WHO SHOULD COME TO RETREAT?

The Retreat is intended for individuals with a craniofacial condition and their immediate family members. The Retreat is a life-affirming and fun experience. Any person or family affected by a craniofacial condition who wants to meet other people with craniofacial conditions, who is looking for encouragement and connection, who values fellowship with a diverse, but connected group should attend! Retreat is often described as a “reunion” more than a conference! The whole family will benefit, including parents and siblings. The atmosphere is like a getaway with your closest friends: positive, warm, welcoming, and fun.

Attendees who do not have a family member to attend with may bring one other person (non-related) without additional charge, under the “family registration fee.” The person still needs to fill out a registration form with their information, including their own address and email address, but they will not be charged a separate fee.

CCA reserves the right to deny attendance to anyone for reasonable cause. Please familiarize yourself our “Safe Spaces Policy” included in this packet. This year, we are continuing the online training and quiz on how we can all create safe spaces together, specifically preventing sexual abuse and misconduct. This will be sent via email and is a requirement for all adults, 18+. If you completed this for the 2020 Retreat, you do not have to be re-certified. Completing the training certifies you for three (3) years. However, if one of your family members turned 18 years old since 2020, they will now need to take the training. We have these records and will help you determine who needs to take the training.

Due to limited capacity and a high application rate for attendance, CCA will be limiting registrations to 6 attendees per family. This limit includes siblings, grandparents, extended family members, etc. If your immediate family is larger than 6 members, or if you have a special circumstance, we are happy to consider this! Please just let us know at the time of registration. It is nearly impossible to add family members once your registration has been submitted, because we are giving the spaces away.

HOW DO I REGISTER?
You must apply to register for Retreat. Registration consists of:

filling out the forms sent to you by Annie Reeves, Program Director, ([email protected])
returning them to her via email, mail, or fax,
paying the registration fee,
and watching the online training video and passing the online quiz.

2022 REGISTRATION FEES

$125 registration fee per family or a $100 fee for an individual attendee if registered by December 31, 2021. This fee increases to $200 per family and $150 for individuals if you register after the 12/31/21.

The final day to register is March 11, 2022, or when all available spots have been filled.

After March 11, 2022 or when all available spots are filled, families will be placed on a wait list and we will contact you if/as space opens up. Registrations accepted from the waitlist will be $200 per family and $150 for individuals. Space is not guaranteed. Registration fees are non-refundable.

EXTENDED FAMILY MEMBERS

Non-immediate family members are charged a flat fee of $200 per person, regardless of when they sign up, but their registration is based on availability. After March 11, 2022, additional registrations for non-immediate family members will be placed on the waitlist below new craniofacial families. It will be very unlikely that space is available to add on family members after your initial registration. If you think you have additional members who want to attend, it is better to register them and cancel rather than try to add them at a later date!

Grandparents, non-residential adult siblings, and other extended family members are welcome to attend but must pay a flat fee for each person. The reason we require a $200 fee per extra person is because Retreat is considered a CCA program that is intended to serve patient families, and the per person expense to put on Retreat is $365. We still want to offer a great value to extended family members, but we must offset the cost of hosting them. We appreciate your understanding.

CCA underwrites the Retreat at a cost of approximately $200,000 (food, overhead, activities) plus we award $50,000 in travel scholarships to applicant families. Scholarship applications are open to any person (or family) with a craniofacial condition and not based solely on financial need.

Please apply if you need travel support! The deadline to apply for a scholarship is 12/31/2021.

PHOTO CONSENT

Attendance at the Retreat is implied consent for CCA to take photos and videos of Attendees, as well as a waiver of rights to those images, for program purposes such as newsletter publication (also posted on ccakids.org) and social media. Due to the high volume of families publishing their own blogs, websites, documentaries, and social media photography, we have added a videography/photography release. This is not to discourage you from capturing your own memories; it is simply to remind you that we live in a digital age and CCA uses only authorized photographers for our official photos and videos. If you do not want to be photographed, please let the photographers know. We are also offering colored name tags for those who do not wish to be photographed. You will receive a color-marked nametag (please wear it all times) and that way, when we see those name tags in photos, we will know not to use any images with you in them. We will not publish them in our newsletters, blogs, social media, website, etc. We do not intend to draw attention to people who do not wish to have their photo shared, but this will help us identify these photos when they do appear and avoid using them at all. It is not a requirement to ask for a colored name tag, but will protect your image and anonymity much better if you opt in.

COVID-19 and Retreat

Is a COVID-19 vaccine required to attend Retreat and why or why not?
1. Due to the ever-changing nature of the laws and mandates in the state of Texas, and out of concern for our families who have the need to be exempt from vaccination, we have decided not to require vaccinations to attend Retreat. However, you must confidentially disclose your vaccination status on your Registration form, so that CCA can report an aggregate percentage of vaccinated attendees.
What does it mean to disclose your vaccination status so that it can be reported in aggregate?
1. On the Registration form, you will mark if you are (1) Fully Vaccinated, (2) Partially Vaccinated, or (3) Not Vaccinated. For our purposes, fully vaccinated means two (2) doses of the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or one (1) dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
2. On February 1, 2022, we will release these answers as a compiled statistic, stating: “___% of attendees are fully vaccinated, ___% are partially vaccinated, and ___% of attendees (over 12) are not vaccinated. ___% of attendees are under 12* and therefore ineligible for vaccination.”
3. *If the age eligibility for vaccination changes, we will adjust our report to accurately reflect the percentages and statements.
4. We realize there may be a need/opportunity for boosters. You will also receive a survey in late April requiring you to update your vaccination status and provide proof of vaccine via a photo of your vaccine card (if you marked “Yes”), to let us know if you have received any boosters or have become vaccinated during the interim. We will publish these numbers only in aggregate by the end of May 2022.
Why are you requiring this disclosure of vaccination status?
1. This statistic will help people decide if they want to apply to register while there is still 6 weeks left to register, or if they want to withdraw their Registration and cancel attending. It is possible that Registration will be full prior to CCA announcing the aggregate vaccination status. However, this will give registrants ample time to decide if they want to withdraw their registration.
Will you require proof of vaccination at the time of Registration or on the April survey?
1. At the time of Registration, you do not have to provide a photo of your vaccination card. We will collect those photos/proof in April. We are holding off on this requirement, because we anticipate vaccine availability will be updated for additional age categories and with booster doses for many people later this year and early next year.
2. Yes, on the required follow up survey on vaccination status that will be distributed in April, we will at that time ask you to upload a photo of your vaccination card (if you mark “YES”) to our form.
Will masks be required?
1. Masks will not be required, unless they become mandated by the hotel and/or Dallas County. Currently, they are recommended but not required, and CCA strongly recommends them at this time. We understand this guidance may change, but currently, we plan to make masks widely and freely available and encourage attendees to wear them.
Will there be contact tracing?
1. We have not retained a professional group to conduct contact tracing, but we will take any reports of illness or infections seriously, and do our best to communicate if there are any infections that present themselves, while maintaining all applicable confidentiality laws.
What protocols will the hotel offer (social distancing, etc.)?
1. Currently, the hotel has enhanced cleaning in both guest rooms and shared spaces, hand sanitizing stations throughout the hotel, they are encouraging (but not requiring) social distancing, and all food lines are attended by servers, with the food behind plexiglass dividers and plates will be handed to guests, rather than the normal buffet style.
2. However, all of these protocols may change by the time our Retreat occurs, so we will update attendees closer to the time of Retreat.
3. CCA will provide masks, hand sanitizer, and colorful wristbands that indicate attendees’ preferences (i.e., red = no hugging / please distance, yellow = no hugs but closeness is okay, and green = hugs and shared space welcomed).
What happens if CCA cancels the Retreat?
1. If we have to make the unfortunate decision to cancel, you will be able to cancel your hotel reservations without penalty (if done within 72 hours of travel) and CCA will offer you a refund on your registration fees.
How far in advance does CCA make that cancellation call?
1. We anticipate we would know in early Q1 of 2022, most likely by March.
What happens if I must cancel my trip because I’m uncomfortable with the COVID-19 situation?
1. If you decide to cancel, you will not be refunded your Registration fees, but you will be able to cancel your hotel room with no penalty (if done within 72 hours of travel). We request you let us know ASAP, so we can try to re-book your room and offer your spot to a family on the waiting list.
2. If you cancel and you were awarded a scholarship, you will be responsible for returning all of the funding CCA has advanced to you.
What happens if I must cancel my trip because I have COVID-19?
1. If you have a positive test result within 14 days of travel, you should NOT come to Retreat. We will offer you a refund for your Registration fees and you will be able to cancel your hotel with no penalty (if done within 72 hours of travel). You will be responsible for cancelling your other travel arrangements.
2. If your test comes after the 72-hour window of travel, you will have to contact the hotel directly and ask for their policy at that time. Currently, you are able to cancel with no penalty with proof of a positive COVID-19 test.
3. We request that any individual, vaccinated or not, who is exposed to COVID-19 within 14 days of travel follow the CDC Guidelines for testing and quarantine recommendations.
4. We encourage individuals who are not vaccinated to take a COVID-19 test with 72 hours of travel to confirm they are negative prior to attending retreat. However, at this time, a negative test is not required for attendance.
What happens if I contract COVID-19 during Retreat?
1. If you become ill at Retreat, we ask that you immediately isolate from the group and seek testing at an urgent care clinic in the area*, and while waiting on test results, quarantine in your room. Please let the CCA Staff know, and we will make every attempt to accommodate your needs as you quarantine. Since the situation is ever-changing, we will confirm the protocol with the hotel and publish this information closer to the Retreat dates.
2. *We will provide a list of nearby testing sites closer to the Retreat dates, so you will have the most accurate information, as sites are regularly changing.
3. We do NOT plan to have an on-site testing option, but will evaluate this opportunity as we near the Retreat dates.
Will there be a Virtual Retreat in 2022? Can I attend both?
1. We are planning a Virtual Retreat for 2022, as well! It will be after our in-person Retreat, so that we can be fully present as a Staff for our online attendees.
2. You will be able to attend both! Some of the in-person Retreat content will be part of the Virtual Retreat, but some of it will be new and fresh. We will consider these two separate events.
3. We expect to host the Virtual Retreat in August or September of 2022.
Given COVID-19, why not go completely virtual once again?
1. We understand and accept the uncertainty, but we strongly feel being together in person is much needed for our emotional, mental, and social health – as soon as it is reasonably safe! An in-person event offers richness, chance encounters and an energizing atmosphere that creates an unbelievably rewarding experience for participants.
2. With the mass availability of vaccines, the gradual slowing of community transmission, and our hope that hospital systems will have stabilized by Summer 2022, we feel we are able to offer an in-person Retreat next year.
Why are you adding the option of Local, Non-Hotel registrants and why do they have a different fee?
1. We have over 50 families in the DFW metroplex who may not be able to afford the hotel stay, but want to attend Retreat. We cannot offer all of them scholarships due to budgetary constraints, but also do not want to deny them an opportunity to experience Retreat! We created an option that would allow them to participate fully in Retreat, even without staying at the hotel, since it’s within an easily drivable daily distance for over 200 people.
2. Since attendees who stay at the hotel help us offset our per-person costs, we must charge these guests a per-person price. This option is specific to the DFW region because of the large number of families located here. We may continue offering a local registration in other Retreat locations of high family concentration in the future, but it will be on a case-by-case basis, dependent on each city in which Retreat is held.