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FRAMINGHAM – The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office announced it will offer its popular, free Youth Public Safety Academy (YPSA) again this summer., but it will be virtual, due to the pandemic.
“While our goal had been to host an in-person camp this summer, it takes months of planning to properly prepare for a high-quality learning experience like YPSA,” said Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian. “With limited guidance available to us early in the planning process on how summer camps could safely operate and what compliance measures might look like, we decided the best decision was to follow the successful model we implemented last year when we held a series of free, virtual YPSA sessions.”
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“The past year has challenged and changed all of us. As parents we have sought to keep our children’s educational, physical, and social wellbeing at the forefront. It has not been easy to navigate, and you deserve thanks for all you have done to keep your children healthy and safe this past year,” said the Sheriff. “That same standard of care has guided our conversations here at the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office about the Youth Public Safety Academy (YPSA). It takes months to properly prepare for a high-quality learning experience like YPSA. We have to hire new staff, plan out visits to each community, and purchase the necessary equipment and materials. It is an investment we are happy to make, but this year we have received limited guidance on how summer camps can safely operate and what compliance measures may look like. That is why, in the interest of everyone’s health and safety, I want to share with you all first that we have decided to offer YPSA as a free, virtual program again this year.”
Additional information regarding the 2021 Virtual YPSA will be released in the coming weeks.
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“Last summer’s virtual YPSA was a wonderful success – a highlight of my year and I hope many of yours. We enjoyed presentations from police and fire chiefs, mayors and town administrators, and senior officials from the FBI. I am glad we were able to provide quality educational programming for our cadets and, hopefully, bring some fun into a summer that needed it,” said the Sheriff. “We will bring that same energy to this year’s program. While I recognize that cadets may be disappointed in not joining us in-person, a virtual YPSA will allow them to enjoy the programming at any time – regardless of other summer plans. It also allows us to make YPSA available to all families free of charge
Families with questions about YPSA may contact Director of Community Affairs Ken Doucette at 978-495-7408 or at kdoucette@sdm.state.ma.us.
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