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 Pacifica District calendar for upcoming courses. Classroom training is often more comprehensive and effective than online.
Pack 234 will pay training fees for courses offered by the Pacifica District or Greater LA Area Council.
New Leader Requirements
- Youth Protection Training (YPT) – required every 2 years
- Position Specific Training (PST) – required once
- VIRTUS – required by the Catholic Church
- AB506 – required by the state of California
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.
VIRTUS
The Catholic Church requires adults who participate in Church-sponsored youth-related activities to complete its own youth protection training, called VIRTUS. Pack 234 is subject to this requirement.
Information about the VIRTUS program, including how to get fingerprinted and register for initial training, is available via the VIRTUS website at http://www.virtus.org/virtus/virtus_description.cfm.
AB506
Compliance with California youth protection requirements include mandatory reporter training and Live Scan fingerprinting (includes an FBI background check). The complete process is described at the California Scouting website.
All three youth protection systems are overlapping or outright duplicative, and we can’t do anything about it.
Optional Training
- Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO)
- Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS)
- University of Scouting – offered every spring, possibly in Orange County Council
These courses all occur face-to-face. When an offering is announced, follow the website instructions to register.
Pack 234 will pay training fees for courses offered by the Pacifica District, a nearby district within GLAAC, or by Greater LA Area Council itself.
University of Scouting is a day-long event 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