Two years later

Back in 2010, there was a landmark case that changed the Boy Scouts of America.  It was the case of a former Scout charging he was sexually abused by a Scoutmaster in the Troop back in the 1970′s.  I wrote a couple of articles about it.  Oddly enough, this is one that I published two years ago today.  More recently, even Scout Canada has had issues with Youth Protection.  I really like their active stance on it.  Their National Commissioner stood up and took responsibility for it. There were several other Bloggers who were talking about this.  Scoutmaster Jerry had a few good ones.  Even a Podcast as well.

I am not going to rehash the whole event of the trial or the events.  While it’s in the past, I am focusing in on what’s changed in the past two years.

A lot actually.  The BSA has stated and enforced the mandatory Youth Protection Training.  It can be taken online or in person.   Also, the BSA has created a set of Social Media Guidelines for Twitter, Facebook, Email and many other outlets.  Scouts are online and so are those who wish to do them harm.

During the time I was a Troop Guide for the 2011 Woodbadge within my Council, I talked about how people communicated and pointed to those guidelines.  I explained that if you email a Scout information that is one on one communication.  The simple solution is to copy another Adult, even the Scout’s Parents on the email.  that way, your adhearing to YPT.

In my own life and within the Pack & District, I have become more sensitive to how YPT is played out.  While no serious violations, even minor ones have happened, there were learning moments.  Meaning, a well-meaning parent was with a couple of Scouts by themselves at a Scout camp as they moved from one section of the area to another.  I know the person and all the Scouts were just running around, but I pointed it out.  Harmless, yes.  But, I need to bring it to their attention.

Within the Pack many of the Dens have watched “It’s Happened to Me” and have had disscusion about YPT.  I have also talked a lot about how Scouts look out for eachother and be respectful of eachother and those that they might meet.  One was just recently on how to work together as a team.

So, what else is the BSA doing to help in the Youth Protection game?  The Scout-Wire website has started to publish articles on the subject.  It’s a great start.

So, what can you do?  If your an Adult Scouter, log into Myscouting.org and take the Youth Protection Online Training.  It’s 25 minutes.  If your a Scout parent, but not a Scout Volunteer, log into myscouting.org, create an account and take the Youth Protection Training.  The more you know, the safer everyone can be.

If your Youth Protection certification ends before 12/31/12, then you need to take the training again.  YPT is good for two years.  Adult Scouters need YPT every two years so the Scout Unit can re-charter.

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The Training Chair look at Journey to Excellence.

This year will be the first year that the Boy Scouts of America has rolled out the Journey to Excellence.  If your in a Leadership position within your Unit, and your not aware of this, start your research.  It’s the replacement to the Quality Unit Award program. There is a lot written already about the JTE on several websites outside of Scouting.org.  So, I am not going to re-explain it here.

I am going to talk about JTE as it pertains to my position as the Training Chair within my District.   As the Training Chair, I get a report from Council that shows me all the latest training records for the district.  It also contains all other Districts.  A very interesting set of records.

Using some quick math here are our stats.  554 registered positions. (There are duplicate people since they might be an ASM and WDL or a CC/CM in seperate units.  Hence, I am not using People.)

Within the Packs, there are 189 positions and only 42 are fully trained. The requirements for fully trained are listed here from Scouting.org’s website of www.scouting.org/training.  This covers every program within the BSA.  If your local Council has a different set of standards, please consult your Council Training Chair.  Overall, that’s 22% of the positions trained in Packs alone. In District out of 554, only 147 are fully trained (by Council’s terms).  As a District we are at 26.5%.  To obtain Bronze Status as a District for JTE, it’s 40%.  Last time I was in school 70% on a test was a C.  Pretty lame.

What to do?  Well, I have just written a note to my Program Chair with a copy to the District Chairman and District Executive pointing all of this out.  I stated that my goal for this year is 40%. It’s Bronze level.  Next year it will be 50%.

To point out how simple a task I view this is, let’s look at what Silver is for CREW.

Have an Advisor, an associate Advisor, and a committee with at least three members. All have completed This Is Scouting, Fast Start training, and Youth Protection training or, if new, complete within three months of joining.

That is Silver.  So, why not make it mandatory at the Unit level to have EVERYONE take all that training. You can do this ONLINE as with the Boy Scout, Varsity and Pack training. (this is taken from my personal MyScouting.org account)

For the Pack Gold Level JTE you need  this: Silver level, plus pack participates in BALOO training and in OWLS training. (Note: I could not find any BSA info to link to. )  If you do not have anyone who has taken these trainings, then your Pack will not get Gold in that area, which could be what you need to get Gold as a Unit if your short in other areas.  Currently in the Pack that I serve as Cubmaster in, myself and a Webelos Den Leader both have BALOO and OWLS.  Along with ITOLS.    I will talk more about the difference between OWLS and ITOLS and why they should not be lumped together along with BALOO.

District Training: The district Key 3 and district committee have completed orientation or training plus Youth Protection training (YPT). New members complete YPT before joining and orientation or training within six months of joining.  I believe we all have met this with the exception of District Committee Training.  To which, I have one planned for.  We just need to set a date & time.  If the District Committee does all of this and meets as scheduled, we will be at least Bronze for this year.

So, training is a big deal.  It’s not something that people should take lightly. Granted the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs were bought, built and flown on the lowest bid.  Look at what NASA did with the barest of  contract spending limits.    Now, just think of the barest of training that the BSA can get by with.  Look at what can be done if we give a little bit more of our time and energy to get and be trained at the level we need to be but also EXCEL at!  Look at the reward that the Scouts will get if we do.

The Cubscout Motto says it very well.  “DO YOUR BEST”

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