Adult Registration - DOB Mandatory?

[kari_cardi]

I routinely turn in youth apps that have the birth date of the parent left blank without a problem. I don't think it means anything nefarious, just that the parents are self-conscious or cautious about their personal information.

 

For adult applications,, I've had issues with people not willing to give their driver's license number or Social security number. I don't blame them, they don't know me or the BSA and it's a leap of faith at best. I've never had a leader balk, though, just parents or guardians who do not live at the same address as the scout.

[Stosh]

Gee, I remember the day when my Driver's License had my name, address, DOB on it. Oh, and by the way, the DL number was my SS number. It was also my student ID number when I was in college in the 1970's and twenty years later in the 1990's. Oh, how things have changed over the years. I especially like the denial of bank account numbers to strangers. Like already said, it's on every check you have ever written!

 

Every time you leave your card with a waitress/waiter to "take back to the cashier, you run the risk of a double swipe, or rubbing of numbers. Your smartphone can be hacked by a passerby and your credit cards swiped by the same hacker walking down the street.

 

I am more leery of people walking down the street who have the potential of stealing my identity than the BSA.

 

As far as the argument of "having to show your papers." Grocery stores ask for it all the time when you buy a 6-pack, liquor or tobacco, buy a gun, pay your taxes, get a loan, pulled over by the police, cash a check, withdraw funds from a bank, and a hundred other times, except when you vote, then it is unconstitutional and will keep old people from voting.

 

If people want to steal your identity, there are a ton of easier ways of giving it away than filling out a BSA application.

 

Stosh

[Pack18Alex]

It's a Youth Application (the Adult Partner), just turn it in. If BSA kicks it out, deal with it then...

 

Especially if it's for the mom... my momma taught me to NEVER ask a woman her age.

[walk in the woods]

They don't want to give their DOBs???? Why? Are they afraid that someone might send them a birthday card? I'd be curious as to what else they might be "hiding". Something doesn't gel here.

The difference of course is that the scouts are already in the program and the parents have agreed to the parameters of the program. In short, they've already submitted to the BSA-state. In the OPs case, the parents are trying to determine if there is enough value in the program to turn over their private information. Apples and Oranges. I also find it curious that a person posting under an pseudonym is accusing folks of hiding something.......

[walk in the woods]

I routinely turn in youth apps that have the birth date of the parent left blank without a problem. I don't think it means anything nefarious, just that the parents are self-conscious or cautious about their personal information.

 

For adult applications,, I've had issues with people not willing to give their driver's license number or Social security number. I don't blame them, they don't know me or the BSA and it's a leap of faith at best. I've never had a leader balk, though, just parents or guardians who do not live at the same address as the scout.

I can't blame them for balking on the SSN or DL. In Illinois all drivers licenses are of the form X999-1234-5678. The X999 part maps to a unique last name, the 45 part is the year of birth and the 678 part is the date of birth.

[koolaidman]

DOB is publicly available through information provided by the government. I can look up most adult's DOB on ancestry.com. It's not really private data.

[King Ding Dong]

They don't want to give their DOBs???? Why? Are they afraid that someone might send them a birthday card? I'd be curious as to what else they might be "hiding". Something doesn't gel here.

Curious indeed. I have to keep my relationship with Twinkie the Kid a secret from the BSA.

[frankpalazzi]

They don't want to give their DOBs???? Why? Are they afraid that someone might send them a birthday card? I'd be curious as to what else they might be "hiding". Something doesn't gel here.

A DOB can mean the difference between identifying John Q.Smith, the serial killer, and John Q. Smith, the average citizen.

[Basementdweller]

They don't want to give their DOBs???? Why? Are they afraid that someone might send them a birthday card? I'd be curious as to what else they might be "hiding". Something doesn't gel here.

Nice DC so tell me how many scouts have you lost over the adult application and the background check. I have lost 4.

 

One failed three dropped after looking at the app

[walk in the woods]

They don't want to give their DOBs???? Why? Are they afraid that someone might send them a birthday card? I'd be curious as to what else they might be "hiding". Something doesn't gel here.

None over DoB. A couple of potential leaders refused SSN. A couple refused to list an email address, preferring to give it to me directly.

[Basementdweller]

They don't want to give their DOBs???? Why? Are they afraid that someone might send them a birthday card? I'd be curious as to what else they might be "hiding". Something doesn't gel here.

I suggest they don't put an email on the app.....

[Eliza]

It's a Youth Application (the Adult Partner), just turn it in. If BSA kicks it out, deal with it then...

 

Especially if it's for the mom... my momma taught me to NEVER ask a woman her age.

Yes, exactly.

[Eliza]

A number of years ago, SM asked me to get a list from Council so he could see if Council advancement records matched pack records. I was handed a list that included all registered adults and their ages. Also, isn't there a blank spot for age on some trip forms?

 

For comparison, in Girl Scouts, adults are asked their birth dates, but the computer will not kick out the registration if you input 1/1/1900. Girls Scout adults who are applying as leaders get a code, which they then use when contacting a commercial background checking agency; all the GS Council gets re age is something like: '21-50', 'over 50.' So the Council simply does not have age info to give out.