Safety

Youth Protection

BSA Youth Protection Mission Statement

True youth protection can be achieved only through the focused commitment of everyone in Scouting. It is the mission of Youth Protection volunteers and professionals working within the Boy Scouts of America to maintain a culture of Youth Protection awareness and safety at the national, territory, area, council, district, and unit levels. 

Leadership Selection

The BSA takes great pride in the quality of adult leadership. Leadership is a privilege, not a right. The quality of the program and the safety of our youth calls for high-quality adult leaders.

All adult leaders must complete an application process which includes a criminal background check. While it may be impossible to identify every potential child abuser, we can reduce the risk of accepting an applicant for a leadership position that poses a risk by carefully screening those applications. What is his/her experience with children? Why does he/she want to be a Scout leader? What discipline techniques would he/she use?

Required Training

• Youth Protection Training is required for all BSA registered volunteers.

• Youth Protection Training must be taken every two years to continue volunteering.

• Watch the Understanding Youth Protection Video

New to Scouting? Click here to login and take the Youth Protection Training course. You do not have to be a registered member to take this training. 

To take Youth Protection training go to My.Scouting.org and create an account. You’ll receive an email notification with your account information, including a member ID/reference number.

From the My.Scouting.org portal, click Menu then My Dashboard from the menu list. The My Training page displays to take Youth Protection training. Upon completion, you may print a training certificate to submit with a volunteer application. Your training will automatically be updated in our system and associated with the member ID/reference number issued when you created the account.

For more information on BSA's commitment to safe Scouting, please visit the BSA official website on Youth Protection.