Rain Policy
Safety is our top priority. With the threat of potentially dangerous weather, we immediately seek shelter. A safe indoor shelter is avalable at every location. Parents are notified if the campers are moved to the shelter. However, during light to moderate rain, but no lightening, we may decide to go outside and will get work in. All campers are advised to dress for the weather each day.
Our top policies include:
- Child Safety is our top priority. Children are supervised at all times and coaches remain with their groups all day. We take many steps every day including complete check-in and check-out, we check the recreation center restrooms before we have players enter, we have retired police officers on our payroll on site. We train our staff frequently to do our very best.
- All campers are signed in and out each day. We dismiss every camper to their parents or designated person and two senior staff will wait with any child not picked up on time. For more information on our check-in and check-out, please see our FAQ page.
- No coach or staff member will ever be alone with a camper.
- All campers and staff leave the field of play for indoors at the first sign of thunder, not lightning.
- Every employee over 18 is subject to an annual law enforcement background check. Almost 95% of our staff are camp alumni. We have veteran senior staff on site for every single camp program we offer year round. Five of our Assistant Directors are full-time teachers.
- We welcome as our guests children of active police and ask the police officers make regular camp visits on off days and get to know our camp staff and culture.
- No staff or coaches ever leave the camp site with a camper for any reason. We call 911 and then the child’s parents in case of emergency.
Our Safety Policies and Practices
Our top goal each day is safety. I founded the camp in 1994 and have been the day-to-day Director ever since. We have been to the emergency room seven times in 30 years. I want our camp to be the safest, most trusted camp in the nation. We are blessed to have many camp parents in education, medicine, military and law enforcement who work closely with us to create and implement policies and practices that make this a reality. I have asked a team of current or past camp parents to form our Safety Advisory Team which will volunteer to review and advise on our camp safety policies. They include:
- Chairman Assistant Chief of Police (Ret.) Rodney T. Parks, Washington Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Parks joined the force in 1982 and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He has a breadth of experience in divisions including Homicide, Criminal Investigations, Internal Affairs, Traffic and Police Academy. He is a native Washingtonian, has worked every part of our city and has deep roots in the community. Assistant Chief Parks has four children and two grandchildren. He is a current member of our Board of Directors.
- Dr. Mary Furlong, MD
- Dr. Brendan Furlong, MD
- Lieutenant Anthony Haithe, DC Police
- Patrick Pope, Retired, 35 years DCPS Principal
- Dr. Ana Caskin, MD
We also work closely with our host facilities and their staff to implement our policies. These include the Washington D.C. and New York City Parks and Recreation Departments and Washington D.C Public Schools. I welcome any feedback or suggestions from camp parents on how we can improve. Every parent is welcome to visit camp anytime and dialogue with me or my team on any of these topics. — John McCarthy, Director Direct Cell: 202-230-2206 OR email: coachmac@homerunbaseballcamp.com