City council adopts youth services standards of care for after‑school program and camps

At the meeting, the Bridgeport City Council adopted an ordinance approving a youth services standards of care policy for the Parks and Recreation Department’s after‑school program and other camps, voting 5‑0 to approve the measure. The policy matters because, according to Parks and Recreation staff, the city annually adopts a standards‑of‑care policy to retain its exemption from state licensing for those programs. Chris Healy, Bridgeport Parks and Recreation director, told the council that the department is exempt from licensing through child protective services and that adopting the standards of care is a required step to maintain that exemption. He said the changes this year were minimal and reflected current practice. The ordinance’s substantive changes include renaming the position title from “site director” to “site supervisor” to match the department’s terminology, and a clarification that only the site supervisor (not a counselor or other program staff) may sign out a child from the program. "We annually adopt a use standards of care," Healy said, and the update makes the written policy match how the department operates. Susan Kaufman moved to adopt the ordinance; the motion was seconded by Sylvia Ramirez. The council vote in favor was unanimous. No members of the public spoke during the public hearing on the item. Staff described the amendment as a technical update rather than a programmatic change. The ordinance takes effect per the city’s standard procedures for adopting municipal policies; the council did not direct additional staff work on the item during the meeting.