Keeping Your Child Safe
We are very excited to have your children with us at Camp! Whether they come for summer camp, a school field trip, retreat or family camp, we work to ensure your children have a safe, fun-filled experience at the South Mountain YMCA Camps.
As you know, child safety and protection is our number one priority. Our goal is to help educate parents and children on how to be safe from child abuse in any environment with the skills they learn in our program. Our team is trained in comprehensive and innovative practices around child safety to ensure your children are safe in our care. The trust that you, as parents and guardians, place in us to care for your children is important to us and we do not take that trust for granted.
You will see these symbols around our YMCAs and in our programs:
This symbol is a conversation starter for Camp staff, and parents and guardians to talk about child protection. As we mentioned, our YMCA is trained in how to protect children. Please ask them about it. When we KNOW how abuse happens and SEE the warning signs we can RESPOND quickly to prevent it. Together we can foster a culture of child abuse prevention.
We urge you to talk to your children regularly about their experiences at the Camp. Ask them about their counselors, instructors, and other staff. If, as a result, there is ever a concern regarding the safety and protection of your child, please notify us immediately. If you would like to report a concern anonymously, you can use the SMYMCA Reporting page. Otherwise, you can reach out to your camp director, Senior Director, or the CEO. Throughout the year, we will be offering educational opportunities regarding child safety, and we encourage you to join us. Together, we can keep our children safe.
Finally, in 2022 the South Mountain YMCA Camps is seeking a national child protection accreditation through a pilot program with Praesidium, Inc. Like our American Camp Association accreditation, our work on child protection involves hundreds of individual standards that shape our policies and practices.
Thank you for being a part of our Camp family, and remember, Know, See, Respond.
For more information, for you and your camper, please visit these websites for additional resources:
- Know, See, Respond Video: This video resource introduces you to the principles of Know, See, Respond.
- Five Days of Action: This page has a variety of resources for parents from online safety to talking with your children.
Video resources for Parents/Guardians provided by Praesidium, Inc:
Call Center Resources:
- For reporting suspected child abuse or neglect in PA: Department of Human Services 1-800-932-0313
- Childhelp’s National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A Child (1-800-422-4453)
- 24-Hour Stress Hotline: 1-855-427-2736
- The Children’s Advocacy Center: 1-800-932-0313
If you would like to review South Mountain YMCA Camps’ Child Protection Policies & Procedures in their entirety, these are available upon request.
