COPS for Kids

COPS for Kids Summer Camp -

The Cops for Kids Summer Camp, a joint project of the NOPD and the NOPJF, continues to service over 500 children between the ages of 7 and 14 each summer. Initially the primary target for the recruitment of participants was focused in the city’s housing developments.  Post Katrina the camp is serving a broader cross section of the community. The 8-week camp is held each year during the months of June and July at no charge to the participants.   Annual funding of about $180,000 is obtained through a variety of private and public sources in partnership with the New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD). NORD’s primary contribution is supplying the camp location. In kind donations also supplement the budget with food and other essentials.

A Moral Responsibility component is a part of the program. Students examine issues of moral responsibility and free will.  There is special emphasis on theories of informal (family, friends, peers, church) and formal social control (courts, jails and prisons).  NOPD School Resource Officers are assigned full time to the program.  In addition, children receive academic tutoring and participate in sports, swimming and field trips.  Camp instructors are certified teachers.

The Cops for Kids program requires parental involvement. Through enhanced relationships with the police community, teachers, and mentors, COPS for Kids aims to reach children before they embark on a path of negative behavior to help them become productive citizens.

For questions regarding the COPS for Kids Summer Camp pelase contact Kathleen Whalen with the Greater New Orleans Afterschool Partnership at (504)304-9591 X 36.