Accreditation & camp safety

What "ACA Accredited" means

The American Camp Association accredits camps through a voluntary peer-review process. Trained volunteers from other camps compare a camp's practices to ACA's published standards, which cover areas like health and safety, staff training and supervision, and risk management. The camp is visited in person on a regular cycle (at least every five years) and reports to ACA every year in between, so it isn't self-reported.

Accreditation is voluntary. Plenty of excellent camps — especially smaller or newer ones — haven't pursued it yet, so treat the badge as a useful signal, not a pass/fail verdict on camp quality.

What we show on every listing

Beyond the accreditation badge, every camp profile on Booka includes the details that matter most when you're actually evaluating a camp, not just browsing photos:

• ✓ Staff-to-camper ratio
• ✓ Staff background & training (certifications, hiring, return rate)
• ✓ Returning camper/staff rate
• ✓ Accommodations (cabins, facilities, day-camp logistics)
• ✓ How campers are grouped

What Booka doesn't verify (yet)

Camp-reported details like staff ratios, accommodations, and accreditation status are supplied by the camp operator at listing time. We don't independently audit every claim — accreditation badges reflect ACA's own public records, but camp-authored details (staff background, retention rate, etc.) aren't fact-checked by Booka itself. If something on a listing looks off, a camp's reviews from other families are a good second opinion — or contact the operator directly.