Youth Protection & Adult Leadership

The BSA has adopted the following policies to provide additional security for our members. These policies are primarily for the protection of our youth members; however, they also serve to protect our adult leaders from false accusations of abuse. Among them are:

Two-deep leadership
No one-on-one contact
Separate accommodations

The full text of these guidelines can be found in the Guide to Safe Scouting.

Youth Protection Training

This training covers the BSA’s Youth Protection policies, kinds of abuse, signs of abuse, how to respond to disclosure of abuse, and proper reporting procedures. It does so by taking you through situations that require choices and produce consequences.

We encourage ALL the pack’s parents to take the time to review this training. We require all parents attending a den overnight to complete it. It’s available on-line at no cost. It will take about 60 minutes. To access this training, go to BSA’s Online Learning Center.

To get started, follow these directions for creating an account on the my.Scouting Website:
Follow the prompts through the account set-up process. It is crucial you verify the e-mail address you provide is correct, as this is where log-in and password reset information will be sent.
IMPORTANT: Please be sure to write down or save your user name and password before doing anything else!
When you have successfully completed the process click the Continue button that will take you to the my.Scouting home page, where you can elect to take the online Youth Protection training.
Click here for instructions on how to take the Youth Protection Training
The training is divided into 4 modules, please make sure to pick the CLOSE COURSEbutton after completing each module. This will officially record the completion of that module.
Once you have completed the course, please send your Pack Cub Master an email ([email protected]) with an attached copy of your training certificate.

A Parent’s Guide

Questions

The following are answers to some of the questions we have received about this policy:

Q1: When did this policy go into effect?

A1: As of June 1, 2010, all registered adult volunteers–no matter what their position entails–must complete Youth Protection training prior to beginning their volunteer service.

Q2: Why was this training policy established?

A2: Youth safety is the No. 1 concern of the Boy Scouts of America. It is important to implement this training at all levels of the organization. The BSA is always reevaluating and reassessing its policies to ensure the safest youth program and the best training are offered. The BSA’s Youth Protection training has been in existence long enough for it to be understood and accepted as a mandated training for all registered BSA adult volunteers. The latest change requiring an annual update is to ensure that volunteers stay up-to-date on changes that occur regularly to the BSA’s youth protection guidelines.

Q3: What is the deadline to meet the Youth Protection training standard?

A3: All registered leaders should take or renew their Youth Protection training so that it is current.

Q4: If a person is not a registered leader, how can he or she log in and take the Youth Protection training?

A4: A person does not have to be a registered volunteer to take Youth Protection training.

To take the training, log in to my.scouting.org and click on create an account. After you have confirmed your new my.scouting account user name and password, log in to my.scouting.org and click on e-training to begin the Youth Protection training.
Upon completion, print a certificate to submit with a completed adult leader application to the unit leader or your local council representative for processing. Remember to keep a copy for your records.