Selecting a Unit Leader

[Pack378]

So... What year did the BSA start doing Criminal Background reports? and how efficient is the back ground report.... I noticed that one pack runs their own background report..... If you think there might be a current problem can you as a leader request National to rerun a CBR?

[Oak Tree]

I guess we do it as an informal version of the more official process.

 

Look around, see who the best candidate is, and ask him. Usually it's the committee chair, along with another couple of respected members of the adult leadership, who decide on the candidate. And it's no surprise to anyone, because the candidates are all people who are currently active with the troop.

 

Same thing holds true for picking a CC or COR. As a unit leader, I've picked several CCs and CORs, even though that's not the official direction. But typically, it's a consensus among the most active adult leaders as to who should take on which role.

 

Pack378 - you can certainly ask your council to rerun the background check. And if you have reason to ask them to do so, I'd be pretty confident that they would do it.

[Bob White]

Criminal background checks will only send a red flag if the person had a conviction. This of course only exposes the tip of the iceburg since no one knows how many people commit crimes without being convicted.

 

The BSA in the YP training, in the NLE training, committee training, and CR training reminds units that they need to get references and follow up on them and enforce the YP procedures in the unit.

 

(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Hunt]

I'd be interested in hearing how folks working with small troops go about finding, recruiting, and approving leaders. In many of the small troops I've seen leaders are often parents of scouts who have stepped into those roles, often without a lot of scouting background. In many cases, they remain as leaders after their own sons age out, and eventually are replaced by parents of current scouts. I'd be very interested in hearing success stories of recruiting adult leaders who were not family members of scouts.

I'm not suggesting that there is anything wrong with the parents who step up as leaders--most of them do a good job, get trained, etc. However, they are somewhat transitory, and you may find yourself in a period where there really isn't a great candidate among the parents. (For example, we have a fair number of older parents who are willing to help, but aren't really capable of hiking, backpacking, etc.)