Rowlett adopts annual standards of care for city youth programs

The Rowlett City Council on May 20 adopted a set of standards of care that allow the city’s Parks & Recreation youth programs to operate under a municipal exemption from some state child-care licensing requirements.

City staff said the standards are a required annual action for municipalities that claim the statutory exemption and that the adopted document largely repeats the prior year’s standards with clarifications and formatting fixes. The standards address staffing qualifications and ratios (standard ratio 15:1 with tighter ratios for higher-risk activities such as swimming and off-site field trips), mandatory background checks and drug screens for staff, first-aid and CPR requirements, participant registration and pickup procedures (including ID checks), Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations, emergency and inclement-weather protocols, and abuse-reporting procedures.

Parks & Recreation staff said the standards apply to Rowlett Rangers, Pecan summer camps and any similar multi-day camp program the city offers. The council conducted the required public hearing (no speakers) and then approved the ordinance to adopt the standards; Councilmember Britton moved for adoption and Councilmember Reeves seconded. The vote was 6-0.

Speakers on the item included Parks & Recreation staff who prepared the standards of care.

Councilmembers noted the item was largely housekeeping and clarified that parents must be informed the municipal camps are not the same as state-licensed child-care facilities.