S.A.F.E.Guarding youth Training
Scouting America is Committed to Safeguarding YouthSafeguarding youth is a value at the core of the Scouting movement. It is vital to maintain a culture of active supervision, awareness, and safety at all levels of Scouting. Safeguarding Youth training will help you prevent harm to youth, is required for all Scouting America registered volunteers and is a joining requirement.
Updated Training Requirements – May 2025
Effective May 2025, all registered volunteers 18 and up are required to take Safeguarding Youth Training yearly.
Required Training
- Safeguarding Youth training (SYT) is required for all Scouting America registered volunteers and is a joining requirement
- Safeguarding Youth training must be taken every year. If a volunteer’s Safeguarding Youth training is not current at the time of annual registration renewal, the volunteer will not be re-registered.
- Training is available in both English and Spanish
Duration: 90 minutes for initial course
Languages: English and Spanish
How often to take: Must take initial course and then take refresher course/pass the test once a year
You must complete all the lessons in this course and achieve an 80% or better score on the Course Test to receive credit for this training.
All adults will need to take the new SYT prior to May 31, 2026. See the FAQ section below for more details.
Key Features of the Updated Training:
- Comprehensive Focus: Our new Safeguarding Youth Training (formerly Youth Protection Training) program reflects the more comprehensive nature of the training and its focus on safeguarding youth from all threats.
- Inclusive Content: The training covers a wide range of topics, ensuring volunteers are well-informed about potential risks and best practices for youth protection.
- Annual Refresher Courses: Recognizing the ongoing need for education and awareness, Scouting America will now require annual refresher courses, estimated to take 15-20 minutes, to keep youth protection knowledge current.
- Alignment with Best Practices: Scouting America regularly consults with experts to ensure its policies and training reflect the most up-to-date knowledge and prevention techniques in the field of youth safety.
- Focus on Prevention: The training emphasizes proactive measures to prevent abuse and create a culture of safety within Scouting.
Quick Links
Key Contacts
Emily Whittle-Perkins
Council Safeguarding Officer
Office: (503)225-5737
Cell: (503)225-5544
Email: emily.whittleperkins@scouting.org
Scouts First Helpline
As part of its “Scouts First” approach to the protection and safety of youth, Scouting America 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 following number can be called or texted. Both adults and youth can text the below number anonymously if necessary.
1-844-SCOUTS1 (1-844-726-8871)
Q: Does this replace Youth Protection Training?
A. Yes! This will replace Youth Protection Training.
Q. When will I have to take this new training?
All adults with expiration after May 31, 2026 will have their expirations set to May 31, 2026 and need to take the training prior to that.
Q. Do I have to take the full 90 minute course each year now?
Q. Do I have to be a registered adult to take this training?
To take the training, go to My.Scouting.org and 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, you can launch the Safeguarding Training from the home page. Upon completion, you may print a training certificate to submit with a volunteer application, or wait for an email with your certificate to be sent to your email address. Your training will automatically be updated in our system and associated with the member ID/reference number issued when you created the account.
Reporting Procedures
There are two types of Youth Protection–related reporting procedures all volunteers must follow:
- When you witness or suspect any child has been abused or neglected—See “Mandatory Report of Child Abuse” below.
- When you witness a violation of Scouting America’s Youth Protection policies—See “Reporting Violations of Scouting America Youth Protection Policies” below.
Mandatory Report of Child Abuse
All persons involved in Scouting shall report to local authorities any good-faith suspicion or belief that any child is or has been physically or sexually abused, physically or emotionally neglected, exposed to any form of violence or threat, exposed to any form of sexual exploitation, including the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child pornography, online solicitation, enticement, or showing of obscene material. You may not abdicate this reporting responsibility to any other person.
Reporting Violations of Scouting America Youth Protection Policies
If you think any of Scouting America’s Youth Protection policies have been violated, including those described within Scouting’s Barriers to Abuse, you must notify your local council Scout executive or his/her designee so appropriate action can be taken for the safety of our Scouts.
Steps to Reporting Child Abuse
- Ensure the child is in a safe environment.
- In cases of child abuse injury or medical emergencies, call 911 immediately.
- In addition, if the suspected abuse occurred in the Scout’s home or family, you are required by state law to immediately report/contact the local child abuse hotline.
- Notify the Scout executive or his/her designee, if he/she cannot be reached call the 24/7 Scouts First Helpline at 1-844-726-8871 or email, scoutsfirst@scouting.org
“You are the smoke detector, not the fire fighter.” You are there to recognize and listen to youth about their concerns. You are not expected to fix the problem, but report what you hear to to professionals so they can work safeguard our youth.
As a Reminder…
Safeguarding Youth applies to all online activities.
All online activities, including video and audio conferencing through platforms such as Zoom and Skype, must adhere to Scouting America’s current guidelines for digital communications, including the Digital Privacy guidelines and the Social Media Guidelines. Because safety features and privacy controls vary widely from platform to platform, and out of respect for families’ own preferences concerning social media usage, we strongly recommend using business-oriented conferencing platforms—for example, Zoom, Skype, GoToMeeting and others—to conduct online group activities instead of platforms intended for online gaming (e.g., Discord, Robolux, Twitch).
Recording online meetings is not authorized.
We believe our existing policy is the best way to protect youth and volunteers, and we do not believe recording online meetings would provide any additional material benefit. To the contrary, recording calls would increase personal risk as call recording is subject to various legal requirements under U.S. law and the laws of individual states, some of which require all parties to a call consent to recording. Considering those potential regulatory risks and the effect of Scouting America’s existing policies, we are not authorizing the recording of online meetings that include youth.
No One-On-One Digital contact
As a reminder, Scouting’s Barriers to Abuse prohibits any one-on-one contact between an adult leader and youth members – in person, online, through a web conference, over the phone, via text, or in any other form. Electronic communication between adults and youth should always include another registered leader or parent.
Parent Resources
The following guides are the same ones that are found inside each Youth handbook (Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA) and are meant to be a reference for parents. Parents should review the material with their children.
Cub Scouts – Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos, and Arrow of Light
Scouts BSA (Boy, Girl and Co-Ed Troops)