All scouts deserve trained leaders!
BSA is committed to providing high quality training for all adult leaders. It is the primary means of supporting them to be successful and produces a consistent program, culture, and experience across units.
Online training is accessed from the scouting online portal at https://my.scouting.org. If you don’t have an account, you’ll need to create one.
Face-to-face classroom training is offered for several courses. Click here to check out the Colonial District calendar for upcoming courses. Classroom training is often more comprehensive and effective than online.
Pack 680 will pay training fees for courses offered by the Colonial District or National Capital Area Council.
New Leader Requirements
- Youth Protection Training (YPT) – required every 2 years
- Position Specific Training (PST) – required once
- VIRTUS – required once by the Catholic Church
Youth Protection Training
YPT describes the rules all adults must follow to ensure scouts remain safe, specifically barriers to abuse which include the “two-deep leadership” and “no one-on-one contact” rules.
Go to my.scouting.org. From the menu, select My Dashboard. Under the My Training module, click YPT.
Position Specific Training
PST consists of several course groupings for den leaders, committee members, and the cubmaster. Each grouping consists of multiple bite-sized modules tailored for your position.
Go to my.scouting.org. From the menu, select My Dashboard. Under the My Training module, click Training Center to find available courses.
If you are already registered in a position of responsibility, the Requirements tab will show you which training you should complete to be considered fully trained. Here is the the module name decoder sheet (current as of 1/7/2019).
VIRTUS
The Catholic Church requires adults who participate in Church-sponsored youth-related activities to complete its own youth protection training, called VIRTUS. Pack 680 is subject to this requirement.
Information about the VIRTUS program, including how to register and obtain initial training, is available via the VIRTUS website at http://www.virtus.org/virtus/virtus_description.cfm.
While YPT focuses on the BSA rules of conduct you must follow as an adult volunteer, VIRTUS focuses on recognizing the signs and behaviors of a dangerous adult. It is complementary to YPT and worth your time.
Optional Training
- Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO)
- Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills / Webelos Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS = WOLS)
- District Pow-Wow – offered every fall
- NCAC University of Scouting – offered every spring
These courses all occur face-to-face. When an offering is announced, follow the website instructions to register.
Pack 680 will pay training fees for courses offered by the Colonial District, a nearby district within NCAC, or by National Capital Area Council itself.
Pow-Wow and University of Scouting are day-long events in which leaders select 4-6 courses from a catalog of dozens. Topics range from planning a pack budget to cheers and showmanship. It is both enriching and fun.
BALOO and IOLS are required for overnight camping. One adult leader must have BALOO for pack campouts or IOLS for Webelos patrol campouts.
Supplemental Training
Love training? BSA provides online courses on many topics you might be interested in or need for an upcoming event.
Courses include:
- Weather Hazards
- Safety Afloat
- Safe Swim Defense
- Drive Safely