The National Camp Accreditation Program, or NCAP, is an entity within the Scouting America organization that sets operational standards and requirements for its camps. Annually, camps must comply with these standards and undergo a yearly inspection by an NCAP assessment team. The inspection covers everything from fundamental safety requirements, like smoke detectors in buildings, to encouraged "recommended" standards, such as operating an alumni organization.

Roughly 3.5 years ago, NCAP established a new "recommended" standard specifically addressing mental, emotional, and social health. This standard outlines a variety of items for a camp to implement. At the bottom of the standard is the interpretation, which reads as follows:

NCAP Standard RP-551, Mental, Emotional, and Social Health (MESH) Support

Interpretation: The council health supervisor/designee used in this standard is either the council health supervisor, if capable and willing, or that individual’s designee to act on their behalf on mental health issues. The Recommended Practice will remain in place for the indefinite future and be updated as Scouting learns more. The prior goal of adopting a standard is deferred until Scouting has a stronger evidence base on what measures are effective

Verification

Scouting America is focusing on developing mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) programs. Many believe that the National Camp Accreditation Program (NCAP) may soon change its standards, making MESH a required, rather than just a recommended, practice for camps.

This is a complex, multi-level conversation that requires the development of new policies, resources, and training materials at the national, council, and unit levels. As policies and expectations are created, their interpretation often causes confusion, and council executives are particularly curious about what the realistic expectations will be for camps implementing a MESH program.

To address this, I've spent the past few months giving presentations at the Psychology of Scouting Conference in June and the National Outdoor Conference (NOC) at the Philmont Training Center in Cimarron, New Mexico. These presentations were designed to help train more Scouters and council executives in MESH programming.

For anyone still wondering what needs to be done to have a MESH program, I've broken it down into three simple steps.

This is the core of the process. Without a strong plan and written procedures, the rest of the process won't work as intended. Take the time to work with your council and your camp’s leadership to build a MESH infrastructure.

To develop a solid plan, you first need to assess your current situation. Review past incidents to understand the key gaps in how you handle or respond to mental health concerns. Also, consider the unique circumstances of your council and your camps. Every camp is different, and factors like age, gender, socioeconomic status, and location should be key considerations when assessing what you already have in place and understanding what more needs to be done.

After assessing your current situation, you can start making decisions about standards and policy expectations. As a group, determine what your council and your camp(s) have the capacity to do in terms of MESH support. Later in this article, I will break down a multi-faceted approach to MESH programs. Review the staff, funding, and resources you have to support this, and identify what the standards should be to implement it effectively.

It is imperative that you have a very strong and transparent set of guidelines for assessing, addressing, and documenting incidents. When an incident occurs, have a clear set of guidelines that identify the differences between a minor, moderate, and crisis-level response. If something meets the criteria for these categories, have a clear set of standards on what should be done.

Document and evaluate everything. Understand the importance of documenting not only crisis-level situations but also "near miss" incidents that may not meet the criteria for a crisis but could quickly develop into one. Early identification leads to better outcomes.

Create a plan to better identify campers or staff who could benefit from more support from your camp's MESH team. Explore what can be done during weekly camp check-ins for campers or how you discuss MESH during your staff's opening week. The earlier a camp can identify those who need support, the better the outcomes will be for the individual.

Set clear expectations for the scope of practice for MESH staff. It's important to understand that summer camps do not provide therapeutic services and should not suggest or advertise that they do. Research available trainings and identify the minimum training or experience someone should have before stepping into such a role. Common and effective trainings include Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) and Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR).

The resources a camp or council provides are meant to support the people doing MESH-related work, enabling them to execute their roles effectively. For example, if your council states that a MESH Coordinator at a Scout camp needs to complete Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training, how can the council make this training available for staff? Additionally, if a camp wants to better train all its staff in addressing non-crisis situations, what presentations can be used, and what other resources can be provided? This step is all about reviewing the policies and procedures you've developed for MESH programming and determining how to best provide the tools necessary to implement the program.

Scouting America has a national MESH task force that works to develop resources and tools to educate and inform more Scouters. The task force has created a U.S.A. model for addressing MESH concerns in camps. A presentation slide deck is available to Scouters and is meant to help camp directors provide a surface-level training to their staff.

Additionally, the task force has developed a pocket guide that can be requested by local councils. This pocket-sized information sheet equips staff with everything they need to support a Scout with a surface-level, non-crisis MESH concern. It is encouraged that you connect with your local council executives to discuss how to gain access to these resources.

I’ve had the pleasure of working as the MESH Director at my own scout camp for three seasons. The way we provided MESH support in 2023 is radically different, and better, than where we are today. This is all thanks to constant assessment and evaluation.

Launching a new program from scratch can be a daunting task. The priority should always be functionality. Never try to provide services that are outside of what you can realistically or functionally handle. Keep it simple and start small, but be intentional about debriefing after crisis situations so you can learn and grow.

Develop a strong end-of-season reporting process to document and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the season. At the start of a new year, review this documentation to continue implementing changes and growing from past experiences.

We need to view MESH as a program that can be implemented in a multi-faceted way. A key priority is crisis response, or how we react when a crisis-level situation occurs. In addition, we can focus on prevention by developing measures and checks within the camp's structure to encourage earlier conversations and responses, which can help prevent situations from escalating. Finally, there's capacity building, which involves the council's and camp's role in supporting more people to become educated, trained, and informed on how to handle MESH concerns in a camp setting.

First and foremost is crisis response. When a behavioral health emergency occurs, what does the response process look like? Who handles these calls? What is their assessment and evaluation process, and how do they connect to professional support?

At a minimum, every camp should have a plan to address a potential MESH crisis. Implement a crisis response plan for your camp that includes who to report these situations to, the criteria for non-crisis versus crisis situations, and who will handle referrals to external support.

In a public health context, prevention refers to any action taken to promote health and well-being and to prevent the onset of illness, injury, or poor health outcomes. It's about being proactive, not reactive. Instead of waiting for a problem to occur, prevention focuses on addressing risk factors that could lead to an issue while strengthening the protective factors that promote positive outcomes.

There is a great deal of preventative work that can be done in camps at little to no expense. For instance, a simple step is using high-visibility locations to display resources like the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Another good preventative measure is intentionally creating opportunities for self-care for both staff and campers. Poor self-care is a significant risk factor for a mental health incident. Camps can support this by encouraging people to eat enough food, get enough quality sleep, maintain good personal hygiene, and find time for positive peer socialization.

When a crisis happens, there are often warning signs that were not noticed or addressed. If there had been deeper conversations, perhaps those warning signs could have been caught and supported to prevent a larger issue. The value of checking in cannot be overstated.

Encourage people to "ask with intention" to inspire deeper and more meaningful conversations. It's easy to fall into the routine of uninspiredly asking, "How was your day?" and getting the same "good" response. Encourage everyone at camp to be curious. If you ask someone how their day is, take the time to genuinely be curious about their response. Be attentive to one another and be intentional about how you answer when others ask you

There is still so much work to be done in supporting the needs of today's youth. While camps can put supports and procedures in place, we must recognize that we are not the only ones looking out for the well-being of the Scouts in our programs.

Capacity building refers to empowering more people in the Scouting community to feel confident and informed in addressing or helping the needs of the people they support. As your camp's MESH program expands and grows, look for trainings, education, or resources you could provide to help destigmatize mental health and teach basic intervention skills to unit leaders, senior patrol leaders, or other key people in the Scouting America program.

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