ScoutNut

Since you plan on staying at least one year, these are the things I would concentrate on - #1 - Encourage every registered adult to get completely trained for their position. #2 - Pack meetings held monthly. The boys should be recognized for what they are doing as soon as possible after they have completed it. Don't worry about denners, or den flags right now. They are nice, a good thing to have/do, but not having them does not make it a bad program. Den Chiefs are great to have - if you can find them. They are Boy Scouts, not Cub Scouts. You can ask area BS Troops for den chiefs, but if they do not have any boys wiling to make the commitment you can not force them. The boys in your affiliated Boy Scout Troop are to young and inexperienced to make good den chiefs for a young Pack with problems. Nothing you can do about adults not being in uniform. You are not the uniform police. The most you can do is make sure you are in uniform. You might want to talk to your CM about contacting your Unit Commissioner. Your UC can/should be your Pack's mentor.

If you can not read the information, you can request she fill out the form online - http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34605_Letter.pdf And then email it to you. I would ask her to provide as much information about his conditions and medications as possible so that the camp staff can be prepared. I don't think you can ask for a copy of her medical license. It is not required of any other medical professional. As long as she has signed the forms as BOTH parent/guardian and health care provider (2 separate places and 2 separate signatures), you should be OK.

"I still do not think it is fair for the boys who participate in sports to only attend one meeting from September to December and have that be considered active." Not fair how? To who? The only way it would not be fair is if the den leader was signing them off as completing requirements they did not do. According to BSA you can NOT add an attendance requirement (must attend X% of meetings and Y% of outings in order to receive AOL).

While only 2 or 3 Tigers might be disappointing, it can work out fine. The key is to inspire the families and to really bring them together as Tiger Teams working together in/for their den and their boys. Having a den leader who stays with the Tiger den only, or another seasoned leader who can be their den leader for a few months to get them acclimated and on their feet, and then stays available as a mentor, works wonderfully. Two years ago my Tiger den was only 3 boys. They had a great time together. All year the boys and their parents tried to recruit more boys. They talked it up in school, on the playground, in sports, and wherever they could. For one reason or another, no one could join us that year, but they did get interest stirred up. One of the dads signed on as official den leader for their Wolf year, with the parents of the other two working with him. Their den of 3 is now a happy Bear den of 7! Don't combine the Tigers with another den. They miss out on the Tiger program, of Tiger Teams and shared leadership. The Tiger den is the perfect time to teach what Scouting is all about and to grow future volunteers who are enthusiastic about the program.

"In general, step-parents are NOT legal guardians of their step children, so it sounds like there's a problem with my participation." No one said there was a problem with your participation. What was said was that "there MAY be some "youth protection" policies that need to be addressed." This is WAY different than "a problem" with you participating with your stepson. There is really no big problem at all. You have not said why you feel unwelcome at Scouting events. You stated that you "oversaw" a couple of projects at the Cub level, but do not know what they were for. You also said your wife was involved in Cub Scouts, and, after only a few months, is also very involved in the Boy Scout Troop, but you don't know how, or as what. Could it be that you feel left out by your wife? Could your feelings about Scouting have a bit of the "sour grapes" about them?

I'm sorry you have had that experience. It is not true in all BSA units across the country. As a matter of fact, I feel safe stating that it would be true in only a very, very, few. Cub Scouts is a family program. BSA specifically states it does not define what constitutes a family. Boy Scouts is less family oriented as the boys learn to do for themselves. However, parents are still encouraged to be involved. Maybe if you registered, and volunteered with your son's Troop, you might feel a bit more included. If things are very bad, I would suggest that you and your son look for a Troop that is a better fit and more welcoming.

Per the 2008 Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures book, BSA defines "active" as - A Scout will be considered active in his unit if he is 1. Registered in his unit (registration fees are current) 2. Not dismissed from his unit for disciplinary reasons 3. Engaged by his unit leadership on a regular basis While this is listed under Boy Scout Advancement, it is a good guideline for Cubs too. In Cub Scouts, the criteria for everything they do is "Do Your Best". This includes Webelos. At the beginning of their first year of Webelos the changes in the program from Wolf and Bear should have been explained to both the boys and their parents. It would be a good idea to now do another den meeting with the parents present and refresh the rules of how the Webelos program works. Remind them that all of the boys advance at their OWN rate. The choice is theirs. You will not be constantly repeating things for the boys who miss them. If they miss den meetings and den activities, they are responsible to do the activity on their own, document it, and bring it in to be reviewed and approved by the den leader. BTW, if one boy takes until April to finish up his AOL, it in NO WAY "diminishes" the work of the boy who received his in December. Every boy is different, and BSA recognizes that. They should get their awards as soon as possible after they have earned them. No matter when they earn them.

>>"Usually dens would wait till webelos for den chiefs"

Not fussing. I added my comment as an FYI. He has stated in other threads that he is new to Scouting. It is very possible that he missed the incident at the Pack meeting because he was engaged in doing to many things at once. This is assuming that there actually WAS an incident at the Pack meeting. Considering no one but this one person had any knowledge of it, and they waited a month to tell anyone, I would not automatically condemn the boy, and give the family a "last warning". The questions I asked, should be asked of the parent who is only now coming up with this accusation. If the answers sound like there might possibly be some kind of merit in the accusation, I would then talk to the boy, AND his family together to see if we could sort it out. At this point, we, and the opening poster, have no idea what REALLY happened at the Pack meeting.

Put the strings on. You will then not have to try to figure out later on if little Tony needs a string or not. Take one string - fold it in half - take the folded middle and put it thru one (1) hole partway - take the 2 ends and bring them up thru the resulting loop - pull tight. This keeps the string on the Totem without a need for knots. Most likely the boys will have also earned at least one bead along with their Totem. Slip the bead on one of the strings - push it part way up - take the bottom of the string and bring it up, around the bead, and back down the hole at the top - Pull snug. Again, this will lock the bead on without knots, and only has to be done with the bottom most bead. Knots in the plastic cording slip out VERY easily.

Per your previous posts you have stated your Pack has only about 15 boys. That means that allowing for a few no-shows, you had a rather small group at last month's Pack meeting. Why did only 1 person know that this boy had a questionable magazine at the Pack meeting? Why is it that this person did nothing, and said nothing to you (as CM), or to one of the boys parents, or to anyone else, at the time? Why wait a month to bring this up? Is there some sort of "bad blood" involved between the two families that might be coming out now for some reason? Also, as an FYI, it is against BSA policy for one person to be both a CM and DL. It is actually impossible to be REGISTERED as both since BSA's computer system would not accept it. Since a registered CM is needed in order to have a Charter, your registered position must be that of CM. Your Pack would be better served if you found a new DL for the Bear den.

>>"The parents may take xl's approach and think it's no big deal. Or they may go off on him. That is their choice. It is my responsibility to make them aware of their son's behavior. I'm not going to be put into a position where I appear to have given tacit approval to the behavior by ignoring it."

"How would you handle pornography found at meetings/campouts?" Irregardless of the age of the youth involved - I would confiscate it, explain that this was neither the time, or place for it, return it to his parent at the end of the activity with an explanation of where/how it was discovered. After that it would be up to the parent to do as their belief system dictates.

It does matter whether or not you believe in a certain law. You can debate moral and ethical quandaries until your fingers fall off. I do not care what you teach YOUR children, or let them do, or not do. However, this is Scouting, not debate class. When it come to MY kids, and the kids that have been entrusted to my care, I care a LOT. There is a time and place for all things. A scouting event is neither the time, or the place to be viewing porn. If you can not agree with that, then you are NOT the type of person I want influencing MY kids. PERIOD. This is not YOUR program, and these are not YOUR kids. As a registered leader you promise to live by the Scout Oath, Promise, and Law. You promise to follow the BSA's Charter, Bylaws, rules and regulations. As parents, we expect the BSA leaders we are entrusting our children to, to respect us, and the BSA program they have promised to follow. If you can't do that, then you should find another program that fits YOUR belief system better.

No one has been blocked from any goals as of yet. The young man still has 2 levels of appeals he can go thru. If, for whatever reason, his appeal at his Council level fails, he can still appeal to the BSA National Committee. At that point BSA National will research the situation. You don't expect the owner of your company to step in if you are having problems at work with the person in the next cubicle. As to the number of Cub Scout Packs in your area, that usually depends on the size of the town you live in and where it is located. Small towns, especially very rural ones, might have only 1 Cub Pack. In that case you might have to expand your search to nearby towns too. You can check the Pack Finder here - http://www.joincubscouting.org/ Put in your zip code and it should give you a list of Cub Scout Packs by town and Charter Organization. It also gives you contact information for your BSA Council. You could give them a call and ask for a contact list of Cubmasters for Packs in your area. I would not worry about finding a Boy Scout Troop just yet. You have 4.5-5 years to go before your son reaches that point.

For the last 11 years, I have had my Tigers meet weekly, 3 den meetings (with 1 a possible outing), and 1 Pack meeting. That is not to say that I have had 100% attendence at every meeting. We work around the families schedules when we must. I have never had a problem.

There appears to be 2 different tax numbers referenced here. A FEDERAL tax identification number (EIN) is used by banks and the IRS to determine Federal income and employer taxes. You need to have one if you have an interest bearing bank account. It is fairly easy for a unit to obtain their own EIN. It can even be done online at the IRS. Having an EIN does not mean you are automatically a 501©(3) entity. A STATE Sales Tax Exemption number is a entirely different thing. It allows you to avoid paying state sales tax when purchasing items to be used for your unit. Every state has different rules for who are issued these numbers, and how they can be used. Here, the state of Illinois, extends exemption from it's sales tax to all BSA Councils in the state, and all of their chartered units. There is one Exemption number that is used by all Scouters statewide. It is up to Colorado as to how they administer this. I see no reason to need your PTA's EIN for a Pack Picnic unless you are soliciting donations of $75 and over. Even then, per the IRS, donors of $75 and over must be given a written acknowledgment from the charitable organization, which in your case is the PTA - NOT the Pack. What you would more likely need is the State Sales Tax Exemption. I would suggest contacting your council to see how that is handled in Colorado. The DL holding onto money from a Council sponsored fundraiser confuses me. Who was in charge of the fundraiser in your Pack? Did they keep track of who was selling, and who paid what? Did the Council get it's portion of the profit? Did the boys get all of their incentives? Why did the Pack Treasurer not know that all of the Pack's profit had not been turned in? It sounds like your Pack's procedures for money earning projects need to be looked at.

"I'm worried that if I don't stay to help mentor the new leaders, the pack will fail just when things are starting to improve." You have stated that you absolutely can not work with both the Troop and the Pack at the same time. You have also stated that you must go to the Troop with your son. That leaves you few options. Both you and the CM have offered to be "on call" as such, to the Pack for advice. Mentoring a BSA unit is the job of the Commissioner Service. Does the Pack have a UC? You might want to talk to either your UC or DC about the leadership problems and about the Commissioner Service being more available to them at this time. I don't see that there is very much else you can do given your situation.

This is not new. The announcements are over 4 years old. All things related to children (toys, jewelry, etc) have to be tested for lead. That is how BSA found out that the Wolf/Bear Immediate Recognition Totem had high lead levels and had to be replaced.

Code of conduct - make sure the boys help write it, and have input into any consequences. Conduct candle/bead jar - Go with the bead jar. Most CO's are not to fond of potential sources of fires. Also, do not make it just a negative reward. Positive rewards are more in keeping with the goals and methods of BSA, and simply work better. Mark the jar with tape at various doable intervals. Have the boys put a bead in when they do positive things, and take one out when they violate the code of conduct. When beads reach tape do something extra and fun with the boys. It can be as simple as a meeting in the playground. Den Doodle - Used mainly to track award progress. Can be used in conjunction with conduct jar if you have enough "doodles" to use for everyone. Denner - NOT a reward! This is a way for the boys to learn leadership, not a "beauty contest". If you have enough boys use a Denner and Asst Denner. Have boys vote for them. Most votes gets Denner (use Denner shoulder cord). Second most gets Asst Denner. Rotate Denners monthly. Asst Denner moves up to Denner (with Denner cord), boys vote for new Asst Denner (previous denners and asst denners names are not included). This gives every boy a chance to learn, and grow. Not just a select few. Structured meetings - Good idea, as long as you don't structure all of the fun out. Remember that a meeting can be boring whether it is structured or not. Move things along. Sit down stuff mixed in with up and moving stuff, songs, and games. Don't spend the entire hour having the boys sitting at tables. The boys should not feel like they are attending just another hour of school.

"I know in my unit, we will just hand them a copy of our re-charter. Rather pointless isn't it?" Well, if that is what you are going to do, yes. It rather defeats the whole purpose. Unless you re-charter June 1, a copy of your last re-charter will not have any of the boys you have registered since then, including any crossover Webelos. While your Troop might register all incoming boys immediately online, and bring every transfer/new registration form into your council registrar the day they sign up, not every Troop does. It sounds to me like your District is trying to be pro-active and find any boys (and adults) whose membership has either 1) slipped thru the cracks, or 2) not been renewed. It is simply a double check to insure that the people units have on their roster are also on the District's roster, and to double check with the ones not showing up to see if they can be convinced to register . Why do you view this as a bad thing?

One comment you made in your opening post struck me as strange. You stated - "My son is eligible for a Palm on June, Day X+7. It has to be exactly a minimum of 3 months between Eagle Palms and his last one was on March, Day X +7. The Scoutmaster is already complaining about the one my son will need in September, Day X+7" You also stated your son has many years to go until he reaches 18 years of age. Does he really need to cut it to EXACTLY 3 months in order to get all of his Palms in by his 18th birthday? Scouting is about more than just bling, and he already has the badges.

"inquisition rooms" ? Whoa! Sounds like torture time to me! BOR's are friendly 10-15 minute chats, not inquisitions! If held on meeting nights, after the official meeting is over, they should not interfere with anything.

The BSA "policy" stating that parents may only teach their own son in a group setting, that coastalscouter is referring to is currently only a blurb on the new National Web site. It is in a FAQ under Merit Badges, and is not supported anywhere else at this time (that I can find). Most of the links on the new site are broken. The link to the supplemental training for Merit Badge Counselors is one of those broken links. This training had stated that while the use of a variety of adults as MB Counselors was preferred in order to best utilize the Adult Association method, the only restriction for parents counseling their own son was that they must still use the Buddy System. It could very well be that BSA is changing it's rules on this point. Coastalscouter, if you wish to use that FAQ as BSA policy to keep your new parents from turning Merit Badges into Cub Scouts go right ahead. I would also reccomend that first you explain the Boy Scout program to these parents. Then enforce the (well documented) BSA policy that all MB Counselors, have the skills necessary for the MB's they wish to teach, be registered and approved by your Charter Org and council, and complete Youth Protection training. You might also require them to take MB Counselor training, BEFORE, they are allowed to counsel any of the boys in your Troop. Adding documented BSA rules to Troop bylaws is unnecessary.

ScoutParent Unit Coordinator is a REGISTERED position. Is this woman registered? Has she taken the training for her position? The training she should have is - at the very least - Youth Protection, ScoutParents Unit Coordinator Fast Start, This Is Scouting. Pack Committee Fast Start, and Pack Committee Leader Specific would also be good. Personally, it does not sound to me like she has taken any training, or have any idea of what her "job description" really is. According to the Fast Start, her MAIN job description is to recruit parent volunteers for the unit. Starting off small, like getting parents to drive Scouts to an event, and eventually getting them more and more involved until they are doing the bigger, leader jobs, like den leader, Committee Chair, etc. She is supposed to do this by getting to know the families, becoming their friend, helping the unit's parents understand Scouting, working at the unit's new parent meeting, encourage parents participation in unit events, encourage all parents to take training, help new parents to get to know the other parents in the unit, and make sure all of the unit's parent volunteers are recognized for their efforts. Since she is doing her absolute best to turn parents off, she is not even close to fulfilling any part of her job.