Youth Protection is Required Training

  • Youth Protection training is required for all BSA registered volunteers and is a joining requirement.
  • Youth Protection training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer’s Youth Protection training record is not current at the time of re-charter, the volunteer will not be re-registered.
  • Download the How-To Guide for taking Youth Protection Training PDF
    Click to access the Youth Protection Training (assumes you have an existing my.scouting.org account):

As advocates and champions for youth protection in the Scouting movement, we encourage you to keep your YPT up to date, stay familiar with the resource documents, and spread the word.

To learn more about Youth Protection Training and Scouting’s Youth Protection policies, please visit the BSA Youth Protection page.

If you need assistance with your My.Scouting account, please contact our Volunteer Support Team at support@michiganscouting.org.

Thank you for your work in sharing the message of safety in Scouting. You make a difference every day, in ways you may never know. Truly, Youth Protection Begins with You.

Scouts First Helpline

As part of its “Scouts First” approach to the protection and safety of youth, the BSA has established 844-SCOUTS1 (844-726-8871), a dedicated 24-hour helpline to receive reports of known or suspected abuse or behavior that might put a youth at risk

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BSA’s youth protection policies apply to all online activities.
All online activities, including video and audio conferencing through platforms such as Zoom and Skype, must adhere to the BSA’s current youth protection guidelines for digital communications, including the BSA’s Digital Privacy guidelines (https://www.scouting.org/training/youth-protection/) and the BSA’s Social Media Guidelines (https://scoutingwire.org/social-media-guidelines/). Because safety features and privacy controls vary widely from platform to platform, and out of respect for families’ own preferences concerning social media usage, we strongly recommend using business-oriented conferencing platforms—for example, Zoom, Skype, GoToMeeting and others—to conduct online group activities instead of platforms intended for online gaming (e.g., Discord, Robolux, Twitch).

Recording online meetings is not authorized.
As a reminder, Scouting’s Barriers to Abuse (https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/gss01/#a) prohibits any one-on-one contact between an adult leader and youth members – in person, online, through a web conference, over the phone, via text, or in any other form. Electronic communication between adults and youth should always include another registered leader or parent. We believe our existing policy is the best way to protect youth and volunteers, and we do not believe recording online meetings would provide any additional material benefit. To the contrary, recording calls would increase personal risk as call recording is subject to various legal requirements under U.S. law and the laws of individual states, some of which require all parties to a call consent to recording. Considering those potential regulatory risks and the effect of BSA’s existing policies, we are not authorizing the recording of online meetings.

BSA Youth Protection Mission Statement

True youth protection can be achieved only through the focused commitment of everyone in Scouting. It is the mission of Youth Protection volunteers and professionals to work within the Boy Scouts of America to maintain a culture of Youth Protection awareness and safety at the national, regional, area, council, district, and unit levels.

How to access Youth Protection Training

Click here to login and take Youth Protection training . You do not have to be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America to take Youth Protection training.

To take Youth Protection training go to My.Scouting.org  and create an account. You’ll receive an email notification with your account information, including a member ID/reference number.

From the My.Scouting.org  portal, click Menu then My Dashboard from the menu list. The My Training page displays to take Youth Protection training. Upon completion, you will need to print a training certificate to submit with a volunteer application. Your training will automatically be updated in our system and associated with the member ID/reference number issued when you created the account.

Download the How-To Guide for taking Youth Protection Training 

The Boy Scouts of America places the greatest importance on creating the most secure environment possible for our youth members. To maintain such an environment, the BSA developed numerous procedural and leadership selection policies and provides parents and leaders with resources for the Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing programs.

Leadership Selection

The Boy Scouts of America takes great pride in the quality of our adult leadership. Being a leader in the BSA is a privilege, not a right. The quality of the program and the safety of our youth members call for high-quality adult leaders. We work closely with our chartered organizations to help recruit the best possible leaders for their units.

The adult application requests background information that should be checked by the unit committee or the chartered organization before accepting an applicant for unit leadership. While no current screening techniques exist that can identify every potential child molester, we can reduce the risk of accepting a child molester by learning all we can about an applicant for a leadership position—his or her experience with children, why he or she wants to be a Scout leader, and what discipline techniques he or she would use.

The “three R’s” of Youth Protection

The “three R’s” of Youth Protection convey a simple message for the personal awareness of our youth members:

  • Recognize that anyone could be a molester.
  • Respond when someone is doing something that goes against your gut or against the safety guidelines.
  • Report attempted or actual molestation or any activity that you think is wrong to a parent or other trusted adult.

Youth Protection Reporting Procedures for Volunteers

There are two types of Youth Protection–related reporting procedures all volunteers must follow:

  • When you witness or suspect any child has been abused or neglected—See “Mandatory Report of Child Abuse” below.
  • When you witness a violation of the BSA’s Youth Protection policies—See “Reporting Violations of BSA Youth Protection Policies” below.

Mandatory Report of Child Abuse

All persons involved in Scouting shall report to local authorities any good-faith suspicion or belief that any child is or has been physically or sexually abused, physically or emotionally neglected, exposed to any form of violence or threat, exposed to any form of sexual exploitation, including the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child pornography, online solicitation, enticement, or showing of obscene material. You may not abdicate this reporting responsibility to any other person.

Steps to Reporting Child Abuse

  1. Ensure the child is in a safe environment.
  2. In cases of child abuse or medical emergencies, call 911 immediately. In addition, if the suspected abuse is in the Scout’s home or family, you are required to contact the local child abuse hotline.
  3. Notify the Scout executive or his/her designee.

Reporting Violations of BSA Youth Protection Policies

If you think any of the BSA’s Youth Protection policies have been violated, including those described within Scouting’s Barriers to Abuse, you must notify your local council Scout executive or his/her designee so appropriate action can be taken for the safety of our Scouts.

Scouting’s Barriers to Abuse

Scouting’s Barriers to Abuse are published in the Guide to Safe Scouting and the online version is maintained as the most current.  Frequently-asked questions are also addressed in this FAQ.

Scouts First Helpline

  • As part of its “Scouts First” approach to the protection and safety of youth, the BSA has established a dedicated 24-hour helpline to receive reports of known or suspected abuse or behavior that might put a youth at risk.
    1-844-SCOUTS1 (1-844-726-8871)
  • If immediate assistance is needed in the handling of a sexual abuse allegation, contact Scouts First Helpline (1-844-SCOUTS1).

If someone is at immediate risk of harm, always call 911.

ScoutHelp

The BSA offers assistance with counseling to any Scout, former Scout, or family member of any Scout who suffered abuse during their time in Scouting. Individuals can email scouthelp@scouting.org or call toll free at 855-295-1531.

Digital Privacy

A key ingredient for a safe and healthy Scouting experience is the respect for privacy. Advances in technology are enabling new forms of social interaction that extend beyond the appropriate use of cameras or recording devices (see “Scouting’s Barriers to Abuse”). Sending sexually explicit photographs or videos electronically or “sexting” by cell phones is a form of texting being practiced primarily by young adults and children as young as middle-school age. Sexting is neither safe, nor private, nor an approved form of communication and can lead to severe legal consequences for the sender and the receiver. Although most campers and leaders use digital devices responsibly, educating them about the appropriate use of cell phones and cameras would be a good safety and privacy measure. To address cyber-safety education, the BSA has introduced the age- and grade-specific Cyber Chip program, which addresses topics including cyberbullying, cell-phone use, texting, blogging, gaming, and identity theft. Check it out.

BSA Social Media Guidelines 

Key Resources

State Statutes on Child Welfare 
Reporting requirements for child abuse differ from state to state. The Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to information and resources on a variety of topics, including state statutes on child abuse. This site is not operated by the Boy Scouts of America.

Guide to Safe Scouting
The purpose of the Guide to Safe Scouting is to prepare adult leaders to conduct Scouting activities in a safe and prudent manner.

It Happened to Me: Cub Scout Meeting Guide
Video Facilitator Guides. A sample letter to parents and guardians as well as English and Spanish meeting guides for facilitators’ use when showing the age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention video.

A Time to Tell: Troop Meeting Guide
Video Facilitator Guides. English and Spanish meeting guides for facilitators’ use when showing the age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention video.

Personal Safety Awareness Meeting Guide (Venturing Program)
Video Facilitator Guides. A sample letter to parents and guardians as well as English and Spanish meeting guides for facilitators’ use when showing the age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention video.

Bullying Awareness
These fact sheets will help with bullying awareness and direct you to resources provided by the BSA and other entities we work with to protect children.

Youth Protection Champions
To address the need for Youth Protection–specific volunteers at all levels, the BSA has implemented its new Youth Protection Champions program. These volunteer champions will be the key drivers of Youth Protection at their assigned levels.

Camp Leadership … A Guide for Camp Staff and Unit Leaders 
Brochure for unit leaders and camp staff who are responsible for providing a safe and healthy camp setting where Scouts are free from the worries of child abuse.

ScoutHelp
Support is available for victims of past abuse.

NEW Youth-on-Youth Training Materials

The Boy Scouts of America places the greatest importance on creating the safest environment possible for our youth members. To that end, BSA’s ScoutingU has created some additional Youth Protection training to professionals, volunteers, and leaders regarding the prevention of youth-on-youth incidents that might occur within the context of Scouting, especially in a camping or overnight setting. It is designed to help prepare adult leaders to prevent and appropriately respond to these incidents.

This informational document with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation for BSA leaders, parents, volunteers, and professionals should be delivered at the council, district, or unit level by a Youth Protection Champion, training chair, district chair, district executive, or other appropriate Scout leader to leaders for camping and overnight activities.

Suggested training opportunities include:

  • Existing facilitator-led Youth Protection training sessions
  • Pre-camp leaders’ meetings for summer camp and first-time leaders’ meetings at all outings
  • Camp schools
  • Scout executives’ and district executives’ trainings on responding to youth protection incidents
  • Other training events that include the “Youth Protection Training for Volunteer Leaders and Parents” DVD

RELATED ARTICLES

YOUTH PROTECTION INTRODUCTION

YOUTH PROTECTION CHAMPIONS

Michigan Crossroads Council
Youth Protection Champion
Fritz Heuser
fritz@comcast.net

RESOURCES

Parents Guides to Protecting Your Children From Child Abuse

Resources for supporting social and mental health challenges

BSA LEADERSHIP PRESS CONFERENCE RECORDING (4/24/19)

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