Your staff is your program
Nothing shapes a camp's safety more than its people. Three forces set the rules here, and you must meet whichever is strictest: your state, ACA standards, and your insurer, who will not cover you without proper screening.
Camper-to-staff ratios and staff age
Ratios are age-based. ACA's standard runs from 1:5 (overnight, age 5 and under) to 1:12 (day, ages 15–18). States set their own: New York's Subpart 7-2 fixes minimum ratios and counselor qualifications, and Texas's 2025 rules set overnight ratios of 1:5 for ages 4–5 up to 1:10 for ages 15–17. ACA also requires staff to be at least 16 and at least two years older than their campers, with at least 80% of program staff aged 18 or older (100% at special-needs camps). Follow the stricter rule and build in coverage for breaks and days off.
Camp director qualifications
States often regulate who may lead a camp. New Jersey's application lists alternative director-qualification paths, such as “nine months verified experience in a youth program” or a mix of administrative and teaching experience with certification. Connecticut requires the director and an alternate to be approved by the Office of Early Childhood. ACA sets its own director expectations. Identify and credential your director early, because licensing and accreditation both hinge on this role.
Background checks
Screening is where you cannot cut corners. Requirements vary, but the strong-practice baseline is clear:
- Massachusetts bars anyone from working until the operator has obtained and reviewed a CRC/CORI criminal record, a juvenile record, and a sex-offender (SORI) check.
- New York requires a Statewide Central Register (child-abuse) check and a conviction statement for directors, plus sex-offender registry screening.
- Connecticut requires checks for all staff aged 18 and older, run through the Office of Early Childhood.
- Michigan requires a Livescan fingerprint background check with the application.
Even where the state requires little, do all of it anyway: state and national criminal checks, the national sex-offender registry, at least two references, structured interviews, and mandated-reporter and abuse-prevention training. Your insurer will require much of it, and it is the core of preventing the camp field's defining risk.
Related resources
Next: Health & safety. See also Facilities & insurance and, for staff hiring more broadly, Careers & Workforce.
Frequently asked questions
- What are camp staff-to-camper ratios? Age-based. ACA runs 1:5 (overnight, youngest) to 1:12 (day, oldest); states set their own, and you follow whichever is stricter. Texas's 2025 overnight rules, for example, run 1:5 to 1:10.
- How old must camp staff be? ACA requires staff to be at least 16 and at least two years older than their campers, with at least 80% of program staff aged 18 or older (100% at special-needs camps). Some roles, like waterfront lifeguards and drivers, have higher minimums.
- What background checks do camp staff need? Commonly a state and national criminal-history check, a sex-offender registry check, and in some states a child-abuse registry or fingerprint check. Requirements vary by state, but insurers require screening regardless.
- Does the camp director need special qualifications? In several states, yes. New Jersey lists experience-based qualification paths, and Connecticut requires the director to be approved by the state. ACA also sets director expectations.
- Is abuse-prevention training required? It is required or expected by states, ACA and insurers. Even where not legally mandated, train all staff in mandated reporting, abuse recognition, and rules against one-on-one unobserved contact.