INDIANAPOLIS — The worker shortage in central Indiana may change the plans for your child this summer.
Local summer camps are struggling to find enough workers to put on all the activities they originally planned.
At a Girl Scout camp on the west side of Indianapolis, there are not enough workers and volunteers to watch over more than a thousand summer campers.
Danielle Shockey is the CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana. She said many young girls and families could end up disappointed this summer.
"If I am a Girl Scout and I'm counting on coming to camp this summer, and I am a family and I am counting on my daughter coming, it is a crisis," she said.
According to Shockey, at least 45 more counselors, kitchen workers, lifeguards and other workers and volunteers are needed to run camp Dellwood in Indianapolis and Camp Gallahue near Nashville.
"We are faced with, 'Do we have to look at maybe canceling a week or two weeks of summer camps?' where we have girls excited to attend, or 'What other ways can we exhaust and find the staff we need?'" Shockey said.
Other summer programs are also struggling to hire enough workers. Even with half its pools closed, Indy Parks needs 40 more lifeguards and a handful of camp counselors. There are no plans to cancel any day camps.
The YMCA operates more than 30 camps. It needs 100 lifeguards and another 100 workers, but insists the shortage will not affect programming.
Plenty of higher-paying jobs and fears over COVID-19 are possible reasons for lack of summer help. At Camp Dellwood, in a typical summer, a good number of camp counselors are Girl Scouts from other countries. They may not have been able to travel this year because of the pandemic's restrictions.
While looking for more workers, camp administrators are looking for ways to stretch the existing staff by canceling some activities rather than canceling any camps and disappointing young girls who have endured a year of COVID-related cancellations.
"We know they are excited to come back because we are full almost to 100 percent capacity for all our weeks," Shockey said. "I don't want them to miss out on that."
If you have children enrolled in a summer program, it's a good idea to check in and make sure there are no changes. It's also not a bad idea to have a plan B.