Over the past two years, the BSA has worked with experts in the field of child abuse, child sexual abuse and maltreatment to develop new training and resources that will further strengthen our ability to protect youth. These changes include:

• Fully updated and revised Youth Protection Training developed with leaders in the field of child abuse prevention and includes insights from experts, survivors and the latest strategies for recognizing and preventing major forms of abuse. This is the designated Youth Protection training for all adults.
• Expanded youth protection content across all our communications channels will inform and engage our volunteers and parents.
• An expanded National ScoutsFirst Helpline to aid volunteers and families in addressing potentially dangerous situations.
• The BSA also provides unlimited counseling and support for healing to anyone who has ever been abused in Scouting.
• Youth protection training for youth members will be available in 2019.

In addition to updated training and resources, the BSA announced new policies to ensure compliance with mandatory training requirements. These policies have been in place in the NCAC for a number of years. These policies include:

• As of January 1, 2018, no new leader can be registered without first completing youth protection training.
• As of January 1, 2018, no council, regional or national leader will be allowed to renew their registration if they are not current on their youth protection training.
• As of September 1, 2017, no unit may re-charter without all leaders being current on their youth protection training. Registrars no longer have the ability to approve charters without full compliance.

**Of Special Note**

By October 1, 2018, all new and currently registered leaders will be required to complete the updated training. The enhanced and updated content will allow leaders and councils to comply with all current legal requirements. While this may be inconvenient for some, it reflects the BSA’s commitment to the safety of all youth.

For camps this summer across the BSA:

Adults accompanying units on activities who are present at the activity for 72 hours or more, must be registered and take Youth Protection Training. The 72 hours need not be consecutive. If your unit desires to set a more strict policy, like ALL adults going to camp must be registered and have current YPT, that is certainly permitted.

This training is now available on my.Scouting at  https://my.scouting.org/

You may download a “HOW TO GUIDE FOR TAKING YOUTH PROTECTION TRAINING”

Introducing ScoutsFirst Helpline

ScoutsFirst is a new national tool to help with questions, concerns and reporting. The ScoutsFirst Helpline also makes it easier for volunteers and families to address dangerous situations. If a leader or parent has a question about a situation, or something they’ve seen or if they want to report a possible incident, they can contact the Helpline for assistance. In cases of abuse, they should also notify the local authorities. ScoutsFirst Helpline (844)-Scouts1 or (844)726-8871.

ScoutsFirst for Counseling and Support. The Boy Scouts of America is committed to providing ongoing support to victims and their families, including counseling. We want to help victims heal, on their own terms, with a professional counselor of their choice. Through the ScoutsFirst Helpline, the Boy Scouts of America offers assistance with counseling to any youth member, former youth member, or the family of any youth member who suffered abuse during their time in Scouting. To reach the ScoutsFirst Helpline, call (844)-Scouts1 or (844)726-8871, or email scouts1st@scouting.org. Support is available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Coming Soon:

In-person youth protection training available June 2018.

Spanish-language resources will be available later in August 2018.

Youth protection training for youth members will be available in 2019. More details will be shared as they become available.

For more Youth Protection resources check out,   https://www.scouting.org/training/youth-protection/

You’ve probably heard about the Mayflower Council’s district realignment plan in some way or another over the past few months. We are excited to report that on January 24, 2018, the Council’s Voting Members unanimously approved the plan set forth by the District Operations Committee. The new realignment structure will allow the council to serve more youth within our communities and help us create the best possible Scouting experience for our families and volunteers. The new district realignment structure will permit the more effective assignment of Scouting professionals to support volunteers in the delivery of the Scouting program. To learn more, please visit our Council Districts page.

We are excited to announce that our online store opened it’s doors today. You can now shop for Mayflower Council items online. To celebrate our store’s launch all orders will be shipped for free. New items will continually be added.

Our online store is the only place to get the new Mayflower Council Shoulder patches. These patches will not be available from any Scout Shop until after April 1, so stop by our online store and order yours today!

Click here to visit our online store

Just a reminder…
Each member of the Mayflower Council will be receiving a free silver bordered first edition council shoulder patch when the unit’s charter has been completed. Your district executive will arrange a time to present the patches to your unit.

With our first major snow of the 2017-2018 winter the council would like to remind our community about our adverse weather policy.  The council follows the lead of the Canton & Marlborough school systems when setting it’s adverse weather policy.  If Marlborough Public Schools close, so does the Marlborough Service Center and if the Canton Public Schools close, so does the Canton Service Center.  If the Marlborough or Canton Public Schools announce a delay (1 hour delay for example) the respective council service center delays it’s opening by the same time. We encourage everyone to follow the weather and school closure reports of our media partner WCVB Channel 5 in order to stay informed and up to date on school closings and weather alerts.

It is with a heavy heart that we share with you that Debbie Carey passed away last night. On Thursday, Debbie was at the Council Service Center in Marlborough and collapsed outside. She received CPR from the building manager and was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Marlborough. She was then flown to UMass Medical in Worcester.

Please keep her husband, Warren, and her entire family in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with this unexpected tragedy.

Debbie served the Scouting family for over 30 years and will be greatly missed.

The following arrangements have been made:

Thursday, January 4th – visiting hours

Shepherd Funeral & Cremation Service, 216 Main Street, Kingston, MA

Friday, January 5th – Church Service and Burial Services

11:00 am – Holy Family Church – 370 Middleboro Avenue, East Taunton, MA, 02718 followed by final resting place at Plymouth County Cemetery South Meadow Road, Plymouth MA (near the Plymouth Airport).

The District Award of Merit is presented to registered Scouters who render service of an outstanding nature at the district level. Nominations must be made on the national nomination form and must be received no later than January 30, 2018.

Completed nominations can be sent via email or dropped off at the Canton or Marlborough service center.The awards will be presented at the District’s Recognition Dinner.

Calling all unit leaders—the Scoutbook Youth Advancement sync is officially underway!

All Scouting units with active Scoutbook subscriptions have recently been invited to complete the Scoutbook Youth Advancement Sync with ScoutNet. The Scoutbook Unit Admins have been notified and given instructions on how to activate this sync by December 31, 2017.

This sync will allow units to approve advancement in Scoutbook, which can then automatically sync with the BSA national database. Scoutbook users will no longer need to access Internet Advancement to track and report their unit advancement.

Scout Shop staff should know that the Advancement Report from Scoutbook and the Advancement Report from Internet Advancement are both certified and should be accepted. The bottom of the Advancement Report from Scoutbook looks like this:

Starting January 1, 2018, units with active Scoutbook subscriptions will only be able to approve advancements for Scouts who are in the advancement sync. If you have not activated your unit and/or Scouts within your unit, you will not be able to approve advancements for that Scout(s).

Note that as a unit activates the sync, the unit can un-approve Scouts who have not yet been registered (entered into ScoutNet or My.Scouting) and continue the sync for the rest of the unit. Once registration is complete for the outstanding Scouts, the unit can then approve them and they will then be included.

Check out the user guide for more.

If you have any questions about the Scoutbook Youth Advancement Sync or if your Scouting unit has not received the sync instructions, please email Scoutbooksync@gmail.com.

Introducing the New Member Coordinator Position

Sustaining strong membership in a unit depends on having new members join the unit and engaging youth and their families in a welcoming manner that makes them want to stay. The role of the New Member Coordinator is to insure that both keys to success take place.

If you are interested in serving as a New Member Coordinator, now is the time! The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is offering a “free” logo imprinted shirt or cap as an incentive to the first 2500 registered and trained New Member Coordinators (NMC) and the first 500 District-level Scouters.

To learn more, visit New Member Coordinator (http://scoutingwire.org/marketing-and-membership-hub/councils/new-member-coordinator/) today!

As of September 1, 2017, Youth Protection Training is required for all adult leaders at the time of registration. Paper applications from new leaders must be accompanied by a Youth Protection Training completion certificate, which must be filed with the application.

Because completion of YPT is now required for all leaders at the time of registration, unit leaders must obtain copies of the completion certificates from the leaders who register online before approving their application.

With the upcoming renewal cycle, the Internet Rechartering system will be updated so that units cannot submit the registration renewal of any adult who does not have current YPT as of the effective date of the renewal. Completion of YPT as part of the online registration system will be required in a future update. Additionally, council registrars will no longer be able to override the registration system to register any leader whose Youth Protection Training is not current.

Effective for the 2018 BSA summer camp season, any adult accompanying a Boy Scout troop to a residence camp or other Scouting activity lasting 72 hours or more must be registered as a leader, including completion of a CBC and YPT, even if they are the parent of a youth on the trip.

Please Note: Although YPT is strongly encouraged for adults attending any overnight activity, at this time, the requirement applies only to individual adults staying three or more nights at a resident camp.

The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

To do this — while delivering the nation’s foremost youth development program — the BSA must remain vigilant in controlling costs. Although we have been successful in reducing our expenditures in many areas, it has become necessary to evaluate our annual membership fees.

Based on feedback from both volunteers and employees, the BSA membership fee will increase to $33 for all registered youth and adult leaders, effective December 1, 2017.

Membership fees support the services that are necessary to provide Scouting to youth from 7 to 21 years of age. From education to high-adventure experiences you can’t get anyplace else, the BSA provides unique growth opportunities at a great value.

Services include primary liability coverage for all volunteer leaders and chartered organizations, ongoing advances in technology, fundraising support, new program development and membership recruiting strategies, and support materials. In 2016 alone, the BSA served 2.3 million youth members through approximately 270 local councils across the United States and its territories.

With the help of all of our volunteers and Scouting parents, we will continue accomplishing incredible things for young people and the communities we serve.

Questions and Answers:

1. Why are you increasing the membership fee? What is the additional money from the fees going to be used for?

To deliver the Scouting program to our 2.3 million youth members, it is occasionally necessary for the organization to increase membership fees to offset rising costs. As a result, the BSA is increasing our membership fee to $33 for all registered Scouts and adult members effective December 1, 2017.

Membership fees support the services that are necessary to provide Scouting programs to a growing number of youth. Services include ongoing advances in technology, council visits to assist in fundraising, program development and membership campaigns, liability insurance costs, and administrative costs. It is important that we continue to maintain a strong financial position in the future to support and grow Scouting.

2. What is directly contributing to the need for this increase?

There are a variety of factors taken into consideration, all of which have led to an increased cost of doing business.

3. When will the increase go into effect?

The membership fee change for all registered youth and adult leaders will go into effect December 1, 2017. This change will affect Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Venturing crews, Sea Scout ships, and Exploring posts/clubs. However, it will NOT apply to LDS-sponsored units, nor to those units with council-paid memberships. Note: All November and December 2017 recharters will have to renew at this new rate (since November recharter renewal actually spans from December 1, 2017, to November 30, 2018).

4. Does the BSA increase membership fees often?

There have been 10 fee increases in the organization’s history. Since 1969, the BSA has increased our fee, on average, every five years. The last membership increase took effect on January 1, 2014, and, prior to that, in 2010.

5. How much does it cost to be a Boy Scout?

All youth and adults who wish to become a member or leader of the Boy Scouts of America must pay the annual membership fee. Beyond that, families incur additional costs related to uniforms and the activities of their individual units.

6. Will the fee for Cub Scouts, Exploring, and Venturing/Sea Scouts increase as well?

Yes. This change will affect Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Venturing crews, Sea Scout ships, and Exploring posts/clubs. However, it will NOT apply to LDS-sponsored units, nor to those units with council-paid memberships.

7. Who gets the membership fee?

Local councils collect — and forward to the National Council — membership fees from each youth and adult who wishes to become a member of the Boy Scouts of America.

8. How is the National Council funded?

The National Council is funded through membership and service fees, investments, Boys’ Life magazine subscriptions, sales of uniforms and equipment, fees from national high-adventure bases, and contributions from individuals. 

9. What does the National Council do for Scouting on the local level?

The BSA’s National Council provides program materials and support for approximately 270 local councils that administer the Scouting program, with each covering a specific geographic territory. The following are the key functions of the National Council:

• Provide training to local council volunteers and staff
• Maintain a national training center at Philmont Scout Ranch
• Develop and maintain four year-round national high-adventure bases and execute national events (jamborees, National Eagle Scout Association and Order of the Arrow conferences, and National Council meetings)
• Continue our leadership role in protecting our youth by providing youth protection resources, training, and criminal background checks for all registered volunteers and staff
• Provide local councils with program as well as tools for camp and office planning and evaluation, extensive financial counseling, planned giving and fundraising information, and professional personnel support
• Coordinate a communications network through magazines and literature (handbooks, merit badge pamphlets, brochures, training materials, and professional development training), including providing Scouting magazine to all registered leaders
• Make available uniforms, equipment, and program supplies
• Maintain and develop new relationships with chartered organizations that use the Scouting program (religious institutions, civic organizations, labor unions, professional organizations, business, and industry)
• Serve in a leadership role with Scouting associations in other countries as a member of the World Scout Conference
• Set and maintain program standards (e.g., advancement, health and safety, etc.) to ensure consistency of the brand throughout councils across the country

10. With the increase in membership fees, is Scouting still a good value?

The BSA has always taken into consideration the cost of delivering the Scouting program and has worked to keep our fees reasonable.

When you compare the BSA to other youth-serving organizations, we provide unique growth opportunities at a great value. The following are costs associated with other youth activities:

• Tackle football, $142: In Plano, Texas, second- through sixth-graders who play tackle football pay $140 for a three-month season. That fee doesn’t include equipment.
• Youth orchestra, $1,000: Members of the prestigious Los Angeles Youth Orchestra pay $100 to audition, $1,000 annually (if accepted), and must buy their own instruments.
• Select soccer, $400: In Cleveland, select youth soccer players ages 15 to 18 pay $400 a season, plus $180 for uniforms.
• Youth basketball, $525: In Queens, N.Y., boys ages 8 to 13 pay $525 a year, not including uniforms.
• 4-H program, $25: Participants of the 4-H program in College Station, Texas, pay $25 a year, not including fees for individual activities.

From education to high-adventure, the Boy Scouts of America provides unique growth opportunities at a great value and we want all eligible youth to receive these benefits and participate in Scouting