Guardianship & Account Access

[TroopWebmaster]

I'm a committee member, webmaster and treasurer for our Troop.  Recently the grandparent of one of our scouts asked that I remove the scouts father from our website.  There have been some domestic accountability struggles (shirking financial responsibilities and not spending time with the scout) and the grandparent doesn't want the father to be able to have access to the scout's account information or scouting events.  I know that the scout is currently living with the grandparent.  That said, the father was the one who signed him up with scouts and has been the parent/guardian on record for as long as this scout has been with our troop.  I also know that the father has recently contacted the troop to find out the status of our Summer Camp so that would indicate that he's still an active scout parent/guardian.  I'm reluctant to remove the father because I do think he'll be upset when he discovers that he's been removed.  I'm also just not sure of the potential for legal issues either way.  Thoughts?

[RememberSchiff]

@TroopWebmaster  on behalf of scouter.com moderators welcome.

[CynicalScouter]

First, welcome.

Second, you need to speak to your charter organization's legal counsel. This is a very, very delicate thing and the answer is going to depend on who is the legal parent or guardian of that scout. If you withhold information from that scout's legal parent or guardian, you put your troop and the chartered organization at legal risk.

It may be that this

Quote

the father was the one who signed him up with scouts and has been the parent/guardian on record for as long as this scout has been with our troop

answers the question. But it may not if you do not know for sure who is the legal parent/guardian of record.

EDIT: One more note. Depending on your state's guardianship laws, even if the grandparent has been named the scout's legal guardian, you still may not be allowed to simply deprive the parent of information regarding the child's whereabouts.

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the grandparent doesn't want the father to be able to have access to the scout's account information or scouting events

All the more reason your chartered organization's legal counsel needs to be brought into this. NOW.

Edited July 15, 2020 by CynicalScouter

[David CO]

17 minutes ago, TroopWebmaster said:

Recently the grandparent of one of our scouts asked that I remove the scouts father from our website.  

Inform the Chartered Organization immediately.  

 

 

[David CO]

36 minutes ago, TroopWebmaster said:

I'm a committee member, webmaster and treasurer for our Troop. 

I should have added something, but I thought it was so obvious it didn't need mentioning.  If you are a committee member, tell the committee chairman.  Don't do anything on your own.  The CC should be the one to contact the COR.

Edited July 15, 2020 by David CO

[Eagle94-A1]

As others stated, talk to the CC and COR or the Charter Org's legal rep ASAP! One troop I was in had that issue, and we could not remove the parent until we had a court order. Once we got the court order, parent was removed from all unit communications. When parent showed up, they were advised that they needed to leave, or they would be arrested for trespassing (ASM is law enforcement).

[John-in-KC]

Welcome, let me put the answers in order for you

1) DO NOTHING ON YOUR OWN. Involve the CC and the COR. This impacts your chartered partner. 
2) Request your chartered partner consult their attorney. There is a matter of who has what parental and guardianship rights. 
3) outside of the CC and COR, do not say a word of this to anyone. You slander/libel any of the adults involved, they can own the chartered partner and you 

Do only what the CC and COR together tell you to do  

Finally, instruct the grandparents to do all further communication with the CC and COR  

Good luck. 

Edited July 15, 2020 by John-in-KC

[David CO]

50 minutes ago, TroopWebmaster said:

That said, the father was the one who signed him up with scouts and has been the parent/guardian on record for as long as this scout has been with our troop.

The father signed the scout's application form. If it turns out that there is a court order against the father, the CC will need to get a new application formed filled out and signed by the current legal guardian.  Same with medical permission forms.  

 

[TroopWebmaster]

Thank you all for the guidance and feedback.  I will redirect to our CC and share these forum responses so that the CC may know how to proceed.  My day job is in HR and I just knew that this wasn't something that could be done simply and outright without legal implications.  Thanks again!

[ALongWalk]

2 hours ago, TroopWebmaster said:

Thank you all for the guidance and feedback.  I will redirect to our CC and share these forum responses so that the CC may know how to proceed.  My day job is in HR and I just knew that this wasn't something that could be done simply and outright without legal implications.  Thanks again!

I can’t give any better advice than has already been given but I wanted to say “Welcome” and thank you for your service to scouting.

[Momleader]

On 7/15/2020 at 2:13 PM, TroopWebmaster said:

Thoughts

See what CO and your council advise. This is a sticky situation. In the meantime be as supportive as possible for the kid - sounds like they could be pulled in many directions emotionally.