Youth Protection Training PDF Print E-mail
Youth safety is the No. 1 concern of the BSA.

To increase awareness of this societal problem and to create even greater barriers to abuse than already exist today in Scouting, the Boy Scouts of America is implementing several important changes to further enhance its Youth Protection policies:

Effective June 1, 2010:
- Youth Protection Training is required for all registered volunteers.

- New leaders are required to take Youth Protection Training before they submit their application for registration. The certificate of completion for this training must be submitted at the time 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.

Please click here for steps to ensure these policies are fully implemented.
Youth Protection Training is important training for all adults in the Scouting movement. Every unit should have a designated person assigned to assure that Youth Protection Training is offered frequently.
The preferred method in the Northwest Texas Council is taking the training online, but is available  through DVD. Youth Protection Training may be taken online at http://www.scouting.org.

The BSA places the greatest importance on creating the most secure environment possible for our youth members. All Cub Scout and Boy Scout adult volunteers are now REQUIRED take this course prior to registration. It covers the BSA's Youth Protection policies, kinds of abuse, signs of abuse, how to respond to disclosure of abuse, and proper reporting procedures. It does so by taking you through situations that require choices and produce consequences. Successful completion of this course requires an 80 percent or higher score.

If you take this test as a registered member of the BSA and designate your local council, your completion will be reported back to your council to adjust your training records. You'll also be offered a certificate of completion.

Child abuse is an increasingly serious, widespread problem in society, affecting every ethnic group, socioeconomic level, and geographic area. The significance of this problem is revealed by the nearly 3 million cases of child abuse reported each year in the United States. The Boy Scouts of America has developed Youth Protection training to prepare its leaders to help children who have been, or are being, abused.

The training program includes information for parents as well as the video It Happened to Me. Materials are for use in pack and den meetings to show Cub Scouts and their parents what they should do to prevent abuse from happening to them.

In addition, the BSA has adopted a comprehensive set of policies and procedures to help ensure that Scouting continues to be safe for all participants. Background checks are required for all new leaders as of April 2003, and the Boy Scouts of America will not tolerate any form of child abuse in its program and will take all necessary steps to remove any offenders from membership in the BSA.

Every leader in Scouting is now REUIRED to complete Youth Protection training. Parents will also find this training valuable. In addition to a thorough review of BSA Youth Protection policies, the training develops an increased awareness of Youth Protection issues.