Ojoman

Of course, well trained leaders with strong, healthy packs and troops should be in a position to create their own unit culture/environment. It's been years but my sons cub pack only availed itself of the district training committee and daycamp. Beyond that it had a strong committee, did not allow dens larger than 8 youth and all leaders were trained and ran a 12 month program. Virtually 100% retention and annual growth. If the unit leadership doesn't see the district or council as being of value then call a parents meeting and build your own structure. My kids pack virtually rose from the ashes. Granted, it does take the right leadership to pull it off but I would encourage every unit to do this, even in a positive culture... it pays off.

The SE is an employee of the council. The COR is a voting member of the council and can and should attend the annual business meeting and can participate in board meetings. If enough reps raise enough issues, the board should take action. Of course, raising issues is not the same as having positive suggestions. Discussions at district committee meetings might be a good place to start. Sessions at a U of Sctg can also be a place to encourage discourse to help find solutions to issues.

Does your council/district foster a positive or toxic volunteer environment? What can be done to improve it and make it more positive or take it from toxic to positive or are you happy with where it is at? Things that make for a positive environment: transparency, good communication, program and training support, good PR, fellowship opportunities, emphasis on quality, low pressure environment, encouragement and thank you, proper recognition for efforts and accomplishment. Connected, properly trained and staffed council executive board, district committee’s and commissioner staffs and positively motivated council employees. Thoughts on how to accomplish and bring about change where it is needed.

This may be the last year that we really can get any sort of an accurate year to year membership picture as you point out with individual registrations spread through the year instead of at recharter time. I suspect that one reason for new members paying the whole 12 months up front is to guarantee that National collects a 12 month fee from those that would join in the fall and drop out prior to recharter after only paying for 3 or 4 months.

You might discuss with your council management what the 'critical achievements' are for the unit serving execs. Usually the primary ones deal with money (product sale, FOS, events and such) or unit/membership growth. There are often others that fall into 'quality' areas such as Journey to Excellence, camp (long term scout and cub summer programs) and so on. These are supposed to be reviewed at least quarterly. Management by Objective is common place in BSA. Goals/criticals are weighted so crucial ones tend to get more attention, like membership and money.

You never know and even with growth it can be deceiving... I always wanted to see the numbers after all the recharters are processed. Year end with most units rechartering in December means the losses don't show up until January and the dropped units I believe still lapse and stay on for 2 additional months so you don't get a true membership picture until March. I believe the district I'm in expects to drop 3 of its 37 units... I would want to see the March to March comparison. By then most crossovers are completed so you get a good picture of if there was growth by program. December might look good and then the losses show up in January and March and the great year end turns out to be a mirage. You know the adage, figures never lie but ....

I would hope that means your unit is healthy/strong and not in need of intervention. Perhaps a recent change of DE? In your position do you attend roundtables or district events? COR's are also part of the District Committee and those meetings are open to unit scouters to attend. In a large district it may take awhile for the DE to get around and meet everyone. I would hope you soon have a working knowledge of your DE but on the most positive of conditions.

While I do in fact, tend to lean towards the survivors, from my personal experience I question really how many cases the BSA has culpability in. Is every case in the bankruptcy documented in BSA files or are there others that have only surfaced recently... When one does not have all the facts for either side it brings to mind the old adage of 'figures never lie but liars sure can figure'... not that anyone on either side intentionally lies but half truths and misinformation can lead even the best intentioned persons far astray. My personal hope it that this issue can soon be put to rest and the BSA and the survivors can get on with life. God Bless us all!

Quite true, a youth or adult can join at any time and reputation/word of mouth/peer to peer recruiting ought to be ongoing. Having said that, few schools would want to distribute flyers or hold recruiting events year round. If you have good relationships with your school administration, board and PTO you might get a fall and spring and perhaps a January opportunity. This would be especially true if you were helping to host a PTO event like a movie night, ice cream social or dance.

I did the Forbes Trail on opening day... great fun. I am the advisor for our new Erie Canal Historic Trail that kids 10 to 18 can hike, bike or boat... https://www.williamhillcourtmuseum.org/announcing-a-new-award-that-can-be-earned-the-erie-canal-trail-medal-and-patch

I'm done with this topic... beating a dead horse... I have no agenda, hidden or otherwise... from my experience the BSA was far ahead of other youth programs in taking steps to protect kids for all types of abuse. (I could be in error but that's my experience). Hindsight is so wonderful... let's blame people that made good faith efforts dealing with the laws and circumstances. I expect that right this moment there are a few people in the program that are a danger to kids but there is no way, until they act and are reported, to know who they are so when something happens let's blame the BSA for not being psychic. It is obvious that some folks are still in so much pain (and I feel for them) that they need to vent against the 'system'. I've had 'issues' in my own life that were quite painful but I did move on. Folks can quote me, make negative comments about me and my posts but for my money the BSA is still tops for helping kids grow to be solid citizens. Character, citizenship and fitness should never go out of style and giving kids the Oath and Law as standards to shoot for will always be a positive. Don't look for any more posts from me. I'm just glad the bankruptcy is settled and the BSA can start to rebuild and recover.

A s i recall though the police were in the loop. The SE was supposed to immediately suspend the volunteer and had to be notified.

Having been 'on the inside'in the 70's, 80's, 90's and more I can tell you that the BSA was doing youth protection training way back. We had 'experts' on VHS tapes telling volunteers and parents the signs, we had 2 deep leadership rules, and we had handouts and even a quiz on the subject for years before any other agency even thought about this type of training. As time passed more steps were added. With the advent of digital cameras and phones that could record that was added to the mix. Sorry to break your balloon but I was a BSA employee and I know how active the BSA was over 4 decades ago in addressing this problem. Predators don't arrive with a scarlet letter on their shirt. They look just like everyone else and most of them don't have a record. The BSA was well ahead of the curve. People are imperfect and can sometimes be overly trusting and it sounds like your case was one such case (of a significant number). In an agency dealing with many millions of kids and millions of adults over the years things happen. Doesn't make it right or dismiss it. You can't make wrongs right but for the councils I worked in and the professionals I worked with, I can say that your words are in error. Regardless of the motive it is well to remember that the BSA was a part of the awakening of all youth agencies to the issue of abuse. You may say too little, too late and as a victim I understand your feelings. The bastard that abused you, I hope he got a long, long sentence. I hope that all the volunteers that I helped train did protect the youth in their charge and that my efforts to hold up the BSA youth protection standards protected kids. The BSA has well over 40 decades of getting the word out. Not once did I ever hear anyone say, ignore it, sweep it under the rug... we need to protect our image. Just had to respond to your point of view with my actual experiences.

Be sure if you speak to his superior or council exec to let them know how much he is appreciated. Volunteer feedback is valuable... Thanks for the post!

With new members both youth and adult having to pay the full year up front and with most units now running a January to December charter it seems ideal and logical to be recruiting in January. Pay for the year and get into the program with lots of time to set aside funds for summer camps and other programs. Packs can get their new members in for the Blue n Gold anniversary events and Troops can recruit in grade 5 but have to hold off registering for two months which gives families time to set aside the funds. In the meantime they can either register with the pack and transfer or 'visit' the troop and get a feel for what they will be joining. I think January recruiting is a great idea and a youth might even complete AOL if you count January and June as full months and then crossover. (I don't think too many would object to that).

Exactly!

Since you asked why else... It is assumed that the BSA shirked its duty to protect kids because not every case was criminally prosecuted and the the sole reason was to protect the BSA image. While I don't have the proof I would bet that there were many thousands of abusers who were prosecuted and also that a fair number of the 82k cases were known to authorities but for various reasons charges did not go forward for the same reason that many rape cases don't go forward. A lack of evidence, reluctance of families to testify, the amount of time that passes before an accusation is made, reluctance to count on a child's testimony, the disappearance of the perpetrator and so on. However, I will go on record as believing that in many cases local or national officials did not want the bad press. The one case I was involved with a volunteer got 3 teens (Jr/Sr HS, age 17) after a Red Cross class he ran. They were to 'join' him for a 'party' and after some drinking (and maybe drugs) he got them all engaged in sex. One of the teens was a scout. The newspaper, when the story broke headlined 'SCOUT LEADER ARRESTED FOR MOLESTATION'. The Red Cross director told our exec, 'I'm glad the Boy Scouts sell more newspapers than the Red Cross. I hope my response doesn't come across as insensitive. I seem to have already ruffled too many feathers. It is a sensitive issue.

My basic understanding of the new national fees is that part of that is included in the settlement structure. FOS type donations should be available to councils for any and all council needs. (Please correct me if you know differently) so donors today shouldn't have to worry about nes council endowment funds or properties going to settle abuse claims. Having said that... 20 years ago my council sold off their service center and one in a council we merged with and I know ours was from a quarter of a million $$$ gift just a few years earlier and they also sold off a camp that came in a merger. Most of the funds were used to pay off accumulated debt by a scout exec that couldn't raise funds. Personally, I blame the board for putting up with that particular SE for as long as they did. The staff and many volunteers knew what was going on. Mismanagement at all levels does play a significant role as to where the BSA finds itself today.

I do agree that there are a lot of things that could be done to better manage expenses but my council is raising fewer dollars now than they did 25 years ago and that means that they are really only raising about 30% of what the actual value of those old dollars could purchase. This council has not kept pace with inflation, it has cut staff and services which has resulted in higher membership and unit losses than the national average. It reflects bad management all around. We do have the William Hillcourt Museum which is a bright spot in an otherwise dark landscape but that is totally run by volunteers and has paid its own way for the past quarter century. I have said for years that the council should build an income event around it. Beyond that the council needs to rethink all of their budgetary needs and prioritize rebuilding the unit serving aspect of the operation.

What bothers me more than National raising their fees are all the councils that are tacking on 'service and insurance' fees. First it was the national charter fee, then a council insurance fee, (the insurance fee I understand because years ago units had to carry their own accident and illness coverage until councils took it over) and then they started with the services fee. I never worked in a council that charged a 'services' fee. We (the professional staff) raised funds through the product sale, the family and community friends of scouting campaign and major gifts or events. In my later years I generally had all my finance goals met by June so I could focus on the summer camping duties. I was generally the only one that consistently did that. To this day I feel that the board and professional staff supported by district volunteers should raise those funds and the units only pay the national fees. My council basically doubles the fee with their surcharges. Not a good thing. A neighboring council only charges a small insurance fee. I could live with that.

Fee increases were built into the settlement along with a projected increase in membership. I suspect that if membership does not grow as projected that the fee increases may be even more. It appears that our council will end the year down in membership. In two months we should have a new Scout Exec and we'll see if that makes a difference.

The sad fact remains that there is no foolproof way to end abuse towards children. I wish there was. From what I have read and heard abuse against adolescents has increased, especially with the advent of social media. I have contributed to the training of many, many volunteers in the area of youth protection. As a parent and grandparent nothing is more important than to do all we can to see that predators of any kind are held in check. Any program that served youths is a target for those attracted to them. There is really no way to identify predators until a victim comes forward. That is the sad and tragic reality. No one should ever be an enabler for child abusers, not even just by ignoring or looking the other way. Every person should be a mandatory reporter. Another real problem is that most child welfare agencies are understaffed and abuse reports don't always get the attention that they should. Living in an imperfect world with imperfect systems and people is not an excuse but it is the reality. I hope you get your day in court and that justice prevails.

I would hope that i never make a disrespectful statement regarding any victim. The damage and scars that remain will impact you and others for life, no question. Sadly, there was and still is a learning curve on how to prevent and how to treat incidents of abuse. 90% of the cases were 30 or more years old. Some extended back half a century. The BSA's ineligible volunteer files was the first step to try to keep kids safe. Back in the 60's and 70's there wasn't a lot of studies available and no national data bases for background checks. Ideally, when incidents happened they would have been reported and acted upon and I do know of a couple that were acted upon and I do not personally know of any that were swept under the rug (but the lawsuit says there were many). My issue is that the lawsuit did not go after the predators, their assets and finances. The entire blame was foisted on the BSA. Yes, I and my kids had a positive experience with the program. That does not mean we have zero empathy for victims. I have been friends for decades with one of my Scouts that was victimized by a family member and others outside of Scouting. Scouting was a real positive in his life and helped get him past that trauma. I wish you all the best in pulling you life together... Take care and God Bless...

Some troops get known as 'merit badge or eagle mills' driven by the SM or a small group of adults... Not that earning EAgle is bad but the direction and purpose of the program is overall character, citizenship and personal fitness. Some Troops shut down for the summer with the possible exception of summer camp because 'that's how we have always done it. Some troops shun district or council involvement because of a leaders attitude, some troops sit on their duff and expect a crop of AOL's each year without lifting a finger to assist the Pack. Some leaders never get 'updated' at a u of sctg and only update that training that is required to remain a volunteer. Some leaders never encourage their youth members to bring a buddy to an event to 'try scouting out'. and do little or no recruitment promotion with their troop. Some troop leaders never utilize their youth leaders in planning program and often are doing the SPL role limiting the leadership growth and potential of the youth SPL. Some troop leaders don't invite or recruit other adults/parents to become leaders because they don't want new blood or new ideas to interfere with how things have always been done. I suppose I could go on but that is a start...

It pains me to read your response. As a unit serving professional for 30 years I always tried to have a good relationship with my unit people and many of them came on board both district and council committees and for events including giving up a lot of their time to support summer programs like cub and webelo resident weekend camps. Both DE's and District/council volunteers need to cultivate solid relationships with unit volunteers as that is where the bulk of district volunteers come from. Let your words be a cautionary tale to all district level professionals and volunteers that they may be aware and avoid such a poor performance and leaving a bad taste in unit level volunteers mouths.