The Boy Scouts in Crisis - The Perfect Storm

[carebear3895]

I have just learned another 54 employees have been terminated from the National Office. 

[scoutldr]

Just now, carebear3895 said:

I have just learned another 54 employees have been terminated from the National Office. 

Right before the holidays.  Perfect.

[yknot]

5 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Every single high school with a boys locker room and every single youth sports facility with a locker room is in trouble....

Not really. It's s completely different locker room scene now -- half the kids wear shorts to school in February anyway and just change shirts -- plus before it really wasn't comparable with situations in scouting. Even back when kids showered after gym or in practice, it was a 3 minute deal with next period teachers or parents waiting. Not off camping at a facility in the woods with random adults. Pedophiles are everywhere no doubt but there are some characteristic reasons why scouting was such a buffet for them. 

[ProScouter06]

On 12/1/2020 at 12:53 PM, Eagle1993 said:

I still question if admitting girls was a response to the LDS leaving.  The LDS had to be working on their alternate program for years and I expect informed the BSA of their decision well ahead of any public announcements.  Giving the timing, it seems like the BSA added girls as they knew they would be losing LDS membership.  Would be interesting to hear the details once they all come out.  

Covid has devastated our Pack.  Our Troop shrank by 24% but our Pack will shrink by 80%+.  I expect we will recover some next fall when we can return to normal … but it will take 2 -  3 years to get back to our original membership, if at all possible.

 

That said, Covid & the lawsuits while massive impacts, may simply be pulling in the end date of the BSA.  If BSA was healthy going in, I'm sure it could survive both.  The real issue is that BSA has been in decline for decades.

In my area, the groups that seem to be expanding have hired staff.  Travel sports have paid coaches.  After school programs have paid staff.  Non BSA overnight week long summer camps cost $800+ but have well compensated staff, cabins and nice equipment.  Their commonality …. no or limited time commitment from parents.

Volunteer organizations that thrived in the 1900s are dying in the 2000s.  I wonder if this is a symptom of 2 income households.  Moms and dads both working and then are expected to both share in household activities after work.  Neither have time/energy to spend with volunteer organizations (like Boy Scouts, youth sports, etc.).  This isn't true 100%, but finding good volunteers is tough these days. I wonder if it was a model that worked well in the past but doesn't work well going forward and also explains the decline of the fraternal orders.

Look at the rise in dual income households since 1960.  While BSA membership has other causes & effects, I expect this was a huge headwind.  

 

 

 

Very well said, and great points. When I worked for the scouts we discussed this often. I left right around 2015 but we could all see what was happening to the current model and how unsustainable it is. It’s a shame that that is the reality. However in order to survive we must adapt without losing our core values. 

[David CO]

On 12/1/2020 at 11:53 AM, Eagle1993 said:

In my area, the groups that seem to be expanding have hired staff. 

My first reaction is to bristle at that suggestion.  I would like to see scouting remain volunteer led.  This may seem a bit hypocritical of me since I was hired staff.  My school paid me to run the scout program, just like it would pay any other coach or administrator.

I would make a distinction between BSA hired staff and Chartered Organization hired staff.  As far as I know, there is no rule prohibiting a CO from utilizing its paid staff to lead their scout unit.  

[gpurlee]

ProScouter06 - You raise several interesting points. 

I am hearing scouters and professionals from several councils state that the Cub membership losses are anticipated to be around 80%. This is our largest program area  and major losses in it will likely have a devastating impact on council numbers. Cubs are also the feeder system for our troops. If we lose a generation of Cub Scouts, it will pose major challenges for Scout troops. It will also make it very difficult for many councils to justify maintaining all of their camp properties. 

As you state, it is not Scouting alone. Many of our civic organizations are experiencing major losses. Most of the mainline churches which have been our major sponsors have seen declines for decades.  The newer evangelical churches for the most part have not embraced Scouting to nearly the same degree. I know that the community organizations such as Rotary, Lions and Optimists are aging rapidly.  I have to wonder if the decline in these institutions where people talked and worked together is a contributing factor in our national polarization.

So what is attracting youth today? I have not seen recent research but I know that most of our Scouts seem to talk about video-games, social media and the internet a lot.  I know that Scouting has much to offer but I am very concerned for our future.

[ProScouter06]

It’s certainly the way our culture is moving. When scouting began we were a society that produced and built, now we’re one that consumes at a level unknown to history. Scouting was a way to connect and associate with others. Now we’re all connected, all the time whether we like it or not. The bright side in my opinion is that  I believe people will began yearning to disconnect eventually  we’re already seeing it. The question is will scouting meet their needs? 

It’s really not a good situation, but if the BSA can come out of this I think they will take a hard look at the overall operations of scouting at a national and local level.

Councils are already merging and streamlining. Staff need to become more specialized to support our needs. The days of the DE doing it all is over. We need highly specialized staff to support membership, program and revenue generation. of course that won’t solve the volunteerism concern. My only thought there is we need the program, especially Cubs to be so easy to deliver for new volunteers and parents. I haven’t been involved since I left the profession but what I’ve seen from the sidelines, scout book, den in a box, it seems as if we’re moving in that direction. 

I’m praying scouting will be around next fall. My son will be eligible to be a lion and I’ll volunteer to be his leader. Scouting at its core still is the only program that offers parents the chance to grow up with their kids. We need that message to be made clearly, loud and often to all prospective members in ever community across the country. 

[Eagle1993]

On 12/5/2020 at 4:38 PM, David CO said:

My first reaction is to bristle at that suggestion.  I would like to see scouting remain volunteer led.  This may seem a bit hypocritical of me since I was hired staff.  My school paid me to run the scout program, just like it would pay any other coach or administrator.

I would make a distinction between BSA hired staff and Chartered Organization hired staff.  As far as I know, there is no rule prohibiting a CO from utilizing its paid staff to lead their scout unit.  

I think BSA can and should remain volunteer led, but will be much smaller than the past.  I think the BSA organization will need to resize (shrink) as I think society changes are a major headwind.  

I do wonder if there is a place for a paid staff led outdoor leadership "scouting" type program.  I'm not sure, but do wonder.  A program that would charge large per year fees + fees for trips, etc.  It would be led by professionally trained staff (perhaps former scouts who were college grads with expertise in outdoor education, forestry, citizenship, etc.).  They would run Troops/Packs/etc.  One could even see Packs running daily after school programs … essentially taking the place of child care.   Troops would be closer to how Troops should operate today, just with professional staff leadership.

I'm not stating this is the correct direction, but I do wonder if there is a market for this type of organization. 

[David CO]

26 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

I do wonder if there is a place for a paid staff led outdoor leadership "scouting" type program.  I'm not sure, but do wonder.  A program that would charge large per year fees + fees for trips, etc.  It would be led by professionally trained staff (perhaps former scouts who were college grads with expertise in outdoor education, forestry, citizenship, etc.).  They would run Troops/Packs/etc.  One could even see Packs running daily after school programs … essentially taking the place of child care.   Troops would be closer to how Troops should operate today, just with professional staff leadership.

I'm not stating this is the correct direction, but I do wonder if there is a market for this type of organization. 

Except for the part about charging high fees, you pretty much described my unit.  So I obviously agree with you that there is a place for this type of unit.  But, once again, I strongly feel that the unit leadership should be employed by the Chartered Organization, not by the council or BSA.

I would not want to see professional unit staff who are recruited and trained by BSA.  It shouldn't be like the scout executives who have to be on a pre-approved list, and are beholden to BSA for their jobs.  Units should continue to choose their own unit leadership regardless of whether that leadership is volunteer or paid.