Thoughts on a policy?


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So I'm using this forum for work-related matters again.

The BSA council I work for supports a whole bunch of Mormon units. For years, we've made things "easier" by only enforcing (in LDS units) parent signatures on brand-new Cub Scout applications. We assume the kid's parents approve if a boy is moving from the cub scout pack to the Boy Scout troop. These makes for fewer stressed out and panicking leaders who might need to fill out an emergency application in order to get a boy registered for camp at the last minute or to do awards.

We are discussing getting more strict. We can count on one hand the number of parents who have complained about this (even though these parents would have complained if Junior hadn't been able to get his Bobcat or go to day camp due to not being registered) but I can see the liability concern.

So, any of you who are Scout leaders, would you prefer to be able to fill out a boy's application yourself in order to get your work done faster, or would you prefer all to be in order and have parental signatures everytime?

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I personally blame it on the high number of Mormons. A lot of stuff tends to get taken for granted.

I hate to say it, but "be prepared" is usually tossed out the window.

One argument for getting stricter is putting more responsibility back on the leaders.

However, our usual argument against a policy change is that these are volunteers just trying to get their jobs done, who have very little time to do said jobs, and aren't always in communication with other people on the committee who are responsibile for other things. We are trying to make their lives easier.

Edited by Backroads
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As a scoutmaster, my first question is "how does this affect my liability." If something happens to a boy during an outing, will the BSA back me if not all the signatures are present. If they will, then I'm willing to slack off. If they won't, you better believe I'm going after all of those signatures.

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