Adoption Policy

Bringing other kids along with your family

We recognize that, at times, circumstances do not allow for some Mom's and Dad's to attend camp with their children. To accommodate this reality while keeping the overall tone of our workshops family centered, we allow children to be "adopted" by another 2-parent family who will be in attendance the entire week of camp.

1. Only families with both parents attending for the entire workshop may bring other kids with them.
2. No family may bring more than two kids with them who are not members of their immediate family.
3. Each child who comes with another family must pay a slightly higher fee. See the fees page of the program for the amount.
4. The family bringing along these kids must assume complete responsibility for these kids during the time of the workshop, as if they really were their own kids. This would include, if necessary, taking disciplinary action toward the adopted child. As part of disciplinary action, the camp management may require the child to sleep in the parents' cabin instead of in the lodge.
5. Only your own kids may come as your children. Others are to be adopted and the "adopted kid" price paid. We are not overly legalistic about this. If you have a niece, nephew, or other relative living with your family full time, they may attend with your family.
6. The camp directors have the authority to determine the total number of kids and families in this category that their workshop or camp can accommodate. This is at their sole discretion.

There are also practical reasons for these policies. We have had numerous experiences where a child without their parent was injured at Camp. Without a sponsoring or adoptive family to accompany this child to the hospital, there are major disruptions in the camp. We have also found that discipline problems are usually easily solved with a parent on site.

It is the parents' responsibility to find a family willing to look after your kids, not the Camp leadership's. Please work this out as soon as possible so it does not become a problem for the Camp leadership. To view a list of families attending, log in and go to the "See all families attending" form at the bottom of the page.

Children can only be adopted by families with both parents attending. We reserve the right to refund the payment and send the adopted children (the children going to camp without their parents) home if one of the parents of the adopting family (the family that takes care of the adopted children) does not come to camp. If one of the parents of the adopting family registers and finds out he or she cannot attend camp, he or she must notify both the family of the adopted child and the registrar as soon as possible. This is a courtesy to the family of the adopted child, because they will need to find another adopting family.

Maximum Proportion of Adopted Children at Camp

The general policy of camp is to have no more than 10% of all attendees be adopted children. The purpose of this is to make sure that camp staff are not overburdened by potential issues that may occur due to adopted children's behavior in their parents' absence. If the camp director wants to exceed this ratio, he or she needs to consult with the Family Camp Circle first.