Lafayette District Leaders,

The following is targeted specifically at Cubmasters and other Cub Leaders, but applies to ALL Scout Leaders.

"Succession", is that a Scouting dirty word? You might think it was a dirty word when the word "Succession" comes up. Some may ask, "What is it?" In a short statement, it is planning who will replace you. When your son or daughter moves from Wolves to Bears and you, the old Wolf Den Leader, is moving up to Bear Den Leader, who will replace you? When the Cubmaster's youngest son or daughter crosses over to Boy Scouting who will be the new Cubmaster? When your Committee Chair gets a job transfer to the Midwest and the family moves, who will replace him or her?

More importantly, it is Spring and most Cub Packs reduce activity during the summer months. When Scouting ramps up again in September with many leaders changing roles, you probably will need new Wolf, Bear, Webelos and Arrow of Light Leaders. Not a problem, or is it? If you didn't make a Succession plan it is a problem. Why? Because, the new leaders require Position Specific Training to allow your Pack to recharter. If you wait until after summer to select your new leaders, those leaders may not have time to complete the training,  so it's unlikely your Pack can Recharter on time.

The answer? Decide NOW who the new leaders will be in September. Have them complete the required online training over the summer months so your Pack is ready with all leaders trained and ready before the rechartering process, not at or during the Recharter process, which is always a recipe for disaster and delay! 

While the "Succession Planning for Volunteer Leaders" is not a required training class, I highly recommend that the Key 3 Leaders of your Pack, Troop or Crew complete any or all 4 modules, "Volunteer Impact on Membership", "Recruiting Unit Leaders", "Volunteer Recruitment", and "Succession Planning". The training is available in Members' Learning Center under "Expanded Learning".

Also, please don't forget that everyone needs to complete the new Youth Protection training by Sept 30, 2018, regardless of prior YPT training and its expiration date.

Ken Houseal

Lafayette District Commissioner

Do you have any Boy Scouts that are interested in going to the 2019 World Jamboree? If they are going to be 14 years old (or older) during the World Jamboree in 2019 at Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, there is room for your Scouts! There is also money available for Camperships.

Representatives from the Council Committee on World Scouting will make a brief presentation to the Boy Scout breakout session at this month's Roundtable regarding The World Jamboree and World scouting. Please send your Troop representative for this important information.

Hello Lafayette District Leaders and Parents,

It hasn't been widely made known yet however the BSA has adopted a new Youth Protection Training (YPT) course known as "Youth Protection Training 2". This training will replace all forms of YPT covering various forms of Scouting.

What you need to know most is , we are all required to complete the YPT 2 training prior to Oct. 1, 2018. This is regardless of what YPT Training you have completed and regardless of the expiration date of that training. No adult can be a member of the BSA without the new YPT 2 training. No existing member can be rechartered without YPT 2 and no Pack, Troop, Crew or other Scouting Unit will be able to charter or recharter unless every adult member has completed YPT 2. These are the hard facts.

The training can be completed in a little over an hour. Personally I had a bad experience by using an old computer and software. If you use the recommended browser, turn off any pop-up blocker and follow the instructions in the Cheat Sheet below you will have much better results than I.

To complete the required training logon to you're my.scouting.org account and go to the YPT Training page. The "Cheat Sheet" to help you through the steps to complete the training can be downloaded here.

By October 1, 2018, all new and currently registered leaders will be required to complete the updated training. The enhanced and updated content will allow leaders and councils to comply with all current legal requirements. While this may be inconvenient for some, it reflects the BSA's commitment to the safety of all youth. That is the hard fact. If you want to know more about YPT 2 such as why it has been introduced and what it really is about, continue reading.

Thank you for supporting this improved Youth Protection policy by completing the YPT 2 training at your earliest convenience. Do not wait until September!

Yours in Scouting,

     Ken Houseal

     Lafayette District Commissioner

Over the decades, the Boy Scouts of America has been a leader in developing training and policies designed to keep young people safe. These comprehensive policies were considered groundbreaking when they were developed and soon became the standard used by other organizations for safeguarding youth. But when it comes to the safety of children, our goal is to continually improve.

• Youth protection training for youth members will be available in 2019.

In addition to updated training and resources, we recently announced new policies to ensure compliance with mandatory training requirements, including:

• As of January 1, 2018, no new leader can be registered without first completing youth protection training.

• As of January 1, 2018, no council, regional or national leader will be allowed to renew their registration if they are not current on their youth protection training.

• As of September 1, 2017, no unit may re-charter without all leaders being current on their youth protection training. Registrars no longer have the ability to approve charters without full compliance.

By October 1, 2018, all new and currently registered leaders will be required to complete the updated training . The enhanced and updated content will allow leaders and councils to comply with all current legal requirements. While this may be inconvenient for some, it reflects the BSA's commitment to the safety of all youth.

• Adults accompanying units on activities who are present at the activity for 72 hours or more, must also take Youth Protection Training. The 72 hours need not be consecutive.

• New leaders are required to take Youth Protection Training prior to completing the registration process.

•  Units cannot re-charter unless all unit leaders have completed YPT within two years.

Adult Youth Protection Training is required for adult program participants 18 years or older. Adult program participants (Venturing, Order of the Arrow, Exploring) must complete adult Youth Protection Training before submitting their adult application.

The only position exceptions to taking the required the Youth Protection Training are:

• Institutional heads and

• Adult partners in Tiger and Lion programs.

Parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to take the training. The training is closed captioned. A Spanish version will be available mid-2018. Facilitator-led training materials and classroom training will be available by mid-2018.

Troop 313 invites all Scouts and Scouters to join us at Camp Delmont's Lake Front for the 2018 Spring Camporee on May 4th -6th.

Troop 313 will provide canoes for use at the waterfront, a geocache station, tomahawks and a campfire on Saturday evening. There will be bait available for fishing if you'd like. Please bring your own rods, gear and a fishing license if you're 16 or older. Please remember that all PA fishing laws apply.

We are looking for other Troops to help out with other activities. If there is anything that your Troop enjoys doing and would like to give other Troops a chance to experience, please let us know and we will get it on the agenda.

You can contact Dave Cemini, Scoutmaster for Troop 313, at [email protected] . 

The cost for the event will be $10 per person and you will be able to find the registration on Double Knot.

*** NOTE: We have resolved the issues with registering on Double Knot.  All Troops and Packs need to register on Double Knot in the next two weeks. ***