AUSTIN (KXAN) — The words "American Camp Association Accredited" are what several parents tell KXAN investigators they look for before deciding on a summer camp.

"I have personally considered ACA accreditation a must for considering a camp for my own kids to attend," one parent wrote to KXAN, adding that he likes the numerous checks around safety measures.

The American Camp Association, or ACA, is a nationwide voluntary accreditation program for day and overnight camps across the country. The association said 76 camps operating across Texas are accredited, including eight in Kerr County, but not Camp Mystic. The all-girls Christian summer camp lost more than two dozen campers and counselors after the deadly Independence day flooding on the Guadalupe River.

"Our mission is to support those that operate camps, to advance practices around health, safety, risk management and program quality and so, you know, our hallmark program around that is our accreditation program, which is the only set of national standards around health and safety for camps,"........

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