{"id":790222,"date":"2026-05-12T03:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T03:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/790222\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T03:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T03:52:14","slug":"only-18-texas-youth-camps-fully-licensed-weeks-before-summer-but-many-can-still-legally-operate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/790222\/","title":{"rendered":"Only 18 Texas youth camps fully licensed weeks before summer, but many can still legally operate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 As summer break approaches, many Texas youth camps are still waiting for final approval from the state under sweeping new safety laws passed after last year\u2019s deadly Hill Country floods.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">State records from the Texas Department of State Health Services show only 18 youth camps across Texas had been fully licensed as of this week, while many others remain in pending status.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The new laws were passed after devastating floods tore through the Texas Hill Country last summer, killing 27 campers and counselors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The new requirements include detailed emergency action plans, updated communication systems, additional inspections and, in some cases, fiber optic internet requirements aimed at improving emergency response capabilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Camp leaders who spoke with KPRC 2 said they support the new safety standards \u2014 but say the biggest obstacle has been the time it takes for the state to review the new emergency plans.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe hardest part right now is the timeline it takes for them to review the emergency action plans,\u201d said Garret Larsen, president and CEO of Camp Cho-Yeh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Larsen said many of the camp\u2019s safety procedures were already in place before the new laws were passed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cSafety is not an afterthought for us. It\u2019s central to what we do every year,\u201d Larsen said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">He said the biggest hurdle has been making sure the state\u2019s required wording and documentation align with the camp\u2019s existing emergency plans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Camp Cho-Yeh operates multiple camps, including locations near Lake Livingston and Riverside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Larsen said he remains confident the camps will receive final approval before campers arrive this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been in close communication with DSHS,\u201d Larsen said. \u201cOur pre-summer inspection is this week and so we expect to have our license by the end of this week or early next week.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Mike McDonell, president of Kidventure, said his organization is also expecting final approval soon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThey\u2019re actually coming out tomorrow to do the final licensing paperwork with us,\u201d McDonell said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Kidventure operates 31 day camp locations across Houston, Dallas and Austin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">McDonell said some of the new rules created confusion for day camps because certain requirements appeared geared more toward overnight camps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cAfter 32 years, we had not seen anything about cabins, for example,\u201d McDonell said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Still, McDonell said he believes the changes are ultimately beneficial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWhat happened last summer was an absolute tragedy,\u201d McDonell said. \u201cAnything that we can do as parents, as a community, and as a state to make camps a safer place, we have got to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">KPRC 2 reached out to Texas DSHS to ask whether the agency expects most camps to receive licenses before summer camp season begins.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">A spokesperson sent us the following statement:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cMany of the youth camps who have applied for an initial or renewal license were sent a notice of deficiency letter regarding the specific updates needed for their emergency plan to meet the requirements. Camps who receive the NOD letter are given 45 days from the time they received the letter to bring their emergency plans into compliance with the new requirements. DSHS is concurrently conducting pre-licensure inspections so that licenses can be issued as soon as a camp has met the requirements. For camps whose license applications are pending while they are updating their emergency plan, the timing of license issuance depends on camps bringing their emergency plans into compliance quickly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">As long as a camp applied for a renewal license before their current license expired, they can continue to operate on their existing license until their application is processed and they receive a new license OR if they are denied a renewal license, they can continue to operate on their existing license until they have gone through due process to contest and appeal the denial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The Texas Government Code pertaining to licenses:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/\/statutes.capitol.texas.gov\/Docs\/GV\/htm\/GV.2001.htm*2001.054__;Iw!!JzAkRiGGxM5L!qkNnrenUlRFECiY-5iLDVnuBA7qVTYuOnQRU-Ke6WeyHbaBO2PUPog4fz6cbKJ_awFt8dP2X7j2pMuRg1U9M2xc$\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/\/statutes.capitol.texas.gov\/Docs\/GV\/htm\/GV.2001.htm*2001.054__;Iw!!JzAkRiGGxM5L!qkNnrenUlRFECiY-5iLDVnuBA7qVTYuOnQRU-Ke6WeyHbaBO2PUPog4fz6cbKJ_awFt8dP2X7j2pMuRg1U9M2xc$\"><b>Sec. 2001.054. LICENSES.<\/b><\/a> (a) The provisions of this chapter concerning contested cases apply to the grant, denial, or renewal of a license that is required to be preceded by notice and opportunity for hearing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">(b) If a license holder makes timely and sufficient application for the renewal of a license or for a new license for an activity of a continuing nature, <b>the existing license does not expire until the application has been finally determined by the state agency.<\/b> If the application is denied or the terms of the new license are limited, <b>the existing license does not expire until the last day for seeking review of the agency.&#8221;<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">According to DSHS, the agency updates its list of licensed youth camps every Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 As summer break approaches, many Texas youth camps are still waiting for final approval from the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":790223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[322767,322766,322765,322769,33212,4345,358,3187,322768],"class_list":{"0":"post-790222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-camp-inspection-requirements","9":"tag-camp-license-renewal","10":"tag-camp-safety-laws","11":"tag-emergency-action-plans","12":"tag-hill-country-floods","13":"tag-houston","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-youth-camp-regulations"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116559580129896149","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}