Getting Serious about Youth Protection

Getting Serious about Youth Protection Training

BSA National and Northern NJ Council recently issued guidelines -- actually warnings -- about the importance of Youth Protection Training.

What changed is that new adults may now register with the Scouts directly using a new online system. The guidelines want to be sure that those new adults all get Youth Protection certification.

Click here to see the actual text. The most important takeaways are:

• When a new adult registers with your troop or pack, you must verify that he received Youth Protection Training by getting a copy of his certificate. His Adult Application Form MUST be accompanied by a YPT certificate. Otherwise he won't be added to your roster.

• When your unit recharters in January, the database record of every adult on your roster MUST have current Youth Protection certification. Otherwise he will be dropped from your roster. (Not mentioned in the guidelines is the major problem caused when a "key-3" adult is not current: Scoutmaster/Cubmaster, Chartered Org Rep, Committee Chair.)

• When a unit recharters in January, it's common to attach an extra Adult Application Form or two to the rechartering papers. As above, each new adult form MUST be accompanied by a Youth Protection certificate.

• Any time an adult will spend 72 hours or more on an outing; for example, 3 or more days at Scout summer camp, that adult MUST have current Youth Protection certification. This rule also applies to the parent of a Scout. (The guidelines recommend but don't insist on YPT training for the adults who will spend less than 72 hours.)