4 Challenges Every Youth Program Will Face This Summer

Interactive Workshop

Sign up now for new HEPNet programming: Interactive Workshops are designed to help you dive deeper into crucial topics or resources alongside like-minded individuals, where you'll leave with actionable steps tailored specifically to your institution. 

Join us for our Interactive Workshop as we utilize the essential resource, Participant Behavioral Expectations. This resource establishes principles and expectations for minors participating in institutional programs and activities. We will review four areas where you could add expectations to your programs’ policies and guidelines to help promote a healthy, safe, and respectful environment. 

Here's what you can expect:

  • Understand the 4 Key Risk Areas Facing Summer Programs - Explore the most common challenges that emerge when minors are on campus—supervision gaps, peer behavior, digital conduct, and recreational safety—and why these areas consistently create risk across programs.

  • Apply Behavioral Expectations in Real-World Scenarios - Using the HEPNet Participant Behavioral Expectations as a foundation, you’ll work through realistic scenarios to translate policy into practical decisions and responses.

  • Strengthen Supervision & Program Structure - Learn how to reduce incidents by addressing unstructured time, clarifying supervision roles, and setting clear expectations for participant movement and behavior.

  • Navigate Emerging Risks in Peer & Digital Behavior - Examine how issues like bullying, romantic boundaries, and social media use show up in programs—and how staff can proactively respond.

  • Clarify Roles in High-Risk Environments - Understand shared responsibilities between program staff and facility personnel in spaces like pools and recreation centers, where assumptions often lead to gaps.

  • Learn from Peers & Share Strategies - Engage in facilitated discussions to hear what others are experiencing, exchange ideas, and walk away with practical approaches you can implement immediately.

Experienced Instructors:

McKenna Crews
Grants & Special Projects Manager, American Camp Association

McKenna Crews is the Grants & Special Projects Manager at the American Camp Association, where she supports national initiatives that strengthen and expand high-quality camps on college and university campuses. She previously directed a $1 million grant focused on using campus-based summer camps to increase college-going confidence and access for underserved youth at Ball State University. Currently pursuing a PhD in Higher Education, McKenna brings a practitioner-scholar perspective to her work, bridging research, youth development, and real-world camp practice to help camps and universities build sustainable, mission-aligned programs. 

Additional Instructors to Be Announced

Who is this workshop for?


Higher Education individuals or institutions who are:

  • Preparing for summer youth programming or seasonal operations
  • Managing or overseeing programs involving minors
  • Looking to strengthen supervision practices and participant expectations
  • Seeking practical strategies to address common behavioral and safety challenges