Sec. 19a-420. (Formerly Sec. 19-539). Definitions.
Sec. 19a-430. Youth Camp Safety Advisory Council.
Sec. 19a-420. (Formerly Sec. 19-539). Definitions. As used in this chapter:
(1) “Youth camp” means any regularly scheduled program or organized group activity advertised as a camp or operated only during school vacations or on weekends, conducted on a parcel of land that has dwelling units or buildings intended to accommodate five or more children, by a person, partnership, corporation, association, the state or a municipal agency for recreational or educational purposes and accommodating for profit or under philanthropic or charitable auspices five or more children, who are at least three years of age and under sixteen years of age, who are (A) not bona fide personal guests in the private home of an individual, and (B) living apart from their relatives, parents or legal guardian, for a period of three days or more per week or portions of three or more days per week, provided any such relative, parent or guardian who is an employee of such camp shall not be considered to be in the position of loco parentis to such employee's child for the purposes of this chapter, but does not include (i) classroom-based summer instructional programs operated by any person, provided no activities that may pose a health risk or hazard to participating children are conducted at such programs, (ii) public schools, or private schools in compliance with section 10-188 and approved by the State Board of Education or accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the State Board of Education, which operate a summer educational program, (iii) licensed child care centers, or (iv) drop-in programs for children who are at least six years of age administered by a nationally chartered boys' and girls' club;
(2) “Resident camp” means any youth camp which is established, conducted or maintained for at least seventy-two consecutive hours and in which the campers attending such camps eat and sleep;
(3) “Day camp” means any youth camp which is established, conducted or maintained during daylight hours for at least three days a week with the campers eating and sleeping at home, except for one meal per day, but does not include programs operated by a municipal agency;
(4) “Person” means the state or any municipal agency, individual, partnership, association, organization, limited liability company or corporation;
(5) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Early Childhood; and
(6) “Office” means the Office of Early Childhood.
(1969, P.A. 820, S. 1; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 79-145, S. 1; P.A. 91-329; P.A. 92-195, S. 2, 3; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-79, S. 61, 189; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 01-94, S. 1; 01-195, S. 144, 181; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4, S. 36, 58; P.A. 04-221, S. 17; P.A. 07-129, S. 6; 07-252, S. 88; P.A. 09-232, S. 99; P.A. 14-39, S. 75; P.A. 16-100, S. 3; P.A. 25-143, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner and department of health with commissioner and department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-145 redefined “youth camp”, “resident camp” and “day camp”; Sec. 19-539 transferred to Sec. 19a-420 in 1983; P.A. 91-329 clarified that camps owned by the state or a municipal agency are included in definition of “youth camps”; P.A. 92-195 redefined “day camp” to exclude municipal programs; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-79 redefined “person” to include a limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 01-94 redesignated Subdivs. (a) to (f) as Subdivs. (1) to (6), made other technical changes and amended the definition of “youth camp” by adding exception for classroom-based summer instructional programs; P.A. 01-195 duplicated technical changes made by P.A. 01-94, effective July 11, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4 changed effective date of P.A. 01-94 from October 1, 2001, to June 6, 2001, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 04-221 amended the definitions of “resident camp” in Subdiv. (2) and “day camp” in Subdiv. (3) to add “under sixteen years of age”, effective June 8, 2004; P.A. 07-129 amended Subdiv. (1) to redefine “youth camp” as program or activity that operates only during school vacations or on weekends and serves children who are at least three years of age and under sixteen years of age and to add additional exceptions in new Subparas. (B)(iv) and (B)(v), effective September 1, 2007; P.A. 07-252 amended Subdiv. (1) to redefine “youth camp” as a regularly scheduled program or organized group activity advertised as a camp or operated only during school vacations or on weekends, delete former Subpara. (B)(iv) re programs that accommodate children under 3 years of age or operate at times other than during school vacations or on weekends, and redesignate existing Subpara. (B)(v) as Subpara. (B)(iv), amended Subdivs. (2) and (3) to establish minimum age requirement of 3 years for resident and day camps and amended Subdiv. (4) to redefine “person” to include the state and municipal agencies, effective September 1, 2007; P.A. 09-232 redefined “youth camp” in Subdiv. (1); P.A. 14-39 redefined “commissioner” in Subdiv. (5) by replacing “Commissioner of Public Health” with “Commissioner of Early Childhood”, and replaced definition of “department” with definition of “office” in Subdiv. (6), effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 16-100 amended Subdiv. (1)(B)(iii) to replace “day care centers” with “child care centers”; P.A. 25-143 redefined “youth camp” in Subdiv. (1), “resident camp” in Subdiv. (2) and “day camp” in Subdiv. (3), effective July 1, 2025.
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Sec. 19a-421. (Formerly Sec. 19-540). Licensure. Background checks. Refusal to license, suspension or revocation of license. Notification re certain criminal convictions. Maintenance and inspection of background check documentation. (a) No person shall establish, conduct or maintain a youth camp without a license issued by the office. Applications for such license shall be made in writing at least thirty days prior to the opening of the youth camp on forms provided and in accordance with procedures established by the commissioner and shall be accompanied by a fee of eight hundred fifteen dollars or, if the applicant is a nonprofit, nonstock corporation or association, a fee of three hundred fifteen dollars or, if the applicant is a day camp affiliated with a nonprofit organization, for no more than five days duration and for which labor and materials are donated, no fee. All such licenses shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance unless surrendered for cancellation or suspended or revoked by the commissioner for violation of this chapter or any regulations adopted under section 19a-428, shall be nontransferable and shall be renewable upon receipt by the commissioner of a renewal application and payment of an eight-hundred-fifteen-dollar license fee or, if the licensee is a nonprofit, nonstock corporation or association, a three-hundred-fifteen-dollar license fee or, if the applicant is a day camp affiliated with a nonprofit organization, for no more than five days duration and for which labor and materials are donated, no fee.
(b) On and after October 1, 2022, any licensee shall require any prospective employee eighteen years of age or older, who is applying for a position at a youth camp that requires the provision of care to a child or involves unsupervised access to a child, to submit to a comprehensive background check. The background check shall include, but not be limited to, a (1) (A) criminal history records check conducted (i) in accordance with section 29-17a, or (ii) by searching the electronic criminal record system maintained on the Internet web site of the Judicial Department for convictions matching the prospective employee's name and date of birth, (B) state child abuse registry established pursuant to section 17a-101k, (C) registry established and maintained pursuant to section 54-257, and (D) National Sex Offender Registry Public Website maintained by the United States Department of Justice, or (2) check by a third-party provider of national criminal history record checks that is conducted through a centralized database utilizing the prospective employee's fingerprints, provided such provider appears on a list of such providers published on the Internet web site of the Office of Early Childhood. Prior to each check of the state child abuse registry conducted pursuant to this subsection, a licensee shall submit to the office an authorization for the release of personal information signed by the prospective employee, on a form prescribed by the office, and the office shall submit such authorization to the Department of Children and Families. Any prospective employee who holds a J-1 visa, H-1B visa or R-1 visa issued by the United States Department of State shall not be required to submit to a background check under this section.
(c) Pending completion of all comprehensive background check components described in subsection (b) of this section, a prospective employee may begin work on a provisional basis, provided such prospective employee is supervised at all times by an employee who was subjected to a comprehensive background check described in subsection (b) of this section within the past five years.
(d) Each licensee shall require any employee of a youth camp holding a position that requires the provision of care to a child or involves unsupervised access to a child to submit to a comprehensive background check described in subsection (b) of this section not later than five years after the date such employee was hired, and at least once every five years thereafter. Nothing in this section prohibits a licensee from requiring any such employee to submit to a comprehensive background check more than once during a five-year period.
(e) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall have the discretion to refuse to license under sections 19a-420 to 19a-429, inclusive, a person to establish, conduct or maintain a youth camp, as described in section 19a-420, or to suspend or revoke the license or take any other action set forth in any regulation adopted pursuant to section 19a-428 if, the person who establishes, conducts or maintains such youth camp or a person employed therein in a position connected with the provision of care to a child or involving unsupervised access to a child, has (1) been convicted in this state or any other state of (A) a felony as defined in section 53a-25 involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person, (B) cruelty to persons under section 53-20, (C) injury or risk of injury to or impairing morals of children under section 53-21, (D) abandonment of children under the age of six years under section 53-23, (E) any felony where the victim of the felony is a child under eighteen years of age, or (F) a violation of section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 53a-73a, (2) a criminal record in this state or any other state that the commissioner reasonably believes renders the person unsuitable to establish, conduct or maintain or be employed by a youth camp, or (3) held a license to establish, conduct or maintain a youth camp in another state that was revoked by such state's licensing authority. However, no refusal of a license shall be rendered except in accordance with the provisions of sections 46a-79 to 46a-81, inclusive.
(f) Any person who is licensed to establish, operate or maintain a youth camp shall notify the Commissioner of Early Childhood if such licensee or any person employed by such youth camp is convicted of a crime listed in subsection (e) of this section, if such licensee or person employed by such youth camp is employed in a position connected with the provision of care to a child or involving unsupervised access to a child, immediately upon obtaining knowledge of the conviction. Failure to comply with the notification requirement may result in the suspension or revocation of the license or the imposition of any action set forth in regulation, and shall subject the licensee to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars per day for each day after the licensee obtained knowledge of the conviction, provided such civil penalty shall not exceed the aggregate sum of four thousand five hundred dollars.
(g) Each licensee shall maintain, and make available for inspection upon request of the Office of Early Childhood, any documentation associated with a comprehensive background check described in subsection (b) of this section, for a period of not less than five years from the date of (1) completion of such background check, if the subject of the comprehensive background check was not hired by the licensee, or (2) separation from employment, if the subject of the comprehensive background check was hired by the licensee.
(1969, P.A. 820, S. 2; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 13, 117; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; 95-317, S. 4; P.A. 01-195, S. 145, 181; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 176; P.A. 14-39, S. 76; P.A. 21-82, S. 1; P.A. 24-49, S. 3; P.A. 25-143, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner and department of health with commissioner and department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; Sec. 19-540 transferred to Sec. 19a-421 in 1983; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 increased license and renewal fees from $100 to $650 except if applicant is a nonprofit, nonstock corporation or association then from $25 to $250; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-317 added the fee exemption for five-day duration day camps with donated labor and materials; P.A. 01-195 referenced Sec. 19a-428 re regulations and made technical changes, effective July 11, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 increased fees from $650 to $815 and from $250 to $315; P.A. 14-39 replaced “department” with “office” and made a technical change, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 21-82 designated existing provisions re licensure as Subsec. (a), and added Subsec. (b) re comprehensive background checks for certain prospective employees, Subsec. (c) re certain prospective employees to work on provisional basis, Subsec. (d) re subsequent comprehensive background checks for certain employees, Subsec. (e) re refusal to license and suspension or revocation of license due to conviction for certain crimes of person who establishes, conducts or maintains youth camp or certain employees, Subsec. (f) re requirement to notify commissioner of conviction for certain crimes of person who establishes, conducts or maintains youth camp or certain employees, and Subsec. (g) re maintenance and inspection of documentation associated with comprehensive background checks; P.A. 24-49 amended Subsec. (e) by designating existing provision re convicted in this state or any other state of felony as Subdiv. (1) and amended same to designate existing provisions as Subparas. (A) to (F), designating existing provision re criminal record in this state or any other state as Subdiv. (2) and adding Subdiv. (3) re held license in another state that was revoked by such state's licensing authority, effective July 1, 2024; P.A. 25-143 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “, shall be nontransferable” and “receipt by the commissioner of a renewal application and”, effective July 1, 2025.
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Sec. 19a-430. Youth Camp Safety Advisory Council. (a) There is established a Youth Camp Safety Advisory Council within the Office of Early Childhood. The council shall provide advice to the Commissioner of Early Childhood on matters relating to safety issues at youth camps.
(b) The council shall consist of the following members:
(1) A representative of the Connecticut Camping Association appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;
(2) A representative of the Connecticut Recreation and Parks Association appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;
(3) A representative of a nonprofit youth service organization with a camping program in the state appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives;
(4) A representative of a nonprofit youth service organization with a camping program in the state appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
(5) A representative of a day camp appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;
(6) A representative of a resident camp appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;
(7) A representative of a day camp appointed by the House chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children;
(8) A representative of a resident camp appointed by the Senate chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children;
(9) A representative of a sports camp appointed by the Governor;
(10) A representative of an independent school camp appointed by the Governor;
(11) A representative of a university that hosts or conducts a summer camp appointed by the Commissioner of Early Childhood; and
(12) Any additional member appointed by the commissioner to fill the needs of the council based on expertise in the field.
(c) All appointments to the council, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, shall be made not later than September 1, 2024. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Members shall serve three-year terms.
(d) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall schedule the first meeting of the council, which shall be held not later than September 15, 2024. The members of the council shall elect the chairperson of the council from among the members of the council at the first meeting of the council.
(e) The council shall elect, annually, its own chairperson and other officers as deemed necessary. The council shall meet at least once during each calendar quarter and at such other times as the chairperson deems necessary or upon the request of a majority of members. The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall meet at least annually with the council. Any member who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the council. Members of the council shall serve without compensation. The Office of Early Childhood shall provide administrative assistance to facilitate the activity of the council.
(P.A. 24-49, S. 2; P.A. 25-8, S. 9.)
History: P.A. 24-49 effective July 1, 2024; P.A. 25-8 made a technical change in Subsec. (d), effective May 29, 2025.
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