Youth Protection

 

 

 

 

Protecting Youth is our Top Priority

Over many years, the BSA has developed some of the strongest expert-informed youth protection policies found in any youth-serving organization including mandatory criminal background checks for all leaders, required training in Youth Protection, mandatory reporting, and two-deep leadership.

Every instance of suspected abuse is reported to law enforcement.

National Website Youth Protection explanations

Training

Get Started - How to Take Youth Protection Training

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

  1. Visit My.Scouting.org  and create an account. You’ll receive an email notification with your account information, including a member ID/reference number. 
  2. 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.

  • Youth Protection Training is required for all registered volunteers.

  • New leaders are required to take Youth Protection Training before their application will be submitted. The certificate of completion for this training must be submitted at the time application is submitted for processing to be a registered volunteer leader.

  • Youth Protection Training must be taken every year in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council. If a volunteer’s Youth Protection Training record is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will not be reregistered.

The 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 the material, you will answer questions about that section’s topic. To maintain a safe environment, the BSA developed numerous procedural and leadership selection policies and provides parents and leaders with resources for each program.

Barriers to Abuse

The Boy Scouts of America have adopted the following policies for the safety and well-being of its members.  

Adult Supervision

Two registered adult leaders 21 years of age or over are required at all Scouting activities, including meetings. There must be a registered female adult leader 21 years of age or over in every unit serving females. A registered female adult leader 21 years of age or over must be present for any activity involving female youth. Notwithstanding the minimum leader requirements, age- and program-appropriate supervision must always be provided. (Youth Protection and Barriers to Abuse FAQs)

All adults accompanying a Scouting unit who are present at the activity for 72 total hours or more must be registered as leaders. The 72 hours need not be consecutive.

One-on-one contact between adult leaders and youth members is prohibited both inside and outside of Scouting. (Youth Protection and Barriers to Abuse FAQs)

  • In situations requiring a personal conference, the meeting is to be conducted with the knowledge and in view of other adults and/or youth.
  • Private online communications (texting, phone calls, chat, IM, etc.) must include another registered leader or parent.
  • Communication by way of social media (Facebook, Snapchat, etc.) must include another registered leader or parent.

 

File Name Description
Youth Protection Training Download