Significant youth protection changes

[69RoadRunner]

Another thing I noted in the new training that makes sense is requiring us to copy another adult on digital communication with scouts.  We often have to email/text the SPL or a scout who is responsible for presenting something at a meeting, the grubmaster, etc. when there are unexpected changes.  Now just make sure you copy an adult.

Like the other rules, this protects adults from false charges just as it protects the youth from predators.

Back to adult volunteers on campouts, other than adult parents of scouts with special needs, we've really only had the scoutmaster and us ASMs on the campouts.  It's not that we deny others, but getting volunteers, like everywhere else, is not easy.  We're not a large troop, so that probably is a contributing factor.  We certainly welcome and need more volunteers.

Edited April 17, 2018 by 69RoadRunner

[ItsBrian]

1 hour ago, 69RoadRunner said:

Another thing I noted in the new training that makes sense is requiring us to copy another adult on digital communication with scouts.  We often have to email/text the SPL or a scout who is responsible for presenting something at a meeting, the grubmaster, etc. when there are unexpected changes.  Now just make sure you copy an adult.

Like the other rules, this protects adults from false charges just as it protects the youth from predators.

Back to adult volunteers on campouts, other than adult parents of scouts with special needs, we've really only had the scoutmaster and us ASMs on the campouts.  It's not that we deny others, but getting volunteers, like everywhere else, is not easy.  We're not a large troop, so that probably is a contributing factor.  We certainly welcome and need more volunteers.

The communication rule where you have 2 leaders has always been required. If it wasn’t in YPT, it was in something.

[Jameson76]

55 minutes ago, ItsBrian said:

The communication rule where you have 2 leaders has always been required. If it wasn’t in YPT, it was in something.

The e-mail is pretty simple, as you can add someone to an e-mail and the string continues

Texting is a challenge, we just start a new text string and add another leader.  Also we have scouts ask questions on the instagram feed, but that is public and we have multiple admins, so not a huge difference from asking something at a meeting

Luckily current generation of scouts do not realize the iphone is in fact a phone and they can have actual verbal communications with someone, so we have not had to do conference calls

[Hawkwin]

30 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

Luckily current generation of scouts do not realize the iphone is in fact a phone

In light of the communication requirements, I would think phone calls to be prohibited since you cannot easily incorporate another adult in the conversation. I tell my scout to always email and copy me. It also gives us a record of his outgoing communication. For some reason, we have a real hard time with getting adults to be responsible in replying to email so by him sending such, he has a record of his attempts. He recently emailed a Nova Counselor to start one of the projects and after their initial reply with agreeing to help, his last three emails to them have gone unanswered.

[fred johnson]

Phone calls ... I'm surprised I did not consider the affect on phone calls.  I try to have my wife in the same room, but sometimes I field calls while driving.  I'm not sure how to work around this issue. 

[ItsBrian]

1 hour ago, Hawkwin said:

In light of the communication requirements, I would think phone calls to be prohibited since you cannot easily incorporate another adult in the conversation. I tell my scout to always email and copy me. It also gives us a record of his outgoing communication. For some reason, we have a real hard time with getting adults to be responsible in replying to email so by him sending such, he has a record of his attempts. He recently emailed a Nova Counselor to start one of the projects and after their initial reply with agreeing to help, his last three emails to them have gone unanswered.

I remember seeing on one of our day camp emails where it was something like “if you’re under 18 and call me please make sure to have an adult around”

[Jameson76]

4 hours ago, fred johnson said:

Phone calls ... I'm surprised I did not consider the affect on phone calls.  I try to have my wife in the same room, but sometimes I field calls while driving.  I'm not sure how to work around this issue. 

Only solution is the cone of Youth Protection

[qwazse]

5 hours ago, fred johnson said:

Phone calls ... I'm surprised I did not consider the affect on phone calls.  I try to have my wife in the same room, but sometimes I field calls while driving.  I'm not sure how to work around this issue. 

Use analog phones. Problem solved.

[oldbuzzard]

24 minutes ago, qwazse said:

Use analog phones. Problem solved.

The long cords are a real drag when driving, that's why I use rfc1149 encoding to use VoIP over carrier pigeon. Having twice as many cages is a hassle but its worth it for YPT.

[Buggie]

23 hours ago, Jameson76 said:

Texting is a challenge, we just start a new text string and add another leader.  Also we have scouts ask questions on the instagram feed, but that is public and we have multiple admins, so not a huge difference from asking something at a meeting

Yah, I was thinking along those lines as well.  Probably the best thing I can come up with is some sort of "group" board that retains the conversation record with a very small group. For example, the "Group Me" application could be used, setting up a new group with each scout seeking X merit badge.  I'm sure there are other applications, but that's the one I'm most familiar with. Anyway, you can create a group of just the MBC, the Scout(s), the "buddy", and an adult representative. Whoever is applicable. That way the conversation remains through out the life of the group, even if you have to change some of the participants.

The major sticking point on this is accessibility for those involved. My son did not have a cellophone until he turned 17. In fact, my wife didn't have one until that time because we have to prioritize our expenses. I only had a simple phone issued by my company. A family may not have the capability to do afford the tech. Which I realize seems impossible in today's world. The other item could be that the person just doesn't want to go into the new tech. I know a scouter who has a simple bar phone and refuses to upgrade from that. He only wants it on hand if he needs to contact someone or be contacted. 

The the other issue I can see is retention. The legal-mindful adult in me wants to go overboard and CYA everything, retaining conversations until enough time has past. But in reality, as long as you have another adult monitoring the board as well, then you're okay. Problem is having another adult actually monitoring it. We adults don't care to spend time on things that don't pertain to us directly, as a monitor is apt to feel. I predict we'll have official committee member position of "Conversation Monitor" in the future! We could give them the "BIG BROTHER" committee member patch. I only partially jest. 

 

[69RoadRunner]

My phone makes it pretty easy to add additional people to texts.  So, if a scout starts a 1 on 1 text message, just add an adult and reply.

[David CO]

On ‎4‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 9:40 PM, fred johnson said:

 

• Scouts sharing a tent should not be more then two years apart unless they are siblings.  We as a troop have always tried to do this.  We viewed it as another imbalance of power situation.  I don't think this affects my troop, but I'm wondering how troops that do mixed age patrols will succeed with this.  Often you have scouts missing from the patrol.  I don't think it would be unusual in a mixed age patrol to have scouts camping where there is no one within two years of age.  It seems the only good conclusion would be that those scouts have their own individual tent.   So this is do-able and a good change.

 

I am not opposed to this. I just think it is perhaps time for us to drop A Scout is Trustworthy. If we don't believe it, we shouldn't say it.

[69RoadRunner]

12 hours ago, David CO said:

I am not opposed to this. I just think it is perhaps time for us to drop A Scout is Trustworthy. If we don't believe it, we shouldn't say it.

A scout is trustworthy is the goal.  Not everyone lives it, unfortunately.  If they did, we'd have no need for youth protection training.

We had an incident in our troop involving scouts who are within the 2 year age difference.  It was reported as required (once we finally were told about it), investigated by council and dealt with.  No adults were involved or accused and the story of what happened changed many times.  The worst version of the story was a request of something inappropriate between scouts in a tent which was declined and nothing further happened.

In this same scenario, if the one scout is more than 2 years older, it's easier for that older scout to intimidate the younger scout.  We obviously can't know what goes on in tents.

As an aside, some parents knew about the incident and said nothing to anyone in leadership in the troop.  It all came out at summer camp and I ended up spending an entire day talking on the phone with scouting executives about something that happened a month prior and none of us knew about.  If the parents had said something, all of this could have been addressed prior to summer camp.  Instead, they essentially sent us to camp with a ticking bomb.  We were out of our council, so a scout was given a cease participation so the incident could be investigated.

My point here is, don't hesitate to report incidents and there are reasons for the tenting policy. 

[David CO]

19 minutes ago, 69RoadRunner said:

A scout is trustworthy is the goal. 

Yep. It has gone from a directive (A scout's honor is to be trusted) to a statement (A scout is trustworthy). Now that it is just a goal, it might be time to change it again to reflect our current beliefs (A scout should be trustworthy).

Maybe we should find some other word than trustworthy, like honest or truthful, since nobody is considered to be worthy of trust anymore.

 

Edited April 19, 2018 by David CO

[fred johnson]

"Maybe we should find some other word than trustworthy, like honest or truthful, since nobody is considered to be worthy of trust anymore."

I fear like all public discussion chains we've devolved.