Youth Protection

BSA Youth Protection Mission Statement

True youth protection can be achieved only through the focused commitment of everyone in Scouting. It is the mission of Youth Protection volunteers and professionals to work within the Boy Scouts of America to maintain a culture of Youth Protection awareness and safety at the national, regional, area, council, district, and unit levels.

New to Scouting? Click here to login and take Youth Protection training . You do not have to be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America to take Youth Protection training.

To take Youth Protection training go to My.Scouting.org
create an account. You’ll receive an email notification with your account information, including a member ID/reference number.
From the My.Scouting.org portal, click Menu then My Dashboard from the menu list.
The My Training page displays to take Youth Protection training. Upon completion, you may print a training certificate to submit with a volunteer application.
Your training will automatically be updated in our system and associated with the member ID/reference number issued when you created the account.

When your volunteer application is approved, you will receive a BSA membership card that includes your member ID number.

The Boy Scouts of America places the greatest importance on creating the most secure environment possible for our youth members. To maintain such an environment, the BSA developed numerous procedural and leadership selection policies and provides parents and leaders with resources for the Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, and Venturing programs.

Download the How-To Guide for taking Youth Protection Training

Leadership Selection

The Boy Scouts of America takes great pride in the quality of our adult leadership. Being a leader in the BSA is a privilege, not a right. The quality of the program and the safety of our youth members call for high-quality adult leaders. We work closely with our chartered organizations to help recruit the best possible leaders for their units.

The adult application requests background information that should be checked by the unit committee or the chartered organization before accepting an applicant for unit leadership. While no current screening techniques exist that can identify every potential child abuser, we can reduce the risk of accepting a child abuser by learning all we can about an applicant for a leadership position—his or her experience with children, why he or she wants to be a Scout leader, and what discipline techniques he or she would use.

Required Training

Youth Protection training is required for all BSA registered volunteers and is a joining requirement.
Youth Protection training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer’s Youth Protection training record is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will not be re-registered.
Download the How-To Guide for taking Youth Protection Training