The Boy Scouts of America relies on dedicated volunteers to promote its mission of preparing young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetime by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Today, nearly 1.2 million adults provide leadership and mentoring to Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers. Through the dedication of these many volunteers, the Boy Scouts of America remains the foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training in America. To these volunteers we would like to say thank you for your dedication to Scouting. And, to adults who are not currently Scout volunteers, we invite you to become a volunteer and share in the positive experiences of the Scouting programs.
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. 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.
Important Youth Protection Training Information for All Registered Volunteers: Effective June 1, 2010
- Youth Protection training is required for all BSA registered volunteers, regardless of their position.
- New leaders and registered volunteers are required to take Youth Protection Training before submitting an application for registration. The certificate of completion for this training must be submitted at the time the application is made and before volunteer service with youth begins.
- Youth Protection training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer’s Youth Protection training record is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will not be reregistered
All of the Troop 274 scoutmasters, assistant scoutmasters, committee members, and merit badge counselors must complete the BSA Youth Protection Training (YPT) course every two years. New adult volunteers and scouts over 18 years old who wish to serve as volunteers to Troop 274 must first complete this training and print out a certificate of completion which must be attached to their written application to become a registered volunteer. A sample of this completion certificate is attached (see attachment YPT_TRAINING_CERTIFICATE.PDF). We also urge parents to take this course to learn about BSA policies and guidelines for our leaders. There are a number of other online courses that you may want to take depending on your involvement. Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmaster need to take more extensive training. Additional Supplemental Courses and Additional Training Resources are also available for you to take. You can never have too much training!
Youth Protection training is designed to help you keep our youth safe from abuse. You will learn the Boy Scouts of America’s Youth Protection Guidelines, signs of abuse, and how to report suspected abuse. After each section of material, you will answer questions about that section’s topic. This course must be completed to earn the “Trained” emblem. Completion is noted automatically in the BSA training records database if the module is experienced online. Estimated time to complete on-line: 40 minutes.
To help ensure that volunteers receive credit for Youth Protection training, we recommend taking the training online through myscouting.org. Setting up a MyScouting user account is easy. If you are new to Scouting and wish to register with Troop 274 as a volunteer, you will not yet have a membership ID but you can still set up a MyScouting user account first to begin your training.
When you have completed the YPT and passed the quiz, the web page will ask you to enter your name to be printed on a completion certificate (see attachment YOUTH PROTECTION FINISH.PDF). Fill out your name, then print this certificate. Attach it to your Adult Leader Application in order to complete the process. Be sure to record your MyScouting user name and password in a safe place. When your volunteer application is approved, you will receive a BSA membership card which includes your BSA member ID number. After you receive your membership card, log back into MyScouting, click on My Profile, and update the system by inputting your member ID number. This will link your Youth Protection training records, and any other training, in MyScouting to your BSA membership. When you update your MyScouting profile with your ID number, you will receive proper credit for all future online training. If you are a registered leader renewing your training, be sure that your MyScouting profile has your BSA member ID recorded so you receive proper credit.
The Troop Committee needs to maintain a list of registered adults who have completed BSA training so we can accurately fill out tour permits and be covered by BSA guidelines. If you have completed any of these courses and/or are holding any certifications, please make a copy of your certificate and give to the Committee Training Coordinator (John Harmon) so they can be entered into our system.
Log in to MyScouting to take this course online
The first time you visit this site, you need to create an account. If you are new to Scouting and wish to register with Troop 274 as a volunteer, you will not yet have a membership ID. You can still set up a MyScouting user account to take Youth Protection Training. Here is what you will see:
Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters need to take more extensive training. The first three required courses are:
- Youth Protection Training
- Boy Scout Leader Fast Start Training (see attachment FAST_START_VIEWER_GUIDE.PDF)
- This is Scouting (this replaces New Leaders Essentials)
There are other outdoor training courses, such as Weather Hazards Training that will be required for Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters. Hazardous Weather training is required for a tour permit on any outing. Hazardous Weather training must be renewed every two years. Not all training courses are available on-line, the BSA council hosts training classes throughout the year. There are also optional on-line courses offered for Troop Committee Members.
“Every Scout Deserves a Trained Leader!”