HOUSTON – As summer break approaches, many Texas youth camps are still waiting for final approval from the state under sweeping new safety laws passed after last year’s deadly Hill Country floods.
State records from the Texas Department of State Health Services show only 18 youth camps across Texas had been fully licensed as of this week, while many others remain in pending status.
The new laws were passed after devastating floods tore through the Texas Hill Country last summer, killing 27 campers and counselors.
The new requirements include detailed emergency action plans, updated communication systems, additional inspections and, in some cases, fiber optic internet requirements aimed at improving emergency response capabilities.
Camp leaders who spoke with KPRC 2 said they support the new safety standards — but say the biggest obstacle has been the time it takes for the state to review the new emergency plans.
“The hardest part right now is the timeline it takes for them to review the emergency action plans,” said Garret Larsen, president and CEO of Camp Cho-Yeh.
Larsen said many of the camp’s safety procedures were already in place before the new laws were passed.
“Safety is not an afterthought for us. It’s central to what we do every year,” Larsen said.
He said the biggest hurdle has been making sure the state’s required wording and documentation align with the camp’s existing emergency plans.
Camp Cho-Yeh operates multiple camps, including locations near Lake Livingston and Riverside.
Larsen said he remains confident the camps will receive final approval before campers arrive this summer.
“We’ve been in close communication with DSHS,” Larsen said. “Our pre-summer inspection is this week and so we expect to have our license by the end of this week or early next week.”
Mike McDonell, president of Kidventure, said his organization is also expecting final approval soon.
“They’re actually coming out tomorrow to do the final licensing paperwork with us,” McDonell said.
Kidventure operates 31 day camp locations across Houston, Dallas and Austin.
McDonell said some of the new rules created confusion for day camps because certain requirements appeared geared more toward overnight camps.
“After 32 years, we had not seen anything about cabins, for example,” McDonell said.
Still, McDonell said he believes the changes are ultimately beneficial.
“What happened last summer was an absolute tragedy,” McDonell said. “Anything that we can do as parents, as a community, and as a state to make camps a safer place, we have got to do that.”
KPRC 2 reached out to Texas DSHS to ask whether the agency expects most camps to receive licenses before summer camp season begins.
A spokesperson sent us the following statement:
“Many of the youth camps who have applied for an initial or renewal license were sent a notice of deficiency letter regarding the specific updates needed for their emergency plan to meet the requirements. Camps who receive the NOD letter are given 45 days from the time they received the letter to bring their emergency plans into compliance with the new requirements. DSHS is concurrently conducting pre-licensure inspections so that licenses can be issued as soon as a camp has met the requirements. For camps whose license applications are pending while they are updating their emergency plan, the timing of license issuance depends on camps bringing their emergency plans into compliance quickly.
As long as a camp applied for a renewal license before their current license expired, they can continue to operate on their existing license until their application is processed and they receive a new license OR if they are denied a renewal license, they can continue to operate on their existing license until they have gone through due process to contest and appeal the denial.
The Texas Government Code pertaining to licenses:
Sec. 2001.054. LICENSES. (a) The provisions of this chapter concerning contested cases apply to the grant, denial, or renewal of a license that is required to be preceded by notice and opportunity for hearing.
(b) If a license holder makes timely and sufficient application for the renewal of a license or for a new license for an activity of a continuing nature, the existing license does not expire until the application has been finally determined by the state agency. If the application is denied or the terms of the new license are limited, the existing license does not expire until the last day for seeking review of the agency."
According to DSHS, the agency updates its list of licensed youth camps every Friday.