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Zero Tolerance
Detroit area teens dismissed
from summer programs.
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer
I
n recent weeks, several Detroit-area teens and their
parents discovered the rules instituted by Tamarack
Camps and the Teen Mission 2000 to Israel are
strict, consistent and enforced.
One Mission member and eight young Tamarack employees
have been dismissed from summer programs and sent home.
In separate incidents, Tamarack staff members, ages 17-
19, were found smoking marijuana in
areas not frequented by campers. They
lost their jobs as counselors and teen
service staff at Camp Maas, the
Tamarack Camps' facility in Ortonville.
The boy was dismissed from the Teen
Mission for use of alcohol.
Rick Goren, development director
for Fresh Air Society, Tamarack Camps,
said every staff member receives instruc-
tion on camp policies three times before
beginning work, including a warning
that drug use is cause for dismissal.
"They all knew the rules," he said.
Infractions, such as prohibiting males and females in one
another's villages and being late for curfews and sessions,
may not warrant dismissal.
"Two policies that are black and white are no drugs and
alcohol and no touching the kids," said Harvey Finkelberg,
executive director of Fresh Air Society, Tamarack Camps.
"That will get you fired. We have a high standard of what
we want from our staff. If you drink, do drugs, hit or grab
a camper, you're home, without hesitation."
Camp Procedure
Goren said each violation was investigated, with staffers given
the opportunity to discuss the situation. In the end, the deci-
sion was made to dismiss the boys — seven from the Detroit
area and one from England, who, along with losing his job,
also lost his visa and had to return home immediately.
After the June incidents, no similar situations have
occurred among Camp Maas' 435 staff members.
"We hope the others learned we mean business," Goren
said. "This sends a message: Camp's not the place for that.
We are taking care of other people's children."
In the past, staff members have been let go for various rea-
sons, but not every year and not last year, Goren said. And
never, to his memory, for drug use harsher than marijuana.
"When you deal with young adults, at all camps and uni-
versities in North America, you can expect about 3 percent
of the staff will be fired," Finkelberg said, adding the eight
from this year is not excessive compared with past years.
"Young adults make mistakes," he said. "They are not
bad and not banned from camp. Next year, we would be
more than happy to talk about hiring them back."
Counselors and other staff are hired following inter-
views. Applicants must provide three references and answer
questions about any criminal record that would raise con-
cerns but not necessarily eliminate them from employment.
Some jobs involve no direct contact with the campers, who
are entering second through ninth grades.
"We believe there are some people who are good for
camp and that camp is good for some people," Goren said.
Giving teens a chance to work at camp, offering "a place to
feel special, could change someone's life.
"Camp Tamarack is a place to build the Jewish identity
of [counselors and campers], have a great time, but with
safety as our main concern," he said.
Teen Mission
Finkelberg assisted Mission organizers by sharing informa-
tion on how Tamarack deals with teens. He said discussions
included what is considered acceptable behavior.
Mission participants sign a code of conduct, with the
understanding that breaking rules involving alcohol, drug
use or sexual behavior may result in their being sent home.
"Kids don't always make the right
decisions. The rules are to help them
with the decisions," said Mark Myers,
the Michigan/Israel Connection com-
munity shaliach (emissary).
Every case requiring disciplinary
action does not warrant sending a teen
home. "There are plenty of small things
that happen," Myers said.
"A healthy way to go about things is
by involving parents, kids and educa-
tors, with a call to parents often an
effective means of getting kids in line.
"Sending someone home is a very, very, very serious
thing," he said. "We think about it three and six and 10
times to be absolutely sure it's not only the right thing to
do, but that there is no other choice."
In cases where participants are asked to leave, their par-
ents are contacted.
"We prefer they do not travel alone and look for some-
one who is also going home," Myers said. Some of the
adult staff members, such as congregational rabbis, are not
in Israel for the entire Mission.
In the Teen Mission incident, which happened the week
of July 10, "the kid drank, he endangered himself and he
got sick," Myers said.
He sees the youth being sent home as a warning for any
of the other 282 Mission teens that may have thought of
breaking the rules.
"These kids are not with their parents. They are our
responsibility," Myers said. "The bottom line is that we are
looking out for the best interest of all the kids."
❑
Correction
The Staff Notebook item of June 30 "Return Of
Melton" (page 12) stated that Bernard Mindell of
Franklin headed an adult education subcommittee of the
Agency for Jewish Education. Instead, the group is a
subcommittee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit's Alliance for Jewish Education. The full Alliance
for Jewish Education report should be available soon. An
update: The Melton Adult Mini-School may not begin
in fall 2000 as the story stated. The school will begin as
soon as administrative and hiring considerations are met.
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