A sleepaway camp on Brant Lake has settled a federal civil rights case after the parents of a young camper with Type 1 diabetes accused it of failing to accommodate her medical needs and discharging her before the summer season ended. The complaint against Point O' Pines Corporation, which operates Point O' Pines Camp for Girls, alleged the camp fell short during both the 2023 and 2024 summer sessions, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The parents said the camp failed to provide reasonable accommodations for their daughter's condition, which requires routine monitoring of blood sugar levels and insulin administration, and that she was ultimately discharged early because of her disability. According to US Attorney EDNY, the settlement announced Thursday ensures that campers with disabilities will be reasonably accommodated so they have the same opportunity to enjoy and participate in the camp as other campers. The office also detailed the case in a press release laying out the specific allegations that prompted the federal intervention.
What the Camp Must Change
Under the terms of the agreement, Point O' Pines Corporation agreed to evaluate campers with disabilities individually, on a case-by-case basis, and make reasonable accommodations as required under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The settlement also mandates that the camp provide ADA compliance training to all employees, along with specialized training for relevant staff regarding the specific disabilities of incoming campers each season.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. of the Eastern District of New York announced the resolution, reaffirming his office's commitment to enforcing ADA protections against disability discrimination in recreational programs. Title III of the ADA classifies private residential and day camps as places of public accommodation, meaning they must make reasonable modifications to policies and practices for disabled campers unless doing so creates an undue burden or fundamentally alters the program, according to the American Camp Association.
Part of a Broader Pattern in New York Camps
This is not the first time federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have pursued a summer camp over diabetes accommodations. The office previously reached a similar Title III settlement in 2016 with Camp Treetops in Lake Placid, in the neighboring Adirondack region, after that residential camp revoked the admission of a child with Type 1 diabetes.
The pattern extends beyond New York's borders as well. The Department of Justice reached a settlement in 2015 with New Jersey's Winnewald Day Camp after it expelled an 11-year-old camper with Type 1 diabetes, underscoring what the research record describes as a broader national push by federal prosecutors to hold private camps accountable for excluding children based on their medical care needs rather than assessing them individually.
A Longtime Fixture on Brant Lake
Point O' Pines Camp for Girls has deep roots in Warren County. The camp was originally opened in 1957 by the family of Samuel Lipman on the site of a former 19th-century Adirondack resort property on Brant Lake, according to an ArcGIS StoryMaps history of the property. Today it operates as an accredited sleepaway camp spread across a 25-acre peninsula, with multi-week summer sessions and four-week introductory packages priced at $11,900, per the camp's own listed rates.
The camp and its affiliated year-round venue, Jimbo's Club at the Point, also represent a significant employer for the small Town of Horicon, staffing approximately 175 workers during peak summer months, according to a bond financing document from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. That scale underscores why the federal settlement carries weight beyond a single family's dispute, tying the case's outcome directly to how one of the region's larger seasonal employers manages care for the campers in its charge going forward.
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