Audit of the Licensing and Monitoring of Summer Day Camps by the New York City Department of Health
Executive Summary
A summer day camp is defined as any facility (private or municipal) that operates on a scheduled basis at any time between June 1 and September 15 in any year; is occupied by ten or more children under the age of 16 with general supervision; is used for organized group activities 24 hours or less on any day; and has no provisions for overnight occupancy. A facility meeting this definition is considered to be a summer day camp and must obtain a permit each year to operate legally in New York City. To obtain a permit, each day camp must satisfactorily pass inspection by the New York City Department of Health (DOH) and submit all required application documentation to DOH at least 30 days prior to the opening of the camp.
The DOH Bureau of Regulatory and Environmental Health Services’ Office of Field Operations and Inspections (Field Operations) is responsible for processing and approving permits for summer day camps. As of July 9, 2001, at the beginning of the summer 2001 season, Field Operations had processed and approved permits for 447 day camps of the 754 permit applications it received for the summer 2001 season.
DOH must also inspect the camps at least twice each year to ensure that they are in compliance with provisions of Sub-part 7-2 of the New York State Sanitary Code (NYS Sanitary Code) and Article 48 of the New York City Health Code (NYC Health Code).
The first inspection—the pre-permit inspection—must be conducted before DOH approves a permit for the camp to begin its operation. DOH allows camps with good previous records to perform their own pre-permit inspection. A second inspection by a DOH Public Health Sanitarian (inspector) must be conducted while the camp is in operation. During an inspection, DOH may issue a Notice of Violation to a camp for conditions not in compliance with the NYS Sanitary Code and the NYC Health Code. Violations are categorized for “critical items” and “general items.”
According to the NYS Sanitary Code and NYC Health Code, critical items are related directly to the protection and safety of children who attend summer day camp and include staffing and supervision, safety plans, medical, water, recreational, transportation, and fire safety, food protection, and facility and site maintenance. Critical items also include conditions referred to as “public health hazards.” Public health hazards must be corrected immediately. Failure to correct any one of these items on any inspection could result in DOH closing off the affected area (i.e., a kitchen or swimming pool) or ultimately closing the camp until the violation is corrected. General items relate to the operation and cleanliness of the day camp. All types of violations are considered in determining the results of an inspection and follow-up actions to be taken.
In New York City, an estimated 140,000 children under the age of 16 attend summer day camps each summer.
Our audit objectives were to determine whether DOH ensures that all summer day camps in New York City are licensed to operate and adequately monitors summer day camps to ensure their compliance with the NYS Sanitary Code and the NYC Health Code.
The audit focused on the administrative and enforcement policies, procedures, and practices of DOH’s Field Inspection Unit as they related to the monitoring and licensing of summer day camps. The scope period included summer seasons 2000 and 2001.
To obtain an understanding of the regulations and responsibilities of DOH and of day camp operators, we reviewed Sub-part Chapter 1, 7-2 of the NYS Sanitary Code and Article 48 of the NYC Health Code. We also interviewed DOH officials, conducted a walkthrough of DOH’s permit process, and reviewed documentation to obtain an understanding of DOH’s procedures and controls over the operation and management of Field Operation’s Day Camp Unit
To determine the number of summer day camps that opened prior to DOH approving a permit, we reviewed DOH’s lists of day camps with permits for the summers of 2000 and 2001 and compared the permit approval dates to the camp opening dates. Moreover, to ensure that DOH had received all required documentation from the day camps before approving the issuance of a permit, we obtained and reviewed files of day camps approved for permits for summer 2001
We visited 58 randomly selected private and municipal day camps to observe the physical conditions of the facilities to ensure that the camps were in compliance with State and City regulations, and that they possessed a valid permit to operate in the summer 2001 season. We also reviewed and analyzed DOH’s list of summer day camps cited for violations in the summer season 2000 and determined whether these summer day camps were re-inspected by DOH inspectors, the violations were cleared, and whether camps with uncorrected violations opened the following season, in 2001.
This audit was conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) and included tests of the records and other auditing procedures considered necessary. This audit was performed in accordance with the City Comptroller’s audit responsibilities as set forth in Chapter 5, § 93, of the New York City Charter.
DOH is responsible for ensuring that all summer day camps operating in New York City are safe and comply with the NYS Sanitary Code and NYC Health Code. One way of doing this is through the permit process, which requires DOH to review essential application documents and perform physical inspections of each camp. Although the Field Operations Day Camp Unit takes its responsibility very seriously, it needs to do more to expedite the permit process. In addition, Field Operations needs to do more to ensure through its inspections that camps comply with State and City regulations and adequately provide for the safety and well being of children who attend those camps. Our audit found the following:
On or before July 9, 2001, at the beginning of the summer 2001 season, 280 of 727 day camps opened and operated illegally, without a valid permit. The NYS Sanitary Code and NYC Health Code require that all day camps obtain a permit before opening. In addition, camp operators must submit their applications at least 30 days in advance of the camp’s opening, but a 30-day time frame is not sufficient for DOH to complete its review of permit application documents and inspect the camps. We found that DOH staff took an average of 42 days to process and approve camp permits.
Moreover, according to DOH officials, Field Operation’s Day Camp Unit is understaffed and it has had difficulty filling vacant positions. Therefore, DOH officials expect delays in the processing, review, and approval of summer day camp permits.
As the oversight agency for summer day camps, DOH should not allow any camp to open and operate without an approved permit. Without DOH ensuring that all day camp applications are properly reviewed, all inspections completed, and all permits approved prior to a day camp opening, there is no assurance that a camp is in compliance with State and City regulations. Nor is there assurance that a camp will provide a safe and healthy environment for the children attending the summer day camps.
During the summer 2000 season, 184 (24%) of the 753 summer day camps that received permits to operate were cited by DOH during operational inspections for 1 to as many as 11 critical violations each—some of which were also public health hazards. DOH inspectors conducted follow-up inspections of many of the 184 summer day camps that were cited for critical violations and, on re-inspection, cited many of them again for the same violations.
Despite DOH’s re-inspections during the summer 2000 season, 84 of the 184 camps with violations demonstrated repeated poor compliance. At the time of the last re-inspection, these 84 camps still had from 1 to 8 critical violations each. (See Appendix A for a list of these camps.) Some of these camps were brought before DOH’s Administrative Tribunal, which, among other things, is responsible for the adjudication of cases and imposition of fines. (The DOH’s Administrative Tribunal and its treatment of day camps cited for violations were outside the scope of this audit.)
A review of DOH’s documentation for the summer 2001 season determined that 71 of the 84 camps with uncorrected critical violations at the time of their final inspections in the summer 2000 season opened for business in summer 2001. DOH does not consider the previous year’s violation(s) of a day camp as a reason for not approving a permit for the current year, since the camps are seasonal, close at the end of each summer, and start afresh each new season.
During the summer 2001 season, as of August 11, 2001, DOH performed comprehensive operational inspections at 57 of the 71 day camps that had uncorrected critical violations at the time of their final inspections in the summer 2000 season. DOH cited 15 of the 57 camps for 1 to 6 critical violations each. Overall, 10 of these 15 camps inspected during the summer 2001 season were cited for some of the same violations they were found to have had during the summer 2000 season. (See Chart I, following.) DOH re-inspected 7 of the 15 camps; 3 of the re-inspected camps had cleared the violations, and the remaining 4 camps were once again cited for from 1 to 3 repeated or other violations.
Despite Field Operations’ re-inspections of camps with repeated violations and the fact that some camps are brought before the Administrative Tribunal and possibly fined, DOH’s enforcement efforts do not contain strong enough measures for camps that repeatedly fail to comply with State and City regulations.
Although the overall physical conditions of most of the day camps we inspected appeared to be satisfactory, most of the camps were not in compliance with various State and City regulations. Thirty-one of the 58 camps we inspected did not have a valid permit approved by DOH to operate in the summer 2001 season.We also observed hazardous conditions related to fire safety, including obstructed or locked fire exits at nine camps; two means of egress in areas of assembly (i.e., gyms, auditoriums, cafeterias) not provided at one camp; fire extinguishers not inspected or tagged at five day camps; and fire extinguishers not easily accessible or strategically placed at one camp.
Two of the 58 day camps we inspected—the New York City Housing Authority’s Butler Houses Day Camp in the Bronx and the Brownsville Parks and Recreation Summer Day Camp in Brooklyn—had a number of critical violations. We reported the conditions observed in the camps to DOH officials so they could pursue immediate correction of the conditions. Table III, which appears in the body of this report, summarizes the four safety areas, the 25 critical items within these areas, and the number of camps where non-compliant conditions were observed. (See Appendix B for further detail.)
Our review of 45 randomly selected application files of day camps with approved permits for the summer 2001 season found that most of the required documents were on file. However, 20 (44%) of the sample files did not contain a notification letter from the Office of Child and Family Services (NYS Family Services) of the New York State Department of Social Services. According to DOH officials, the NYC Health Code does not require that the background check of a prospective camp director be completed prior to DOH approving a day camp’s permit. The only requirement is that DOH review the Clearance Form submitted by the camp director and subsequently forward it to NYS Family Services. However, without notification from NYS Family Services attesting to the clean record of a director, DOH has no assurance that the camp director is eligible to serve in that position. Clearly, there is a potential risk to the safety and welfare of the children who attend a day camp when DOH approves a permit prior to receiving a letter from NYS Family Services stating the results of the investigation.
In addition, 23 (51%) of the 45 sampled day camp files lacked notification from the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) stating that the camp premises complied with laws and regulations pertaining to fire control and prevention (see Appendix C for a list of these camps). DOH requires the FDNY notification letter (stating that the camp complied with laws and regulations pertaining to fire control and prevention) to be on file prior to its approving a camp’s permit for the current season.. According to DOH officials, Field Operations has assumed the responsibility of obtaining the compliance notifications from FDNY for each camp, but lately has had problems obtaining those notifications
By approving a camp’s permit without a FDNY compliance notification letter to verify that a camp complies with FDNY regulations, DOH cannot ensure that the facility is, in fact, safe and poses no threat to the people who occupy the premises.
The audit made 13 recommendations, including the following major recommendations that DOH should:
• Ensure that day camps do not open and operate without approved permits.
• Consider reassigning staff members temporarily from other units within the agency to the Field Operations Day Camp Unit to address the shortage of staff and increased workload for permit review and approval.
• Propose a change in the NYC Health Code or institute procedures requiring camp operators to submit all required permit documentation at least 60 days prior to the opening of a day camp.
• At the beginning of the following season, immediately inspect those camps that ended the previous season with uncorrected violations. If any of those camps are found operating without a permit and are cited for the same violations as in the previous year, shut them down. If a camp is not yet operating, but is cited for violations during the inspection, notify the camp that it will not be allowed to open until all violations are cleared.
• Track each day camp’s history of violations from year to year and place those camps with repeated violations under greater scrutiny. The Administrative Tribunal should impose greater fees and penalties against those camps that chronically violate the health codes.
• Indicate in its annual Directory of Summer Camps and on its website the previous year’s uncorrected critical violations next to the names of those day camps that had such violations, or include a separate list of day camps with such violations.
• Instruct camp operators to keep all designated means of egress from a building or structure unobstructed and unlocked.
• Implement a mandatory education program in conjunction with FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Prevention, requiring camp operators and directors to attend the program to educate them and ensure compliance with fire safety regulations.
• Meet with officials from NYS Family Services and devise measures to expedite the background investigation of proposed camp directors and the communication of the investigation results. For example, DOH could request access to the State Central Register’s database or DOH could request NYS Family Services to use electronic mail for notification purposes.
• Meet with officials from FDNY to devise measures to expedite FDNY notification of a camp’s compliance with fire safety regulations.
This audit was conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) and included tests of the records and other auditing procedures considered necessary. This audit was performed in accordance with the City Comptroller’s audit responsibilities as set forth in Chapter 5, § 93, of the New York City Charter.
The matters covered in this audit report were discussed with officials from DOH during, and at the conclusion of, this audit. A preliminary draft report was sent to DOH officials and was discussed at an exit conference held on August 22, 2001. On August 24, 2001, we submitted a draft report to DOH officials with a request for comments. We received a written response from DOH officials on October 31, 2001. Of the 13 recommendations made in this audit, DOH generally agreed with 10 and disagreed with two others (#6 and #8). DOH did not directly address the remaining recommendation (#5).
DOH stated:
“The Department of Health has reviewed the subject report issued by your office. We appreciate the professionalism of your staff, and the consideration given to our views at the exit conference. Summer Camps provide an essential community service for thousands of working families. Our primary responsibility is to assure the safety of children attending camps. We believe that your report substantiates our belief that this safety is well assured. A major area of concern in your report is the permitting process and the number of camps in operation without valid permits . . . .We cannot disagree that some day camps operate in the absence of all required documentation. The Department is exploring alternatives to existing documentation requirements that would provide equivalent assurances of camper safety and health. We are also exploring administrative changes that would allow us to complete the permitting process on a timelier basis.”
“We believe that our program is much more effective than your report suggests. We do, however, agree with many of your recommendations. Recommendations about expediting the permits process are especially appropriate and the Department is reviewing Day Camp operations to implement them. Contemplated charges include a more proactive application process, which includes meeting with individual applicants to review permit packages and mandatory operator training.”
We recognize that DOH is inundated with a large volume of summer day camp applications preceding each season and attempts to expedite the review and processing of these applications in a relatively short time frame. However, the results of our audit clearly indicated that DOH must do more to expedite its summer day camp application processing to ensure that no camp will open and operate without an approved permit. To this end, DOH should do more to ensure that there is sufficient personnel assigned to Field Operations for processing summer day camp permit applications. Furthermore, to increase its ability expedite the processing and approval of permit applications, DOH should review and make appropriate revisions to its day camp permit processing procedures.