Training

General

People involved in the Scouting program require some training. The training requirements are summarized in the Volunteer Screening Policy Update document.

The training can be done in person or online on the myscouts website. Some people report technical difficulties doing the training on myscouts. It should be noted that typically there are a number of sessions to each module and multiple modules to each course. If there are problems with the system recognizing completion, it is recommended to take a screen shot at the completion of each session to prove that you have in fact taken the course.

Apparently myscouts works best with Google Chrome. Using Macs, ipads or smartphones don’t work well or at all. Ipads allow people to take the training but does not give credit for some reason. Also, users need to wait until they says that they may now close the screen. If the screen is closed too soon, the records won’t be updated.

If a parent moves into a Leadership role from a Parent Overnight role, the Parent Overnight role should be removed and the Leader role made the “Primary Org”. Leaving the Active Parent Overnight role can cause confusion as they are becoming Active leaders.

Leaders

Leaders need to be registered and have completed a number of training courses.

Volunteers are not allowed to be in a leadership role, nor allowed to wear a uniform, until their myscouts profile is listed as Active.

Volunteers have 90 days to become 100% compliant with all screening/training requirements for their registered role. After 90 days, the member will be inactivated from the Group role and therefore won’t count for ratio. It is therefore important for the Registrar to keep up to date with the training status.

Initial Training

To become Active, the following is required (the order is not important):

• Application
• Reference check
• PRC and VSS (Police Record Check)
• Interview
• Code of Conduct
• Online Woodbadge 1 Module 1 which includes Child and Youth Safety Training and Accessibility Training.
• Once the above is all done, Council Approval is granted.

Once a Leader is Active, they can be invested into the Section.

To stay Active, the following is required:

• Woodbadge 1 Modules 2-5 which is the Section-specific training. Note that completing the Woodbadge 1 training must be done before the leader can count towards Ratio.
• Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders (new in 2016)
• Yearly acceptance of Code of Conduct

Leaders have to the end of the Scouting year (31 Aug) to become Active or they will become Inactive. Once they are Active, leaders who are new to a Section have 90 days after Sep 1st to complete their full WoodBadge or they will go Inactive.

Application

Request that the volunteer to fill out the “Volunteer Registration Form” or complete the registration on-line. If the paper form is filled out and the Registrar enters the information into myscouts, a copy of the signed form must be sent to Dyanna Pfenniger.

Reference Check

If the volunteers listed on the registration form and in myscouts have email addresses, the reference check is done and updated by the BackCheck service. BackCheck updates the data on myscouts directly. Our Group therefore doesn’t have to do the checks. Note that if the Registrar edits the references after they are entered, it messes things up and that reference needs to be completely re-entered for the process to work.

PRC and VSS

The leader must have a clean Police Record Checks (PRC) Vulnerable Sector Screening/Search (VSS). This is now done as a single process though the BC government:

• The access code provided below is unique to Scouts Canada and can only be used by Scouts Canada volunteers. You will require this code when submitting your request online.
• Online Link: https://justice.gov.bc.ca/eCRC/ Access Code for Scouts Canada: BPMXBZZ8B9
• The results of the criminal record check will be sent directly by email to Scouts Canada - BCY Service Centre who will then process it by entering the information into myscouts.

Alternatively, the PRC can be done through BackCheck for $20-$25.

The Council Registrar will send an email to people who have a PRC that is coming due. The PRC can be done for free through the Ministry of Justice and this check covers both the PRC and the VSS.

Apparently as long as you have a VSS on file and a recent PRC, there no concern about an “expired” VSS.

If a person has the same birthdate (day and year) as someone with a criminal record, the volunteer may need to be fingerprinted as part of this process. This can take a while.

Interview

The ½ hour interview is usually done by the Group Commissioner and a Section Scouter after the references come back. A minimum of two registered Scouters who have done the “Volunteer Screening” Training (a 25 minute video on myscouts) are required.

Once the interview is completed, the Group Commissioner signs the form and then the Group Commissioner or Registrar enters the information into myscouts (Screening>Interviews). Note that the comments section of the nine questions does not require that a detailed description be entered (“Agrees.” is fine) unless the person is being rejected as a leader.

The forms do not need to be sent into the office for filing. The fact that the Group Commissioner or Registrar enters the information into myscouts is proof enough that the Group Commissioner approves the Interview.

Code of Conduct

All volunteers must accept the Code of Conduct (done annually). This is done on myscouts.

Woodbadge 1 Module 1

All volunteers should complete Woodbadge 1 Module 1 (WB1 Module 1 All Sections (WB1mod1/AS)) on myscouts.

The online version of WB1 Module 1 includes sessions on “Child and Youth Safety Training” and “Accessibility Training”. For some reason, these are not always covered in the in-person WB1 training. When the records of the in-person WB1 training gets updated in myscouts, check the records under the Screening>Training Records tab. If either is missing, the individual session can be completed in myscouts via the DAVID HUESTIS Learning Centre and taking the specific session of WB1 Module 1 All Sections (WB1mod1/AS) Session 5: How Scouting helps you deliver a safe program (CYS session) or Session 6: How you can help Scouting reach more young people (Accessibility session).

Council Approval

Once all the above is completed, the person will receive Council Approval and become Active. This typically takes a few days. If this is taking too long, follow up with the Council Registrar.

Additional Training

Full Woodbadge 1

By Aug 31st of the year the member volunteered, they must complete the Section-specific Woodbadge 1 training (for example WB Part 1 (Colony) (TMS1/B)). This can be done online (modules 2-5) for free or in person for a nominal cost. The Group will cover the cost for Section leaders to take this training.

Note that completing the WB1 training must be done before the leader can count towards Ratio.

Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders

This is a new requirement in 2016-2017 year. Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders training replaces the current Child and Youth Safety training course (Scouting Fundamentals – Module 1 Session 5: How Scouting Helps Keep Youth Safe) and is accessible through the David Heustis Learning Centre. A certificate will be provided upon completion of the course, which is transferable to all youth serving organizations that utilize Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders as their mandatory safety training program, and is valid for 5 years (at which point it must be renewed with training repeated).

Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders training is mandatory for all Scouters, and Rover Scouts. The training costs $30, and individuals will be prompted to pay via credit card or via PayPal at the beginning of the session. The Group will cover the cost for Section leaders to take this training.

Individuals, who have a current Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders training certificate can apply it to meet Scout’s Canada’s requirement, and will not need to retake the training until their certificate expires.

In order to transition all Scouters to the new safety training program requirement, Active Scouters, Scouters under age and Rover Scouts will have until August 31, 2017 to complete the new mandatory Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders training. New Scouters who register for the 2016/2017 Scouting year are encouraged to complete Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders training as part of their registration. However, they do have the option to complete the existing Child and Youth Safety Training, with the expectation that they will have until August 31, 2017 to complete Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders training.

Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders training, can be accessed on myscouts through the David Heustis Learning Centre (DHLC) under “My Learning Path” or by searching through the Course Catalogue for Course ID: 6520.

Foodsafe

For camps, at least one leader should have Foodsafe. The Group will cover the cost for Section leaders to take this training.

First Aid

For camps, at least one leader should have Level 1 First Aid. The Group will cover the cost for Section leaders to take this training.

Youth in Rovers

Rovers require the same training as a Scouter, but do not necessarily need to take Woodbadge training. Youth in Scouts, Cubs and Beavers

No specific training is required, but and Cubs can take FLEX training, Scouts can take FAST training and Venturers & Rovers can take FOCUS training. Focus/Fast/Flex training has been cancelled as the program is in the process of being revamped for the Canadian Path Program.

Parents

Any parent who helps in a meeting or comes to a camp needs to have some training before they attend. The amount of training depends on what role they are doing.

• Parents who help out at a meeting or outing need to be set up with a “Parent Helper” role by the Group Registrar. The parent needs to accept the “Code of Conduct” on myscouts
• Parents who participate in Scouting activities need to fill out a Physical Fitness Certificate for Non Members form and give it to the Section Leader. It would be preferable that the parent simply fill in this information on their myscouts profile. This only needs to be done once (and updated when conditions change), and the information can be kept on file with the youth registration forms.
• Parents who stay overnight with their youth need to be set up with a “Parent Overnight” role by the Group Registrar. The parents need to accept the “Code of Conduct” and complete “Child and Youth Safety” training on myscouts.
• Adults who attend overnight without their youth need to accept the “Code of Conduct”, complete the “Child and Youth Safety” training, and have a PRC / VSS (Police Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Screening).
• The “Child and Youth Safety” training is done when they parents take the “Safe Scouting for Parents” training on myscouts.
• Parents who attend activities as a “Parent Helper” or a “Parent Overnight” are NOT insured.
• Youth who attend who are not registered (e.g. younger siblings or friends) are NOT insured and need have a Hold Harmless form completed.
• There used to be a requirement that Parents attending a camp had to complete a “Hold Harmless” form. This is no longer required.
• Parents who go across the border for an event need to complete a “Hold Harmless” form.
• Parents do not count for ratio and the two deep rule still applies (2 Scouters with all youth).
• If parents show up at a camp and have not done the “Child and Youth Safety” training, it can be found the following link: http://www.scouts.ca/vstk/pdf/training/Safe-Scouting-for-Parents.pdf Have the parent watch the video and make a note of who watched it. The Group Registrar can then add a note of this training in their myscouts profile.

The “Code of Conduct” and “Child and Youth Safety” training can be done on myscouts as follows:

• The Section Leader and/or Group Registrar should ensure that the parents are linked to their youth in myscouts. If a link needs to be made (or duplicate records removed), the Group Registrar will have to request that this be done by the Council Registrar.
• The Group Registrar should ensure the parent has a “Parent Overnight” role (or “Parent Helper” role) added to their myscouts profile. Do this before asking the parents to complete their training.
• Get the parents to do the following:
  • Log into myscouts
  • If the youth registration was done by paper, part of the process when the Registrar enters the information is entering the parent’s email address. This creates a myscouts account for the parent. If this is this case, the parent should go to myscouts and click on “Request new password”, enter their email address and confirm that they are human. This will email them the password reset instructions. Log in and reset the password.
  • A pop-up should happen to get the parent to confirm that they accept the “Code of Conduct”. This pop-up will occur if they have the “Parent Overnight” or “Parent Helper” role in their profile.
  • Click on “DAVID HUESTIS Learning Centre”.
  • Click on “*Parents attending an overnight activity* For quick access to your Safe Scouting for Parents training, click here.”
  • Complete the “Safe Scouting for Parents” training.
  • Apparently this works best with Google Chrome. Using Macs, iPads or smartphones don’t work well or at all.
• The Group Registrar can “Activate” the “Parent Helper” after they given their “Physical Fitness Certificate for Non Members” to their Section Scouter, the information provided is added to their myscouts profile, they have completed the “Child and Youth Safety” training, and they have accepted the “Code of Conduct”.
• Once a parent is “Activated”, they are permitted to attend a camp.