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 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.
Required Training
- Youth Protection training is required for all BSA registered volunteers and is a joining requirement.
- 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 re-registered.
Parents Guide to Youth Protection
This booklet can’t address all threats to personal safety for our children in and out of Scouting, but it will inform and empower you to better recognize, respond to, and report most forms of abuse and begin the conversation. The first section contains information for parents about child abuse and some tips for talking with your child about child abuse. In the second section, we put that knowledge to work with exercises for you to share with your child. Research shows that children whose parents talk to them about preventing abuse are better able to protect themselves and are more likely to tell if they are experiencing abuse or have been abused. This conversation is the start of a dialogue between you and your child about personal safety awareness. As your child grows, look for opportunities to strengthen open communication and give them the reassurance that no matter how frightening something may be, you and other trusted adults are there to help.