Youth Protection Training

The Boy Scouts of America requires Youth Protection training for all volunteers. The purpose of this policy is to increase awareness of the societal problem of child abuse and to create even greater barriers to abuse than already exist in Scouting.

  • Youth Protection training is required for all BSA registered volunteers, regardless of their position.
  • New leaders 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 the unit charter renewal, the volunteer will not be re-registered.

To find out more about the Youth Protection policies of the Boy Scouts of America and how to help Scouting keep your family safe, visit the National BSA Youth Protection website

Policies and Procedures

Scouting keeps kids safe through a multi-layered process of safeguards. These policies and procedures are recommended by youth protection experts and can be applied to all organizations. A complete list is found on the National BSA Youth Protection website but here are some key elements:

  • Two-Deep Leadership Policy – Requires two adults present with youth at all times and prohibits one-on-one situations between adults and youth in person or electronically, within or outside of our program.
  • Mandatory Reporting - All persons involved in Scouting must report to local authorities any good-faith suspicion or belief that any youth is being, or has been, physically or sexually abused.
  • Policy Barriers to Abuse – Strict requirements for parents, leaders and youth including: registration of adult leaders, adult supervision, constructive discipline, accommodations (separate tenting arrangements for males and females, youth sharing tents must be within two years of age, youth and adults tent separately, except in Cub Scout family camping) and program (use of buddy system, respect for privacy, all aspects open to observation, prohibition of hazing and initiations plus many other safely measures).
  • Formal Leadership Selection Process - Including criminal background checks and other screening efforts.
  • Volunteer Screening Database - A tool the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for all youth-serving organizations, to prevent individuals that were removed from their organization from re-registering (Scouting has had this in place since the 1920’s).
  • Youth Protection Training – Mandatory for all volunteers with educational materials for parents and Scouts featured in handbooks and integrated into programs. 

Training

Youth Protection training for Cub Scout Youth - Packs should encourage each den to view the den appropriate Protect Yourself Rules video. There are related den meeting plans too.

Youth Protection training for Scouts BSA Youth - Personal Safety Awareness training videos are created specifically for Scouts BSA youth ages 11-13. There is another group of videos for Scouts ages 14-17 too.  There are four parts to the training. Each are anywhere from 4-5 minutes in length.

Youth Protection training for Venturing Youth - Personal Safety Awareness training videos are for Venturing age youth 14-17. There are four parts. Persistence for Pictures, Grooming & Sexual Abuse, Sexual Abuse in the Family, and Friends Should Never Look the Other Way. Each are anywhere from 4-5 minutes in length.

Resources

 Samoset Council, Boy Scouts of America
 3511 Camp Phillips Rd, Weston WI 54476
 715-355-1450 (phone) | 715-355-9849 (fax)

Samoset Vision: Every youth prepared for tomorrow's challenges.