Camp Safety Bill Advances Out Of Committee

by Viktoria Sundqvist

The Committee on Children on Tuesday voted to advance a bill meant to improve safety at municipal-run youth camps in Connecticut.

Senate Bill 157, An Act Concerning Municipal Camp Safety, would require certain employees of municipal youth camps to be trained as mandated reporters – a person legally required to report suspected child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment – and would require the Office of Early Childhood to submit a report concerning municipal youth camps to quantify how many there are in the state.

The committee left the vote open until 1:30 p.m., and although the final vote tally was not yet posted on the General Assembly’s website late Tuesday, the committee had voted 9-2 in favor of advancing the legislation with only six members’ votes uncounted.

Municipal youth camps and programs in local childcare settings or those run by or affiliated with the national Boys & Girls Clubs of America – along with programs run by a list of other entities – are currently exempt from licensure and do not have to follow the same rules as licensed camps.

The bill has support from the Office of the Child Advocate, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, and the Connecticut Parks and Recreation Association and was introduced after a parks and recreation employee in Bethany was charged with sexually assaulting five children in 2024.

State Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, R-Wolcott, who voted against the bill, questioned why one incident in one town would require such drastic actions.

“I think the towns are doing a pretty good job running these camps,” Mastrofrancesco said. “I just really caution when we’re putting another mandate on a town.”

State Rep. Anne Dauphinais, R-Danielson, said she would also vote no as she does not support putting a burden on small towns in order to help collect data.

Committee co-chair Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, said the bill would not require additional work for municipalities, but would allow the state to collect data that already exists. 

Criminal charges in the Bethany case are still pending, butan independent investigation ordered by Bethany residents highlighted several failings by town officials as well as a lack of training, oversight, and lack of policies in the town-run program. The report also resulted in the first selectman’s resignation in June 2025, shortly after it was released.

The Office of the Child Advocate conducted its own investigation, concluding in a report that staff had no background checks and minimal training, but that the town did not violate any laws in that regard since it was not under state oversight.

Supporters of the bill testified to the committee that families should feel safe sending their children to municipal camps and after-school programs, regardless of whether they are licensed, and that the bill would help ensure better safety guidelines.