to stay connected to information and resources in your local area.
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A great benefit of ACA Connect is the searchable member directory, available for both the Open Member Forum, as well as for your local office community. Connect with friends, colleagues, and fellow members you meet at ACA events.
In addition to engaging in discussion, members can also share documents, links, and other resources.
This name captures two features of a circle: The 360 degree path of a circle and the center around which this path moves. The name represents the two dimensions of ACA’s strategic direction that have exciting implications for individual camps and the camp industry in general.
For Research 360, the outer circle represents ACA’s 5-year research project. This project will explore the outcomes of the camp experience related to career/college readiness for campers and staff and how camp programs achieve those outcomes. Currently under the direction of an all-volunteer Research Advisory Committee, the project will be conducted by a university research team. This team will collect data from campers and staff over the next 5 years and will report their findings at ACA conferences and in various publications. A major result of the project is the translation of the research finding into camp practices that create beneficial camper and staff outcomes. Learn about the recent findings from Phase 1 of the project.
At the center of the Research 360 circle are the research and evaluation efforts that occur at camps throughout the ACA community. These local efforts, focused on better understanding campers and staff experiences, help each camp offer a quality experience for youth. Building on ACA’s existing evaluation tools and training resources, Research 360 will expand and improve ACA evaluation tools and increase our library of quick, easy to read and watch research and evaluation blogs, infographics, and videos. Through these efforts, Research 360 will keep at its center the individual camp and the campers, parents, staff, and communities they serve.
The best way to participate in Research 360 is to follow our blog, or look for sessions related to Research 360 at ACA’s National Conference and regional events over the course of the coming years.
Thanks to our research partner, Redwoods.
Additional thanks goes to our research supporter, Chaco.
July 25, 2016 Update
Concerns about Zika virus continue. To date, 426 reported cases of Zika virus in the 50 states have been attributed to returning international travelers or their sexual partners whom they passed it to (and not mosquitos in those states), they now have evidence that local mosquito transmission of Zika virus infection has occured in Puerto Rico. Local mosquito transmission means that mosquitoes in the area are infected with Zika virus and are spreading it to people.
In addition, the first death has been attributed to Zika - a Puerto Rican man died in February 2016 from a rare immune reaction to a previous Zika infection.
Scientists at the CDC have concluded, after careful review of existing evidence, that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Zika virus infection during pregnancy has also been linked to pregnancy loss and other adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. - HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell
The Secretary announced a new program and investment of funds to fight the spread of the virus in Puerto Rico. This includes funding to expand voluntary family planning services, including contraceptive services, outreach and education, and to hire more staff. Furthermore, because Zika virus is primarily spread by mosquitoes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that travelers to Puerto Rico protect themselves from mosquito bites.
The Zika virus is a mosquito-transmitted infection related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus. Named after the Ugandan forest where it was first identified in 1947, Zika is caused by a virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. In addition, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified some cases in which the virus has been transmitted through sexual intercourse, not a mosquito bite.
The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis, and the illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. However, there are rare cases of death, generally attributed to an immune reaction to the virus. In 2016, the World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency, prompted by growing concern that it could cause birth defects.The infection appears to be linked to the development of unusually small heads and brain damage in newborns. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have urged pregnant women against travel to nearly two dozen countries, mostly in the Caribbean and Latin America, where the outbreak is growing.
The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis. Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.
No vaccine or medications are available to prevent or treat Zika infections. Only a trained health care provider can recommend a course of treatment for the symptoms.
On December 18, 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus federal spending bill — HR 2029 containing a provision to defund the implementation and enforcement of the President’s 2014 Executive Order 13658. The Executive Order established a minimum wage for contractors of $10.10 for workers on Federal construction and service contracts.
While American Camp Association (ACA) analysis of the Executive Order concluded that the majority of camps with Outfitter Guide permits to use public lands were not impacted by the Executive Order, some federal officials in select areas of the country informed camps that they would need to comply.
This new provision serves as a stop gap to implementation and enforcement until such time as a permanent change in law is made to bring clarity to the issue. Camps can expect that in 2016, new contracts will not include the language contained in the Executive Order. As always, camps must comply with all other applicable labor laws.
Omnibus Bill HR2026 – Signed into law on December 18, 2015
Page 885, Line 16
DIVISION H—DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2016
SEC. 110. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement, administer, or enforce the Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors regulation published by the Department of Labor in the Federal Register on October 7, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 60634 et seq.), with respect to Federal contracts, permits, or other contract-like instruments entered into with the Federal Government in connection with Federal property or lands, specifically related to offering seasonal recreational services or seasonal recreation equipment rental for the general public: Provided, that this section shall not apply to lodging and food services associated with seasonal recreation services.
President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13658 on February 12, 2014 — “Establishing a minimum wage for contractors” to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for workers on Federal construction and service contracts. Subsequently, the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, released a Fact Sheet: Final Rule to Implement Executive Order 13658. Furthermore, a Guidance Document was submitted into the Federal Register on October 7, 2014.
The Fact Sheet on the Final Rule to Implement Executive Order 13658 expressly described workers “that are not covered by the Executive Order and the final rule” to be:
The Executive Order and the final rule contain a few limited exclusions from coverage for certain workers. For example, workers who are employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity and who consequently are exempt from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements are not entitled to receive the Executive Order minimum wage. FLSA-covered workers performing “in connection with” covered contracts are also excluded from coverage of the Executive Order if they spend less than 20% of their work hours in a particular workweek performing in connection with covered contracts.
Thus, for camp programs:
On October 7, 2014, the Department of Labor issued guidance on the final rule. Contained within is language that makes clear that the seasonal exemption is still applicable:
Photo courtesy of Sanborn Western Camps, Florissant, CO
