Taughannock District
Baden-Powell Council, BSA
Training

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Training Committee: for names and contact information see the Contact page
Any questions on training? E-mail training@TompkinsCortlandScouts.org 
We have a Taughannock District / B-P Council Google Map with all of the traditional locations, in case you need to know where something is. 

University of Scouting Resources

Presentations and handouts from the Baden-Powell Council's University of Scouting over the years are now available on an  on-line resource page. Check it out! 

Upcoming Training Opportunities in 2025

(Additional courses and opportunities will be available from the Baden-Powell Council and from neighboring councils).
For more info on these courses, please email training@tompkinscortlandscouts.org

February 8, 2025 - 09:00-12:00 - Adult / Child / Infant CPR - AED and Basic First Aid - held at B-P Council Office, 2150 NYS Route 12, Binghamton, NY 13901 - Steve Campbell will be serving as the Course Director. Steve will be using the "blended" (or hybrid) CPR-AED course provided by the American Red Cross, whereby the participants will view the CPR-AED videos online ahead of time.

April 12-13, 2025 - BALOO/IOLS - at Camp Barton

*= Course given by Baden-Powell Council, Service Territory 10 or another council - unless a link is provided, please feel free to contact Larry Blumberg LBlumberg@stny.rr.com with any questions, or check the Council website for more information n these courses. 

Cub Leader Position-Specific Training

Cub Leader Position-Specific Training is for: Den Leaders and Assistant Den Leaders, Cubmasters and Assistant Cubmasters, Pack Committee and Committee Chair

Some of the topics covered in the presentation include:

Pack structure
Role of Pack Committee
Cub Scout uniforms
Advancement
Conducting a Den meeting
Denners and Den Chiefs
Conducting a Pack meeting
Annual program planning
Preparing families for outdoor adventures
Local Opportunities for your Pack
And lots more !!!

Multiple Session Available!

There is no charge for the course, but you must pre-register for it. If signing up after registration has closed, you must contact the course director, Rebecca SaintSurin: rebecca.saintsurin@yahoo.com 

Please Bring:

Your questions
Paper and pencil to take notes
Bring a lunch please if you'd like one or snacks
Please wear your Scout uniform (if you have one)

Note!: In order to be considered fully trained, National BSA requires the completion of Youth Protection Training and Hazardous Weather Training. These trainings can be found online at https://my.scouting.org and should be completed ahead of time.

Are all of your unit's leaders trained?

Review the page from National's website giving the requirements for a leader to be considered "trained".
Specific course modules required for training Cub, Venturing, Sea Scouting and Exploring leaders can be downloaded here in PDF format.

Online Training: You need to log into the Learn Center at My.Scouting.org to take online courses. You don't need to be a registered Scouter to set up a MyScouting.org account, but it is a very good idea to associate your account with your member ID number as soon as you receive your membership card. That way, any training you take online will automatically be credited to your BSA records. When entering my.scouting.org, you'll find training under Home, My Dashboard, My Training. Courses are in the "Training Center", listed by program. Please do not set up more than one My.Scouting.org account! If you have problems after you've set up one account, get help - duplicate accounts are one of the major causes of problems in getting proper credit for training, among other things. If for some reason you wind up with two BSA membership nunbers (you shouldn't, but it happens), you can associate your My.Scouting.org account with all of the member numbers through the "Manage Member ID" tool under "Legacy Web Tools". 

Note: Nearly all position-specific training includes many different modules, all of which need to be completed before a leader is considered "Trained". Be sure that you have downloaded a list of positions and modules here and reviewed them to make sure that your leaders are, in fact, trained!. Different leadership positions require different combinations of modules, and some modules are shared between a number of different positions. You don't  have to retake a module once taken, even if it was taken for another position. 

All Adults: All adults are required to take Youth Protection Training before they are registered, and to keep their YPT current while they are registered. All unit-level leaders who were not considered "Trained" as of April 2018 are required to take Hazardous Weather Training in order to be considered "Trained". 

Cub Scouts: All training courses for Cub Scout Leaders are now available online (other than the outdoor session required for BALOO). 

Scouts BSA, Sea Scouts and Venturing: Most Boy Scout, Sea Scout and Venturing leader training  can be taken from my.scouting.org, other than required Outdoor Training (IOLS). You'll find training under Home, My Dashboard, My Training, or, click the Learn Center image on the right side of the home page.

Exploring: Training for Explorer leaders available through My.Scouting.org includes:

• Exploring Advisor and Associate Advisor

• Exploring Committee 

• Exploring Service Team 

• Exploring Ride-Along Safety 

District-level Adults: Training for adults who are registered at the District level which is available through My.Scouting.org includes:

• Merit Badge Counselor training

• Commissioner Basic Training (separate courses for District Commissioner, Unit Commissioner, Roundtable Commissioner and assistant commissioners for each of these)

• District Committee Training

• Membership Ethics (required for Key 3, worthwhile for Key 3 delegates and committee chairs). 

Other courses with links at My.Scouting.org include:

• Safe Swim Defense

• Safety Afloat

• Climb on Safely

• Hazardous Weather (required for unit leaders after April 2018)

• Unit Commissioner Fast Start

• Chartered Organization Representative Fast Start

• New Member Coordinator Training

• Staffing the District Committee

In-Person Training:

If your pack or troop has a large number of people who need training, don't wait for a scheduled session - the Training Committee is also bringing the training to you! Contact them at training@TompkinsCortlandScouts.org and schedule a training session for your pack leaders. Packs should have a Pack Trainer if at all possible, so as to be able to present leader training to new leaders as needed. 

The Boy Scouts of America’s Youth Protection Training Policies

Youth safety is the No. 1 concern of the BSA.

To increase awareness of this societal problem and to create even greater barriers to abuse than already exist today in Scouting, the Boy Scouts of America has implemented the following Youth Protection policies:

• Youth Protection Training is required for all registered volunteers.

• New leaders are required to take Youth Protection Training before registering as a leader. Applications cannot be accepted without certificates of completion for the YPT course. This has been local policy for some time, but as of September 1, 2017, it became a requirement nationwide. 

• For current leaders, 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 reregistered and the unit charter will be held up - make sure that all leaders are trained, and will remain so throughout the year, before handing in a recharter application. Note: B-P Council local policy says YPT must be current throughout the year for which the volunteer is being registered. 

• Adults accompanying a Scouting unit on activities who are present for more than 72 hours: Effective for the 2018 BSA summer camp season, any adult accompanying a Scouting unit to a resident camp or other Scouting activity who is present 72 hours or more must be registered as a leader, including completion of a background check (CBC) and Youth Protection Training (YPT) - even if they are the parent of a youth on the trip. The 72 hours need not be consecutive, so an adult can't "reset" by leaving camp for a while. 
• Effective October 1, 2018, two registered adults 21 years of age or over are required at all Scouting activities, including meetings. This also applies to Patrol events - youth-only Patrol outings are no longer permitted. A registered female adult over 21 must be present for any activity involving female youth. Notwithstanding the minimum leader requirements, age- and program-appropriate supervision must always be provided.
• Units Service Female Youth Members: There must be at least one registered female adult leader over 21 in every unit serving females. This does not have to be the top leader, however - when Girl Troops are chartered in the Scouts BSA program after February 1, 2019, the Scoutmaster may be male as long as there is at least one female Assistant Scoutmaster.  
• Tenting: Separate tenting arrangements must be provided for male and female adults as well as for male and female youth, although spouses may share tents. Youth sharing tents must be no more than two years apart in age. In Cub Scouting, parents and guardians may share a tent with their family. In all other programs, youth and adults tent separately, even if the adults are parents of the youth.
• Reporting: All persons participating in Scouting programs are mandated reporters of child abuse. Reports must be made to local law enforcement and child protective services. As part of its "Scouts First" approach to the protection and safety of youth, the BSA has established a dedicated 24-hour helpline to receive reports of known or suspected abuse or behavior that might put a youth at risk. The number is 1-844-SCOUTS1 (1-844-726-8871). Online reporting is also available at http://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/incident-report/  When to use it: Anytime you believe a youth has been harmed or their safety and wellbeing is at risk, and you cannot immediately reach your Scout executive or local council. If a Scout is bullied because of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability, and local help is unable to resolve the problem. If someone is at immediate risk of harm, always call 911.

• The Guide to Safe Scouting on-line version is always the most up to date - find it at https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/ 

• To ensure these policies are fully implemented, please take the following steps:
  

  • If your YPT will expire within the year for which you are registering, by local rule you need to renew before the unit you are registered in can recharter. Please log on to My.Scouting.org and take the training prior to December 15th. 

  • If you are already registered, and your My.Scouting.org account is properly linked to your membership number, your training will automatically be updated in the system and associated with the member ID/reference number issued when you created the account. If you do not know your member ID number, contact your unit leader or committee chairman or unit commissioner. Your council can also assist you.

  • A person does not have to be a registered volunteer or have an ID number to take Youth Protection training. To take the training, log in to My.Scouting and create an account. Upon completion, you may print a training certificate to submit with a volunteer application. Once you have your membership card with your new member number, log back in My.Scouting.org and input your member ID in your profile (use the "Manage member ID" function in the main menu) so the training will be linked with your records.

  • If you have taken Youth Protection Training within the past two years but did not take the course online, log on to My.Scouting.org and use the "My Training" function to ensure your records are up to date. If your records are not up to date, e-mail training@TCScouts.org with information about when you took the training and from whom, and we will enter the information into your records (don't forget to include your unit number, so we can find you!). Or, you can contact the Baden-Powell Council and have them verify that your Youth Protection Training records are accurate.

To find out more about the Youth Protection policies of the Boy Scouts of America and how to help Scouting keep your family safe, see the information available in any of the Cub Scouting or Boy Scouting handbooks, or go to http://www.scouting.org/Training/YouthProtection.aspx.

Baden-Powell Council Local Policy for Youth Protection Training

The Baden-Powell Council has established the following stricter Youth Protection Training (YPT) requirement that supersedes the National Policy:

In order to renew your registration, your Youth Protection Training must remain current through your entire registration period. For this reason, you are encouraged to take YPT every year to ensure that it will not lapse during your registration period!  (National requirements just require current YPT at time of registration or recharter) 

Has your training passed its "shelf life"? 

Two Years: 
Youth Protection Training (YPT)* - note local policy requires YPT to be current thoughout charter year even though National policy allows two years.
Climb On Safely *
Safe Swim Defense*
Safety Afloat*
Hazardous Weather*
Camp Visitation
Chainsaw Safety

Have you applied for recognition of your accomplishments?

The BSA has many "square knot" recognition awards for taking training and putting it into practice. See the Recognition section of the Advancement page for details.