For more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America has helped build the future leaders of this country by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun. We believe – and, through more than a century of experience, know – that helping youth is a key to building a more conscientious, responsible and productive society.

Over the decades, the Boy Scouts of America has been a leader in developing training and policies designed to keep young people safe. The National Boy Scouts of America policy states that Youth Protection is required for all registered adult volunteer leaders, and that the training must be renewed every two years.  Registered leaders include all adult volunteer leaders in Scouting.

Effective July 1, 2022, the Dan Beard Council is implementing a Zero Tolerance policy pertaining to this mandatory Youth Protection Training. These this policy states:

  • Any adult volunteer leader whose Youth Protection training certificate lapses will have their membership removed from the membership system at the end of the month of their training expiration. No refunds will be approved for fees paid for membership, insurance, or Scout’s Life magazine.

For additional information on Youth Protection, please visit www.scouting.org/training/youth-protection.

YOUTH SAFETY WEBPAGE

A new Youth Safety webpage was created to offer an easy-to-navigate overview of our youth protection program using language and visuals that help the general public or those who are new to Scouting understand what the Boy Scouts of America does to help keep kids safe. This webpage does not replace the preexisting Youth Protection webpage; instead, it offers an overview of our policies in a simplified version for those who may not be familiar with our terminology our program details. It also features expert testimonials, access to our Youth Protection Training, clarification of top misperceptions and a summary of BSA’s commitment to being part of a broader solution to address child abuse. We will continue to update the page as opportunities arise, but we encourage you to visit and share this as a resource when asked about BSA’s youth protection efforts.

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 to work within the Boy Scouts of America to maintain a culture of Youth Protection awareness and safety at the national, regional, area, council, district, and unit levels.

The Boy Scouts of America places the greatest importance on creating the most secure environment possible for our youth members. To maintain such an environment, the BSA developed numerous procedural and leadership selection policies and provides parents and leaders with resources for the Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing programs.

 

LEADERSHIP SELECTION

The Boy Scouts of America takes great pride in the quality of our adult leadership. Being a leader in the BSA is a privilege, not a right. The quality of the program and the safety of our youth members call for high-quality adult leaders. We work closely with our chartered organizations to help recruit the best possible leaders for their units.

The adult application requests background information that should be checked by the unit committee or the chartered organization before accepting an applicant for unit leadership. While no current screening techniques exist that can identify every potential child abuser, we can reduce the risk of accepting a child abuser by learning all we can about an applicant for a leadership position—his or her experience with children, why he or she wants to be a Scout leader, and what discipline techniques he or she would use.

All reports of youth protection concerns including violations of youth protection policies and reports of child abuse should be taken at face value. All youth protection concerns should be brought immediately and directly to the Dan Beard Council Scout Executive, Mr. Andy Zahn: andy.zahn@scouting.org

BSA policy and Ohio and Kentucky state laws also obligates anyone with knowledge of child abuse to report to local authorities. If you know or suspect a child has been abused, contact your local police department or call your local child abuse reporting hotline:

Boone County, KY(859) 371-8832
Brown County, OH(937) 378-6104
Butler County, OH(800) 325-2685
Campbell County, KY(859) 292-6733
Clermont County, OH(513) 732-STOP
Gallatin County, KY(859) 567-7381
Grant County, KY(859) 824-4471
Hamilton County, OH(513) 241-KIDS
Kenton County, KY(859) 292-6340
Owen County, KY(502) 484-3937
Pendleton County, KY(859) 654-3381
Warren County, OH(513) 695-1546

State of Ohio:
Toll-Free: (855) 642-4453
http://jfs.ohio.gov/ocf/reportchildabuseandneglect.stm

State of Kentucky:
Toll-Free: (877) 597-2331
https://prdweb.chfs.ky.gov/ReportAbuse/Home.aspx