YPT Changes in TCC Proposal

[MattR]

@fred8033 , don't airplane companies need to report failures? While it would certainly be uncomfortable at first it would help everyone start talking about it. And that would do a lot to reduce the trauma.

[johnsch322]

14 minutes ago, MattR said:

And that would do a lot to reduce the trauma.

The trauma could only be helped in the reaction to the individual incident.  Immediate help is needed for the victim at whatever cost to the organization.  

[johnsch322]

A lot has been discussed about prevention of abuse, but I have not read much about what happens in the aftermath of abuse.  Specifically what resources does the BSA provide in the direct aftermath?

[yknot]

I think a lot of BSA's Youth Protection program is just words on paper, because there is no real oversight and it is inconsistently applied. Yes, things have gotten better but there are still problems and BSA seems to take decades to adapt to emerging issues that should instead trigger immediate investigation and response. Some things off the top of my head, not necessarily in order, that need to be addressed in my opinion: 

1) Lack of oversight of units by dysfunctional systems and structures. BSA knew for decades the CO model was problematic. It may work in places, but it doesn't work across the board, with tragic results. A new organizational model is needed where "someone" takes clear responsibility for the quality of program delivery, including youth safety, from the top down. BSA can no longer operate local units like farm teams. 

2) Desperate need for volunteers.  Many councils, districts and units are so desperate for bodies they give the benefit of the doubt to questionable adult volunteers because there is no one else stepping up. The volunteer heavy lifting needs to be made less daunting.

3) Membership numbers can no longer drive the vision of the organization because it creates an inherent conflict of interest. This has concerned me greatly in the UMC agreement going forward because it is just more of the same. 

4) De-emphasis of religion in the program. Fine to encourage good character development and spirituality but allowing religious organizations to create programs within a program like LDS have been a disaster in my opinion. Scouting was never a psuedo youth ministry program. An overemphasis on religion only gives more cover to those who would exploit it to gain access to youth. 

5) Independent auditor and review process to collect data and adapt program in real time. 

6) Robust adminstrative and online capabilities. The double work, inefficiency, antiquity, and inaccuracy of almost all of BSA's management systems is a contributor to many youth protection problems past and present. 

BSA is a very old fashioned organization. It seems pretty clear going forward that effective youth protection -- the kind where we can all sleep at night and still feel comfortable being connected to this organization -- needs to be a lot more organic and holistic. I'd like to say it should also include a data collection, feedback, and follow up loop, but at this point, I don't think we have that kind of time. We can't afford too many more mistakes. 

[fred8033]

4 hours ago, MattR said:

@fred8033 , don't airplane companies need to report failures? While it would certainly be uncomfortable at first it would help everyone start talking about it. And that would do a lot to reduce the trauma.

Airplane companies and airlines have their own mandatory reporting for incidents; effectively analogous to BSA mandatory reporting of incidents.  In that case, I'd look for FAA to report the numbers.  

https://www.faa.gov/data_research/

I'd really like to see the same independent numerical reporting for crimes including CSA.  This is one possible place to put the data.  I'm 100% sure there are others.  

https://bjs.ojp.gov/data

Edited January 27, 2022 by fred8033