Pack 422 and the Youth Protection Program

Pack 419 is committed to seeing that all scouts have a safe and fun experience in our program. In order to protect the well-being of all our scouts, Pack 419 adheres to several important policies. These policies include:

• No one-on-one contact. No individual adult is ever to be alone with an individual scout other than the adult’s own son.
• No secret meetings. All scout meetings and outings are always open to all parents.
• Two-deep leadership. All Den and Pack meetings and outings must have two adults present.
• Leader Screening. All leaders are subject to an extensive review process, including reference checks, interviews, and criminal records review.
• Leader training. All our Den leaders have completed Cub Scout Basic Leader training, which includes training on youth protection guidelines. In addition, all leaders are required every other year to complete a special Youth Protection Training course offered by the Boy Scouts of America.
• Reporting of Suspected Abuse. All scout leaders are obligated to report any suspicions of child or sexual abuse to the East Texas Area Council.
• Parental Accompaniment of Tiger Cubs. Tiger Cubs must always have a parent or adult partner present at all activities.

At each level of the scouts’advancement -- from the Bobcat through Webelos ranks -- parents are expected todiscuss youth safety issues with their sons. In addition, the Boy Scouts of America has produced a videotape entitled “It Happened To Me” which is designed to teach boys how to be safe. The Pack makes times available for scouts to view this video in the company of their parents. Parents also have the opportunity to view the video in advance of any showing to the boys.

Any suspected offenses of the Youth protection program must be reported to the Committee Chairman, the Scoutmaster or the Council Executive. All incidents reported to the Committee Chairman or the Cubmaster will be reported to the Council Executive. All reports are taken seriously and appropriate action is taken to ensure the safety of the youth. All adult leaders are required to take the BSA Youth Protection Training every two years.We encourage our parents to take the online training also. The website to take the free online training is: https://my.scouting.org/.More information on the importance of Youth Protection Training can be found athttp://www.scouting.org/Training/YouthProtection.aspx.

The Boy Scouts of America has developed materials for use in the Scouting program that provide essential information to members and their families. A detachable booklet in the front of the Cub Scout Handbook,"How to Protect Your Child from Child Abuse: A Parents Guide,"provides information to help families to increase self-protection skills.