Youth Protection Training
YPT version 2 Published (UPDATED)
UPDATE #2 (2/9/18, 9:50 AM): I have received more information from the Crossroads of America Council Training Director Jay Soucy, via Director of Field Service for Central Section Ken Ruppel. This information is posted in a newer article.
National Council has published a new version of Youth Protection Training.
Initial reviews of ease-of-use have been less than favorable. So, remembering the Scout Law is going to be important for the first few weeks.
Initial indications are that this update has several significant changes:
- A requirement all scouters update their YPT by October 1, 2018, regardless of their current expiration date.
- No scout, venturer, or explorer will be allowed to tent with another youth of greater than 2 years age difference or maturity. This is due to FBI statistics that show that youth abuse other youth of large age disparity.
- Co-ed rules from venturing have been incorporated across the entire program.
There is probably more, but I have not taken it, so I cannot confirm.
The MyScouting app has been updated to allow this training to be taken on your mobile device.
The system will also use the ScoutingU education interface from Taleo.net, so expect a navigation problem.
More details as they become available.
UPDATE 2/7/18 at 4:00 pm:
I am working through the new modules. The YPT2, as they are calling it online, consists of four modules on Taleo.net, the host website for ScoutingU.
The first module is an overview of why preventing abuse is important and the concepts of Youth Protection. It is very well done and a bit disturbing but it really has more adult maturity to it than the old YPT ever did. I had no real technical problems. I had to learn to advance the slides or submoduals using the forward skip button. This means that it is harder to let the video play and ignore it if you hope to get done any time in the 21st century.
The second module is about sexual abuse and grooming. The content is much more similar to the old YPT. I had many technical problems. I started on a Safari browser on my Mac. When it locked up during the scenarios, I moved to Google Chrome for Mac. It eventually allowed me to move forward, but the scenarios submoduals never did work correctly. I have little confidence that the browser choice had any effect.
The third module is about bullying. It talks about verbal, social, and physical bullying. It describes cyberbullying as a subcategory of social bullying.
The fourth module is the YPT certification test. The questions are very straightforward. They only have a few that have tricky turns of phrase. If you read moderately carefully, you will have a reasonable chance of passing.
Initiallly, my completed training did not populate my “Youth Protection Training Cert.” on the My Dashboard:My Training:YPT page on my.scouting.org. That may be a technical glitch. The training was showing as 100% Complete on Taleo.net/ScoutingU.
Overall, I would say the content is a vast improvement over the old courses. There are new procedures in place that make compliance much easier. The most profound change is the implementation of a Scout First Help Line at (844)SCOUTS-1. This national toll-free number is designed to help put counseling and reporting to the BSA in one place. It is designed to answer questions, too. Put this phone number on the top of all your outing worksheets and contact information. Put it in your smartphone.
Surprisingly there is little emphasis on the co-ed aspects of scouting. The new rules sound nearly identical to old Venturing YPT requirements.
There are two courses listed on Taleo.net/ScoutingU. One is “MANDATORY”; the other “RECOMMENDED.” The mandatory one is what I described above. The recommended one does not seem to have any modules yet. I have no idea what this is for. It could be for Cub specific or Scout specific modules. We will see.
I have no additional information about whether the expiration date for training has changed, but I highly recommend taking the new training immediately.
New Adult Applications
From Council’s Registrar Sharon Cone:
Hello all! We just received new applications from National, and I wanted to make you aware of the changes in the adult application. Some of it looks similar, some of it looks completely different. Here’s what to look for:
- Only 2 sets of initials required by signature line (was 4);
- Approval signature needed from Chartered Org Rep or Institutional Head only (no Committee Chair approval needed);
- Criminal Background Check Authorization page is very last page of the application (page 9).
I’ve attached a PDF of the new adult application, as well as the updated youth application previously released. The adult application is a scanned copy that I made, because the Scouting Forms page on Scouting.org does not have an updated version of the adult application, nor does it have updated versions in Spanish. I ordered Spanish apps but did not receive any.
You can find these versions in Field Service/District Executive Resources/Forms, etc. We will put the new versions out on the shelf and lose the old ones.
Any questions, let me know. Thanks.
Sharon Cone | Registrar
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
Crossroads of America Council #160
Application – Adult (English) 524-501 (rev’d 2/2018) (no word if older versions are still acceptable or not).
YPT Update
Thank you to all the scouters who have been updating their Youth Protection Training. Your efforts are paying off. In 2018 we are running ahead of 2017.
We still have a bunch more to go, the trends are excellent.
Roundtable Thursday
This Thursday we will have a busy roundtable.
We will have all the following at 7:00 pm
- Den Leader S
pecific Training for all grades; - Camping skills for Webelos Den Leaders and Cubmasters with demonstrations by boy scouts from Troop 56;
- Introduction to Rechartering methods and other fun of unit administration. This is open to all persons handling rechartering; and
- An open forum for boy scout leaders not involved in rechartering.
We will also have Youth Protection Training for Cubs and Scouts live at 6:30 pm.
See you Thursday at Luke’s Lodge on northeast corner of campus of St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 West 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260 at 7:00 pm.
Rechartering Outline Updated
District Commissioner has revised the Rechartering Update page on this website in anticipation of the new Rechartering season.
Dates, times, and locations of rechartering turn-ins have been posted. Please make sure that your unit’s chair and/or the rechartering champion have placed these dates on their calendars. If they cannot make it, they may ask another person to attend in their place.
Please be advised no turn-ins at the Council Registrar window will be accepted. Those will be put in the inter-office mail and sent to the District Executive. This delays processing of your Application to Recharter.
Please be advised that scouters without a current YPT expiration will prevent your Application for Recharter from printing your finalized roster. This is new for October 2017. Work on YPT now so that you can complete recharter turn in on time.
Other Rumored Changes
I cannot independently verify these yet, but Bobwhite Blather is a reputable site about scouting. He reports that in addition to the fee increase one change that is moot to the Crossroads of America Council (i.e., YPT before initial registration, a long-standing CAC practice) two other changes are coming in 2018:
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All adults at summer camp must be registered. In the past, a parent of a Scout could camp with the troop, subject to local requirements such as completing YPT or being cleared by the state’s human services central registry. Beginning in 2018, however, any adult who accompanies a troop to a long-term (over 72 hours) resident camp or other activity (such as high adventure) must be registered with the BSA, even if they are the parent of a Scout on the trip. This is to allow the BSA to conduct the criminal background check and for the chartered organization to explicitly approve of the adult. They can be registered with the unit in any of the positions available, including Assistant Scoutmaster, committee member or Unit Scouter Reserve. The latter is preferred if the adult has no other responsibilities with the troop – but if you have vacancies on your committee, this might be a good way to bolster it.
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Internet Rechartering is improved. I haven’t seen too many specifics, but the new rechartering process is more in line with the tools available at my.scouting.org. Most of us have suffered with the previous Internet rechartering system, including its reliance on a specific browser to complete some of the steps. If the new system is like the other current tools, it’ll work with a variety of modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox and Safari. It’ll also include many convenience improvements such as allowing electronic authorization and online payment.
Any time the BSA says that they are “improving technology,” I start having heart palpatations. If past experience is any indication of future performance (since this is not an SEC compliant website), we could be in for a bumpy rechartering year.
YPT renewals: Reasons and Methods
As part of council’s effort to keep people current on their Youth Protection Training status, they send out emails reminding persons needing training that expiration is approaching. A quick how-to for online YPT is available here.
This past week, District has sent out its own emails emphasizing the need for YPT renewal, too. This message is slightly different. The council only seeks renewal of YPT near deadlines. The District request emphasizes the importance of completion before October 1, 2017 for persons expiring before March 1, 2018.
Why the inconsistent message? Well, we have posted previous articles about rechartering. The problem is that National Council has allowed different local councils around the country to use different rechartering cycles. We are on the calendar year basis, so our units’ charters expire on December 31st each year. Some council expire on February 28th/29th each year. Having a universal rule on YPT is hard to explain with different local councils having differing charter expiration dates.
So, we simplify it by telling you how the myriad different rules on YPT and rechartering all fit together. As the above-linked article indicates, the optimal time for Crossroads of America Council members to renew YPT is between March 1st and October 1st each year. If you came from another council, you might have experienced a different optimal cycle due to rechartering differences.
Unit Committee Chairs, please make sure that you have a YPT Champion. You or a more tech-saavy member of the Key 3 can authorize a unit member to see the Training Manager records. A Unit Key 3 member can go on my.scouting.org to the Organizational Security Manager. Under “Functional Positions,” you can select “YPT Champion.” Use the green plus sign to designate a person to do this job. Please remember that this designation must be renewed every year, otherwise your YPT Champion will be locked out.
Your YPT Champion should be familiar with problems of training records not showing up on my.scouting.org if there is a conflict between BSA Member IDs on the unit roster versus on the my.scouting.org. For more information on how to reconcile this problem, see this flyer from National Council or our previous article.
To help units get YPT done easier, we are offering YPT at the next two (Sept and Oct) Roundtables beginning at 6:30 pm. We will use the video and mark all participants as having their YPT up to date. You can then stay for Roundtable.
Units can also use the YPT videos from YouTube (you will have to pause at critical times for conversations) and Facilitator’s Handbook to run their own in-person YPT. This is a great way to get new parents trained on YPT. It generally gets great reviews for first-timers to better understand how we protect their kids. You can see the National Council Website for overview information. Please make sure that the Unit Key 3 update the participants’ training records in the my.scouting.org Training Manager immediately. (The YPT Champion should be able to do this, too, if I am not mistaken.)
Misbehavior, Ideals, and Scouting
As I have watched the news this past weekend, I have seen families flooded by storms. I have seen individuals bring themselves to action with their own fishing boats saving lives, individuals delivering clothes and material to the Houston Convention Center, and first responders from all over the country arriving in Houston to support the local Houston first responders.
Moments later, I watched a news report about Antifa supporters attacking Neo-Nazis and similar protesters, using disturbing techniques from decades ago.
What contrasts these two sets of stories present about our modern American experience!
Scouting represents one of the most powerful sources of good in America today. We teach morality and citizenship through 12 simple points. The Scout Law is a powerful tool for teaching good citizenship and good choices.
Yet in modern scouting I see some well-intentioned persons in the national office pushing the latest buzz phrases of “anti-bullying.” This is a profound mistake and flaw in the scouting program. It is a mistake that unintentionally contributes to conflicts rather than calms conflicts. (I must admit the BSA’s approach is less egregious than other similar campaigns that I have seen. There are fewer “don’t” phrases and more “here are things to watch out for”.)
Have you ever watched your son run around a pool deck, right next to a lifeguard? What does the college-aged lifeguard usually do? The lifeguard yells, “Don’t run!” What happens? Your son may slow down to a jog or to a walk or to a skip. Very quickly though, the lifeguard’s admonition is forgotten. Almost certainly in the next 5 minutes, the lifeguard will again be yelling, “Don’t run!” again. Is this a lesson that boys just don’t listen?
What happens if the lifeguard changes her admonition? What if she yells, “Walk!”? In my personal experience, the lifeguard won’t have to contend with jogging or skipping. She will have to contend with running 5 minutes later. With a second admonition of “Walk!” she will likely have to intercede less often. Overall the pool deck will have more kids walking. Read the rest of this entry »
Changes Coming to YPT before Jan. 1st?
From Crossroads of America Council’s Director of Training Jay Soucy:
There may be changes to the Youth Protection Training that will take [p]lace this year. I expect to hear more before the end of the month. Which means it will be out of social Media sooner.
So, be on the look out and share what you learn first.
How Do I Take Online YPT Again?
So you want to do your online training for YPT, but you can’t remember where to go?
NOTE: Remember if your YPT expires before March 1, 2018, you need to take YPT or VYPT before October 1, 2017 in order to avoid problems with your unit’s rechartering process this fall.
First, go to http://my.scouting.org.
Second, log in to your existing account. (Try to avoid creating a new account, because it generates a new, separate BSA Membership ID. That can create future problems. But if you need a new login account, you need one.)
Third, using the button in the upper left corner, select “My Dashboard.”
Fourth, using the button just below “My Dashboard,” select “My Training.” Your screen should now look like this:
Fifth, select “Retake Course.”
Sixth, when you are done, make sure to print out or save your Certificate of Completion.
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