Camp Safety and Drowning Prevention Measures Finally About to Cross Finish Line in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles — After more than two years of nonstop advocacy work, Meow Meow Foundation is about to realize the fruits of its labor as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to officially mandate children’s camp safety and drowning prevention measures affecting millions.
County officials held final stakeholders meetings last week before the official language from County Counsel moves to the Board for adoption at upcoming public meetings.
Meow Meow Foundation President Doug Forbes will attend the meetings to give voice to the measures that he and his wife Elena Matyas catalyzed after the preventable drowning death of their daughter Roxie at a Los Angeles County summer camp.
“It has been a long, arduous journey,” Forbes said. “It breaks even more pieces of my already severely broken heart that Elena will not be here to celebrate with me, but I reassured her that we will get this done and done right. And we did.”
Matyas died March 4 following a long battle with cancer. Forbes said the despair of Roxie’s death severely affected her immune system, eventually creating a perfect pathway for cancer to end her life. Nonetheless, she did everything possible to remain involved in the efforts until late last year.
The new drowning prevention measure will broaden lifeguard presence and efficacy, improve aquatics facility inspections, enhance communications between health agencies and first responders and establish important data collection on aquatics-related safety incidents. The measure will also include integrated education and training.
The new camp safety measure finally requires all camps to be registered and permitted, establishes a more appropriate definition of camps, requires comprehensive unannounced inspections, operational/emergency action plans, health supervision, certifications for activities with greater risk, improved counselor to camper ratios, protections against child molestation, reporting requirements and more. Education and training and introductory compliance will commence in 2022 and full compliance will commence in 2023.
Contact Meow Meow Foundation with questions and comments.