Youth Protection
Scouting America Youth Protection Mission Statement
True youth protection can be achieved only through the focused commitment of everyone in Scouting. It is the mission of Scouting America to maintain a culture of Youth Protection awareness and safety at the national, regional, area, council, district, and unit levels.
Required Training
- Youth Protection training is required for all registered volunteers and is a joining requirement.
- Youth Protection training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer’s Youth Protection certification is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will not be re-registered.
- If a volunteer’s YPT certification lapses at any other time, membership will be suspended. Suspended members are no longer allowed to participate, attend, or represent Scouting programs and activities as a leader and may only attend as a legal guardian for their own youth.
- CA Residents and CA Scout Units must also meet AB506 standards. Please see www.CAScouting.org
How to Complete Your 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. Save this information since it will be used frequently.
- Click on the Youth Protection logo on the main page to complete the 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.
- When your volunteer application is approved, you will receive a Scouting America membership card that includes your member ID number.
- For help, email [email protected]
Youth Protection Reporting Procedure
- If you have reason to believe any of the Youth Protection policies have been violated, you must notify your local council Scout Executive so they may take appropriate action.
- For events or allegations of abuse, violations of Scouting America guidelines or policies, or inappropriate behavior by a Scout/Scout leader/parent/other, use the Youth Protection/Membership Incident Information Form. This form is confidential and should be sent directly to the Scout Executive, Paul Penttila at [email protected].
- Youth Protection/Membership Infraction Reporting Tool
Certificate of Liability Insurance Request
Please email us a request at least one week in advance of your activity to allow for processing.
Information needed for request:
- Unit type and number
- Date and time of activity
- Name of activity
- Name of Certificate Holder – Location (park, school, campground)
- Physical address of location of event
- 1-2 leader names with phone numbers
If you need additional assistance, please contact the council at [email protected] or 775-787-1111.
Nevada’s Risk Management Committee
The Risk Management Committee of the Nevada Area Council is appointed by the Board of Directors to assist the Board in its oversight of the Council’s risk management strategies, policies, and practices that identify, assess, monitor, and manage the Council’s risks.
The current committee members are:
- Terry Abts, Chairman
- Doug Ramsay, Council Professional
- Paul Penttila, Secretary
- Dr. Rich King, Marshall Smith, Henry Hicks, and Lorena Valencia
Scouts First Hotline (844-726-8871)
As part of the Scouting America’s “Scouts First” approach to the protection and safety of youth, Scouting America has established a dedicated 24-hour helpline at 844-SCOUTS FIRST to receive reports of any known or suspected abuse or significant violations of youth protection policies that might put a youth at risk.
- The call is answered by a live person – day or night by a direct National employee from the National Incident Reporting office. All information is kept confidential by National who then will inform the local council Scout Executive.
- This is the first stage of converting the online Risk Counsel Incident reporting to the new Risk Connect due for roll-out in October. Risk Connect will allow individuals and councils to complete incident reporting directly for all incidents, near-misses, etc.
- Reporting Abuse or Youth Protection Violations: accurate information is critical to an appropriate response; however, a lack of specific information is not a reason to delay a report of known or suspected abuse or significant youth protection policy violations. At a minimum, every effort should be made to have the following information available when reporting to the Scouts First Helpline:
- The name, age, council, and unit of the alleged victim(s)
- The name and phone number of the victim’s parent(s)
- The name, age, council, and unit of any other known or suspected victim(s) and their parent’s contact information
- The name, position, council, and unit of the alleged perpetrator(s)
- The name and phone number of the law enforcement or protective service agency to which the incident was reported
- The name, unit, and council of any known witnesses
- The name and phone number of the reporter
- Details of the incident: who, what, where, and when
- The reporter may also be asked to submit the information on a Youth Protection/Membership Incident Information Form (paper or online).
Additional Resources
Child Protective Services
Forms
Youth Protection/ Membership Incident Information Form
- This form is to be used for events or allegations of abuse, violations of guidelines or policies, inappropriate behavior by a Scout/Scout Leader/Parent/Other.
- The incident report form is to be used for events or allegations of injury, illness, or property damage, including employment and issues with directors and officers.
- For more information on how to use the incident report form, go here.
Safety Guides
- All participants in official Scouting activities should become familiar with the Guide to Safe Scouting, applicable program literature or manuals, and be aware of state or local government regulations that supersede Scouting America practices, policies, and guidelines.
- Safety moments can be shared with your unit at the beginning of your meetings as general reminders or before a relevant activity.