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National Camp Accreditation Program

National Camp Accreditation Program Resources

Purpose of the National Camp Accreditation Program

The purpose of the Boy Scouts of America’s National Camp Accreditation Program (NCAP) is to help councils elevate camps to new levels of excellence in delivering Scouting’s promise to youth. Councils will engage in a rigorous review of camps and properties, continuous improvement, and correction or elimination of substandard practices.

The NCAP achieves this purpose through the following:

  • Application and Authorization to Operate review
  • National camp standards
  • Camp Strategic Analysis
  • Continuous Camp Improvement Program
  • Annual camp assessment process

Only camps that successfully complete all five aspects of the NCAP are BSA accredited camps.

You may direct questions about the National Camp Accreditation Program to [email protected].

National Camp Standards

The BSA’s national camp standards are established to do the following:

  • Ensure that each camper and leader has a fun, high-quality program consistent with the BSA brand.
  • Ensure the health, safety, and well-being of every camper, leader, visitor, and staff member while participating in a BSA accredited camp

2023 NCAP Standards 

2023 Standards take effect January 1, 2023

 

We encourage all camp directors and program directors, rangers, short-term camp administrators, council NCAP chairs and staff advisers to have a copy of the NCAP standards, either by free download or by purchasing a printed copy through National Supply.

Replacement Pages to convert the 2022 Standards to the 2023 Standards

 

If you have a copy of the 2022 NCAP Standards, you can download the replacement pages by using this link:   2023’s Replacement Pages

 

 

To help you determine which of the standards covers your camp, here are the listing of standards by “camp type”.  Make certain that you have confirmed with your Assessment Team Leader and your Council’s NCAP Chair to make certain you all agree that you are not missing any standards.

 

 

NCAP requires an intent to operate be submitted annually for camp property(s) and long-term camp(s) operated by BSA councils (see NCAP Standard AO-802). Intent to operate(s) will only be approved for council’s authorized to operate long-term camps on that specific camp property according to their current Authorization to Operate. If you have questions about your council’s current NCAP Authorization to Operate, please email [email protected].

2023 Intent to Operate and 2022 Camping Attendance Reporting  Link: Click here

Short-Term Camp

Click HERE for information and resources for short-term camp

Council Authorization

The NCAP’s multiyear authorization cycle begins with the council submitting an application to the region through the NCAP Committee. This process is designed to help a council review its program and property and realize the true impact it has on its operation. The application contains a description of each of the council’s camps for which it is seeking an Authorization to Operate. The council will use the Camp Facilities Evaluation Tool, an objective assessment of council camp facilities from a brand perspective, and the Council and Camp Sustainability Data Sheets that provide an objective assessment of the contribution of the camps, individually and collectively, to the council’s financial sustainability. The council will then develop a Continuous Camp Improvement Program to review the programs, staffing, attendance, finances, and facilities, and then develop a plan to improve and grow in all areas. 

The application requires a review and approval by the council’s executive committee or executive board so that everyone understands the impact of the camp on the council. After completion of the documents, the region’s NCAP team will review all documents and plans, and then authorize the council to operate the various facilities.

During the third year of your authorization the council is required to complete an interim report.  This report tells the Region and Area leadership how you are doing on meeting your goals for your camping program.

The evaluation of your facilities needs to be an ongoing process by a team from the council looking at every aspect of the camp and the program it offers. Evaluate the buildings to see if they are sound and can physically handle the wear and tear of the operations of the property. The team also needs to make certain that a building meets the needs of the program that is being offered. A building that doesn’t meet the program needs—and maybe hampers the program—isn’t a good fit for the camp.

Is the camp appealing to the people who come to it? When a parent or community member drives into the camp, do the buildings and grounds meet the BSA’s brand? Does the camp make them want to stay or does it make them want to take their child, turn around, and never come back? The BSA and your council have an image. Does this camp and its buildings meet the image that you are trying to project?

In the evaluation of the buildings and program areas, items to be considered by a team are:

  1. Is the building/program area in good physical shape (no structural problems)?
  2. Does the building/program area meet the BSA’s brand?
  3. Does the building/program area meet the program needs?
  4. Are the building’s maintenance needs covered?
  5. Are the grounds maintained, and do the buildings have a fresh coat of paint on them?
  6. Is the sign at the camp entrance inviting?

The council should use the following document at least every other year (if not every year) to assist in this process.

The Continuous Camp Improvement Program provides camps the opportunity to review the program, facilities, finances, and staffing, then develop a process for improvements. In this document, the council commits to conduct an Annual Camp Continuous Improvement process, for each camp, which minimally:

  • Utilizes the feedback obtained from the previous year’s camp evaluations.
  • Involves council operating committees and camp management in the review, SWOT analysis, and prioritization/selection of at least three areas to be addressed for each camp.
  • Annually, creates specific, measurable, SMART goals with timelines and implementation steps for each of the areas to be improved. (Continuous improvement goals should include the following: program, communications, facilities, finances, staff, attendees/participation.)
  • Includes the desired CFET goal to be achieved within the proposed authorization term (five years) for each property and improvement goals for any camp facilities currently rated as fair (D) or poor (F), needing to be brought up to acceptable levels.
  • Provides a written overview of the process goals and results to the assessment team as part of the annual Declaration of Readiness and subsequently discusses the process and progress during each assessment.

The council includes an updated progress summary of each year’s CCI goals as part of its next NCAP application process.  

NCAP On-line Training

To learn more about the National Camp Accreditation Program (NCAP) we encourage you to take the yearly NCAP On-line Training session.  This is a yearly training that expires every year on December 31st.  All Assessors are required to take this training yearly.  

The training is on www.my.scouting.org > Learning Center > Catalog > Search for NCAP

To assist you in finding the course here is a PDF to show you the steps.  

Annual Assessment Program - Scoresheets

All BSA accredited camps undergo an annual assessment process. Resident, trek, and specialty-adventure and high-adventure camps go through a third-party assessment process coordinated by the responsible BSA area. Day camps are subject to a thorough self-assessment annually.  Short-term camps are assessed by the Short-term Camp Administrator of the event.  Based on the results of the annual review, each BSA camp—regardless of type—will receive an individualized accreditation decision. Accreditation is the mark that the camp program provides a fun, high-quality, and safe program consistent with what the public expects of Scouting. 

There are two types of assessments:

Self-Assessments – Conducted by the Council for Day Camps, Family Camps and Properties

Nationally Led Assessments – Conducted for all other camps and led by the Area NCAP team

The Scoresheet itself has changed and we have converted to a new program.  It is a web-based program that can be done on a computer, tablet or your phone.  The questions have stayed the same as before, but the actual program is different – you must have access to the internet to make this work and you need to complete it in one sitting.

The program is designed to automatically send the results to the required people and will ask you at the end of the scoresheet for your email address and the camp director’s email address so that you both also get a copy of the report.  Those receiving copies are:  Region NCAP Assessment Chair, Area Assessment Chair, Scout Executive, and the National NCAP Team.  We then ask that the Assessment Team Leader make a PDF copy once you are done and send it to the Camp Director for their files.

To do the official scoresheet for a camp, go to: Official Scoresheet

This is an optional item that can be used as a leave behind at the camp so they know exactly what will be entered on the Official Scoresheet 

Leave behind document – Fillable PDF version

 

National Camping School

National Camping School is designed to help guide camp leadership to have successful strong programs in all Boy Scouts of America camping programs.

 For the Latest information on National Camping School click HERE

Additional Resources

NCAP Circulars

The National Council periodically issues NCAP Circulars to provide authoritative guidance to councils, areas, and regions in implementing the program. 

Please direct any questions about the National Camp Accreditation Program to [email protected]g

 

 

NCAP Authorization Reviewers Page (Password Protected)