Taughannock District
Baden-Powell Council, BSA
Training

Training Chairs: Mike Homrighaus and Jim Graney
Any questions on training? E-mail training@TompkinsCortlandScouts.org 

Our Website Has Moved

If you're reading this notice, you have an out-of-date bookmark.

While we have had the TompkinsCortlandScouts.org domain name for many years, we never really had a place to put the website. The domain was actually just an alias for some other website. So, every time you accessed TompkinsCortlandScouts.org, some other address appeared in your browser's address bar - mostly, home.htva.net/~wb2jwd/, which is the space my cable company gave me, but sometimes www.bpmlegal.com, my office website -  and if you bookmarked the site, you wound up bookmarking the actual address, not TompkinsCortlandScouts.org. Worse, htva.net only gave me 20MB of storage space, total, so we were very limited in how much we could post on that site.

Thanks to Mark Travis of Pack 197 and Good News Computing, the Taughannock District Website now has a real home, and oodles of space to live in (one "oodle" = several gigabytes). And, thanks to a suggestion from Oliver Habich of Troop 4, we also have a shorter, easier-to-type domain - TCScouts.org  - two names, the same website.

What this means to you is:

• Old Bookmarks won't be right: If you have any bookmarks in your browser for any of the pages in the Taughannock District Website, they probably point to the actual site of the old page, not the new site. So, you'll need to...
• Change your Bookmarks: At least in Firefox or IE, that means right-clicking on the bookmark, click on "Properties" and change the part of the address which says "home.htva.net/~wb2jwd/" or "www.bpmlegal.com" to --www.TCScouts.org-- or --www.TompkinsCortlandScouts.org-- (either will work, if you're lazy like me, use the shorter one). The rest of the address remains the same.
  So, "http://home.htva.net/~wb2jwd/announce.htm" becomes --http://www.TCScouts.org/announce.htm --
• Or, save new bookmarks: If you don't want to edit your old bookmark, you can always follow one of these links http://www.TompkinsCortlandScouts.org or http://www.TCScouts.org , find the page you want, and save a new bookmark. 
• The old website will be taken down after January 1st, and all of the pages will be set to redirect to the new server. So if you don't update your bookmarks now, now you can always follow the forwarding link and save a new bookmark later on.

Click Here to Access the New Web Site

Yrs. in Scouting,
Mike Brown
District Commissioner

The Boy Scouts of America’s Youth Protection Training Policies

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 has implemented the following Youth Protection policies:

• Youth Protection Training is required for all registered volunteers.

• New leaders are required to take Youth Protection Training within 30 days of registration. (Note: this is a change, implemented in 2011 - previously, YPT had to be taken before registration)

• For current leaders, 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.

• To ensure these policies are fully implemented, please take the following steps:
  

  • If you have not taken Youth Protection Training within the past two years, please log on to MyScouting.org and take the training. Be sure to have your member ID number. The number can be found on your Boy Scouts of America membership card.

  • If you do not know your member ID number, contact your unit leader or committee chairman. Your council can also assist you.

  • If you have taken Youth Protection Training online but did not input your member ID number, please log back on to the Training section of MyScouting and input your member ID so the training will be linked with your records.

  • A person does not have to be a registered volunteer or have an ID number to take Youth Protection training. To take the training, log in to MyScouting and create an account. From the MyScouting portal, click on E-Learning and take the Youth Protection training. Upon completion, print a certificate and submit it with an application or submit to the unit leader for processing at the local council.

  • If you have taken Youth Protection Training within the past two years but did not take the course online, log on to MyScouting to ensure your records are up to date, or contact your council and have them verify that your Youth Protection Training records are accurate.

  • Youth Protection Training is available online at http://www.scouting.org/Training/YouthProtection.aspx.

Venturing and Exploring volunteers: There has been a change announced, which became effective in June 2011. When you take or renew your YPT, be sure you take the right version! Venturing should take course Y02, Exploring should take course Y03.  See answer A17, below. 

Questions and Answers

The following are answers to some of the questions the BSA has received about the YPT policy. To read more, visit www.scouting.org/youthprotection.

Q1: What is your policy?
A1: All registered adult volunteers—no matter what their position entails—must complete Youth Protection training.

Q2: Why is Youth Protection Training Required?
A2: Youth safety is of paramount importance to the Boy Scouts of America, therefore, it is important to implement this training at all levels of the organization. The BSA is always reevaluating and reassessing its policies to ensure the safest youth program and the best training are offered. The BSA’s Youth Protection training has been in existence long enough for it to be understood and accepted as a mandated training for all registered BSA adult volunteers.

Q3: When does Youth Protection Training have to be taken?
A3: All registered leaders should take or renew their Youth Protection training so that it is current. No individual leader will be able to re-register without being up-to-date on his or her Youth Protection training. Note: as of late 2011, new leaders must take YPT within thirty days of registration. Therefore, new leaders can now register without a certificate of training, and take YPT once they have received their registration number (so long as they take the training within thirty days after registration). That should allow a leader to make sure their myscouting.org account is linked to their membership number before taking YPT, so that their training is properly credited on the BSA's registration system. 

Q4: Is there a grace period to get all registered adults trained?
A4: If a leader’s Youth Protection training is not current, the volunteer must take or renew this training immediately. Every effort should be taken so that all adults involved in Scouting have a current certificate of completion of the youth protection training.

Q5: Does “all volunteers” mean all volunteers — even board members and council presidents?
A5: Yes. The goal is to have all registered volunteers Youth Protection trained. This is important to the Boy Scouts of America as a youth organization and reinforces the BSA’s commitment to the well-being of all youth members and volunteers.

Q6: I am sure I know all there is to know about youth protection. Can I “test out” by only taking the Youth Protection online quiz?
A6: No. Youth protection requires sustained vigilance and a commitment to helping protect youth. You must complete the entire online training in order for your Youth Protection certificate to be valid. This ensures you receive the latest information on BSA Youth Protection.

Q7: Does the executive officer (institutional head) of a unit need to take Youth Protection training?
A7: We believe everyone should take youth protection training, however, the executive officer is not a registered leader so, he or she is not required to complete Youth Protection training, although it is strongly recommended. If the executive officer is a registered member of the BSA, then he or she must complete Youth Protection training.

Q8: I am a Tiger Cub adult partner and ScoutParent. Do I need to take Youth Protection training?
A8: All registered adults are required to take Youth Protection training. The Tiger Cub adult partner and ScoutParent designations are not registered adult positions; therefore, mandatory Youth Protection training is not required. However, under the initiative “Youth Protection Begins with You,” it is strongly recommended, however, that all adults involved in Scouting take Youth Protection training.

Q9: I am an Explorer post Advisor. Does this new policy apply to me?
A9: Yes. All registered adults are required to take Youth Protection training.
NOTE: The "generic" YPT (code Y01) is intended for Cub, Scout and District/Council level adults. There are separate youth protection trainings for Venturing (Y02) and Exploring (Y03). Be sure to take the YPT which is appropriate for your program! 

Q10: Do leaders need to wait until they have final clearance on the background check to meet with youth?
A10: No. As long as their application is fully completed, submitted to the council service center, and approved, they will be able to interact with other registered & trained adult leaders and youth members while the criminal background check (CBC) is still pending.

Q11: Do merit badge counselors need to take Youth Protection training?
A11: Yes. A merit badge counselor is a registered volunteer position.

Q12: Can units that have some adult leaders who have not completed Youth Protection training be rechartered?
A12: In order for a unit to be rechartered, it must have all the required positions filled with Youth Protection–trained adults. Adults who do not have current (within the past two years) Youth Protection training will not be reregistered. 
Note: It is not clear if this policy is modified by the late-2011 change which allows new leaders thirty days after registration to take YPT. Until it is clarified by National, it would be advisable for all units to make sure that adults in all REQUIRED positions have current YPT before submitting their recharter. 

Q13: Can a council or district organize Youth Protection group training for its adults?
A13: Yes. It is encouraged that adults take the training via the online module, but the instructor-led model is still acceptable as long as the most current version of the Youth Protection DVD is used and the end-of-course quiz is proctored by the trainer at the end of the training session. Reminder: It is critical that training completion certificates be issued after successful completion and that a formal training record roster be submitted to the council registrar so proper credit can be recorded in the profiles of each participant.

Q14: Will both the regular and Venturing leader versions of Youth Protection training meet the requirement?
A14: When the policy was first implemented, the answer to this was "yes". Afterward, National announced that after June 2011,  volunteers would be required to take the version of YPT which was intended for the program in which they are registered - Y01 "generic", Y02 Venturing and Y03 Exploring. 

Q15: If a person is not a registered leader, how can he or she log in and take the Youth Protection training?
A15: A person does not have to be a registered volunteer to take Youth Protection training. To take the training, log in to myscouting.org and click on create an account. After you have confirmed your new myscouting account user name and password, log in to myscouting.org and click on e-training to begin the Youth Protection training. Upon completion, print a certificate to submit with a completed adult leader application to the unit leader or your local council representative for processing. Remember to keep a copy for your records. Once the application is approved, the new leader will receive his or her membership card with their member ID. It is important that new members log back in to myscouting.org and update their profile with this member ID to receive credit for completing this and any other training.

To find out more about the Youth Protection policies of the Boy Scouts of America and how to help Scouting keep your family safe, see the information available in any of the Cub Scouting or Boy Scouting handbooks, or go to http://www.scouting.org/Training/YouthProtection.aspx.

Cub Scouts 2010 - the "New Delivery Method"

The "New Delivery Method" for Cub Scouts was rolled out by National in 2010, and den leaders should be using the Delivery Method by now. 

What is the New Delivery Method? The change for Cub Scouts is a piloted and successful method of delivering the existing Cub Scout program that is handbook-based and focuses on den activities leading to youth advancement and higher retention. Here are some links to resources from the National Website for your use: 

• The New Delivery Method home page

• What's in it for me? An overview page of the new method. 

• Watch the movie!  A Quicktime video introduction to the new method. 

• Here's what you need to get started - look at the Den and Pack Resource Guide page, or go directly to the individual parts:

  • Overview of Cub Scouting

  • Den Meeting Plans - read about what they are and how to use them. Then, get the plans themselves: 

    • Tiger Cub Den Meeting Plans 

    • Wolf Den Meeting Plans

    • Bear Den Meeting Plans

    • Webelos Den Meeting Plans

    • Arrow of Light Den Meeting Plans

  • Pack Meeting Plans - read about them and download them. 

  • Helpful Hints for Den Leaders

Are all of your unit's leaders trained?

For a list of what courses a leader needs to take to be considered "trained", see this document on the Council Website. 

Online Training:

Cub Scouts: All training courses for Cub Scout Leaders are now available online at: www.scouting.org/volunteer/training

Courses include:

• Cub Scout Leader Position-Specific Training for Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos Leaders, Cubmaster, Pack Trainer and Pack Committee

• Youth Protection Training (YPT) (required for all leaders, not just Cub)

• Den Leader, Cubmaster and Pack Committee Fast Start, and

• “This Is Scouting”

The courses have been updated to support the new Cub Scout Delivery Method rolled out earlier this year. Now, den leaders and assistants, Cubmasters and assistants, pack trainers, and pack committee chairs and members can now learn the how-to’s for successfully conducting an engaging den and pack program and can become confident in the role each plays.

When entering www.MyScouting.org, click on the E-Learning link under the Training header located on the left-side menu. Then click on the Cub Scouts tab and voila!... all leader training is at your convenience.

Boy Scouts and Venturing: Some Boy Scout and Venturing leader training is available at www.scouting.org/volunteer/training

• Youth Protection Training (YPT) (in addition to general YPT, there is a Venturing Version)

• Boy Scouting and Venturing Fast Start, and

• “This Is Scouting”

Other courses available online at www.scouting.org/volunteer/training include:

• Safe Swim Defense

• Safety Afloat

• Physical Wellness

• Climb on Safely

• Trek Safely

• Weather Hazards

• Unit Commissioner Fast Start

• ScoutParents Unit Coordinator Fast Start

• Staffing the District Committee

In-Person Training:

If your pack or troop has a large number of people who need training, don't wait for a scheduled session - the Training Committee is also bringing the training to you! Contact them at training@TompkinsCortlandScouts.org and schedule a training session for your pack leaders. Packs should have a Pack Trainer if at all possible, so as to be able to present leader training to new leaders as needed. Also, anyone who has been through a given training module can train others, so last years' Bear leaders can train this year's leaders, and so on. 

Has your training passed its "shelf life"? 

Have you applied for recognition of your accomplishments?

The BSA has many "square knot" recognition awards for taking training and putting it into practice. See the Recognition section of the Advancement page for details.