Be Mindful: Camps are Operating Without Licenses

The below documents are public and acquired from the Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing division.

Meow Meow Foundation is on the cusp of introducing critical legislation that will finally protect millions of children attending California camps each year. Our bill titled “ROXIE RULES'“ will be introduced within two weeks.

Roxie Forbes died on June 28, 2019 at Summerkids camp in Altadena. The camp-owning family committed grossly negligent acts that caused Roxie’s brutal drowning death, according to legal documents.

Since that day, this foundation has undertaken exhaustive research efforts to understand why most California camps are not licensed or properly inspected. Camps are not the only ones to blame. The California Department of Public Health and the Department of Social Services have failed to define and enforce vital reporting standards.

Tragically, Summerkids was and still is one of those camps operating without a license. Community Care Licensing determined that, for decades, Summerkids has structured its business model as a child care facility, not an “organized camp.”

In November, CCL advised Summerkids owners they were operating an illegal child care facility. They ignored the determination and opened a winter camp the next month. Officials from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said they will not issue a permit, and Community Care Licensing has refused to do the same.

This is the first violation notice:

This is the second violation notice.