Safety
Youth Protection
Pack 30 and the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) take the safety of our children very seriously. Pack 30 adheres to all youth protection requirements of the BSA, including:
All adult leaders complete a Youth Protection Training course every two years.
All adult leaders pass a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) background check as required by Massachusetts and a separate national background check as required by the BSA.
Two-deep adult leadership: at least two registered adult leaders must always be present at an activity involving Scouts.
Female leadership: A registered female adult leader must be present for any activity involving girls.
No one-on-one contact: an adult leader may never be alone with a Scout, except family members.
COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pack 30 continued its activities, subject to relevant safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Town of Watertown, and the Boy Scouts of America. During 2021–22, we ran a full schedule of activities, meeting outdoors and/or on Zoom, including two campouts and our annual Pinewood Derby! In Spring 2022, as guidelines for our council and community were relaxed and vaccines became available for all our pack members, we resumed our full schedule of normal activities and some indoor meetings.
During Fall 2022, we returned to Den and Pack meetings held in our open meeting space in the UMC church lower level. Masking is not required, but it is encouraged for those who are unvaccinated, may have symptoms, or prefer to do so. We will evaluate as we go, keeping an eye on COVID numbers, vaccine availability for children, and recommendations from our local Spirit of Adventure Council as we consider how to meet safely throughout the year. We had great success with outdoor and virtual meetings where necessary throughout the pandemic.