SUFFERN – Until now, day camps, summer camps and the like, are required by state law to run state and federal background checks on job applicants and volunteers to determine if they are on state and national sex offender registries.
A loophole in the law is now closed so single-purpose camps like sports and band camps must also perform the check, noted Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, who sponsored the measure in the State Senate.
“That’s something that single-use camps until now have not had to do to the shock and surprise of many parents who find this out. We’ve closed this loophole and I’m grateful to the governor for signing it into law,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday at Deerkill Day Camp in Suffern.
Amy Paulin, who sponsored the measure in the Assembly, said, “When parents send their children to summer camp, they want their children to have a fun and healthy experience, but foremost they need to know that they are in a safe environment.”
