APRIL IS YOUTH PROTECTION MONTH

April is the month to promote Youth Protection Training to all adults who are planning to attend summer camp with your unit. Adults accompanying units on activities who are present at the activity for 72 hours or more, must be Youth Protection Trained and officially registered with the BSA. The 72 hours need not be consecutive. The Boy Scouts of America’s Youth Protection Training is mandatory for all registered adult leaders in all programs. Other adults participating in Scouting are strongly encouraged to take this training. Youth Protection Training reflects the BSA’s commitment to the safety of all youth.

TAKING THE TRAINING

To take the training visit www.my.scouting.org and login if you are an existing member, or create a new account if you are new and about to register with the BSA. Once on www.my.scouting.org, click on the Youth Protection icon, add the Mandatory Training to your learning plan, click on the My Learning tab and select the training from your plan. Once the training is complete, existing member’s training records will automatically be updated with the certification. All new to Scouting wishing to register must print their certificate and submit it with their application to the council service center.

PRINTING TRAINING COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

The training certificate will only be available for printing after completing the three required training modules and passing the test which completes the Youth Protection Training. It may take an hour or so for your training certificate to become available. It will be found by logging back on to www.my.Scouting.org and selecting the menu button in the upper left corner and clicking on My Dashboard. The certificate can be opened for printing by clicking the print icon on the right side. After clicking the print icon, the certificate opens as a pdf that can be printed and/or saved.

Questions or technical issues contact Member Care at (972-580-2489) or [email protected].

YOUTH PROTECTION TRAINING FOR YOUTH PARTICIPANTS

Youth Protection Training for Youth is also an extremely important step in ensuring that all youth in Scouting are safe. Every Scouting unit is expected to provide this training annually to all new families, and provide the opportunity for all members every two years as a refresher. These videos are available at: http://www.northernstar.org/youth-protection (under documents) and include:

• “It Happened to Me” for Cub Scout youth
• “A Time to Tell” for Scouts BSA youth
• “Personal Safety Awareness” for Venturing youth

Please make time this April to conduct the appropriate Youth Protection Training for Youth in your unit.  It should be conducted at least once a year, and there is no better time than prior to summer camp and other outings to get it done. Thank you for taking the time necessary to ensure that all Scouting volunteers and youth members have a safe environment to experience everything Scouting has to offer.

If you ever have any concerns about other leaders and their compliance with youth protection rules (two adults at all times with all Scouting youth, both “inside and outside” of Scouting events; separate sleeping accommodations; separate shower/bathroom facilities) call the Northern Star Council Youth Protection Tip line at 1-888-213-0364.