Training

Woodbadge

Wood Badge is the premier advanced leadership training for adult volunteers in Scouting. Designed for leaders from all Scouting programs, the course focuses on strengthening leadership skills, teamwork, and communication to help deliver the best possible experience for youth. 

Through a combination of hands-on activities, discussions, and outdoor experiences, participants learn practical leadership tools that can be applied not only in Scouting but also in their careers, families, and communities. The course explores topics such as team development, communication, project planning, conflict management, and servant leadership. 

Wood Badge also provides participants with a broader understanding of how the different Scouting programs work together and how strong leadership helps units succeed. Leaders leave the course with new skills, new connections with fellow volunteers, and a renewed commitment to delivering a high-quality Scouting program for youth. 

Who should attend:

• Registered adult Scouting volunteers
  
  
• Leaders who have completed their basic position training
  
  
• Scouters looking to strengthen their leadership skills and impact

Wood Badge is widely recognized as one of the most impactful training opportunities in Scouting, helping leaders grow while strengthening the programs that serve youth across the council.

National Youth Leadership Training

National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is an exciting, action-packed program designed for councils to provide youth members with leadership skills and experience they can use in their home units and in other situations demanding leadership of self and others.

The NYLT Course is leadership training experience is conducted by highly qualified youth staff under the supervision of adult advisors.

The course models a month in the life of a unit. The training consists of six days of Scout activities culminating on the in an overnight outpost camp.

The Scout will learn the fundamentals of good leadership. These include the skills of motivating people and getting the job done. They are presented in a form that encourages the Scout to practice these skills as they are learned. The Scout will learn the importance of forming a group into a unit that is working together because they want to. The tools of communications, identifying and using resources, representing the group and dealing with problems will all be presented. Your Scout will have an opportunity to practice these skills while learning the kinds of results they can bring. The skills related to planning, effective teaching, and sharing leadership also will be presented. These tools are the ones that will get the job done. Scouts are challenged through various Team activities to provide practical, hands on, experience in the use of these skills. The Scout leaves with a “Leadership Toolkit” to aid him in applying his newly acquired skills back in the Troop.



Our focus at NYLT is on the leadership skills and providing an opportunity to use and strengthen those skills. Participants who are Boy Scouts must have achieved the rank of First Class or higher prior to attending NYLT. Venturers must have a basic knowledge of these skills as well. It is presumed all participants possess skills in the areas of cooking, fire building, camping, knot tying, safety and first aid.

BALOO Training

Scouting America’s BALOO (Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation) is a hands-on training designed to help Cub Scouts leaders gain the knowledge and confidence needed to plan and conduct safe, successful outdoor activities for their packs.

This course introduces adult leaders to the essentials of Cub Scout outdoor programs, including camping preparation, program planning, safety guidelines, cooking, equipment, and age-appropriate outdoor activities. Participants learn practical skills that help create fun and meaningful outdoor experiences for Cub Scouts and their families.

BALOO training also helps leaders understand the policies and best practices that support safe pack camping and outdoor adventures. Having trained leaders ensures that Cub Scout packs can confidently offer well-organized and enjoyable outdoor opportunities.

Who should attend:

• Cub Scout leaders planning pack camping trips
  
  
• Pack committee members supporting outdoor activities
  
  
• Adult volunteers interested in strengthening their outdoor leadership skills

BALOO training helps ensure that Cub Scout packs can safely enjoy the outdoors while building confidence, teamwork, and a love for adventure. 

Wilderness First Aid Training

Wilderness First Aid (WFA) training prepares adult leaders and volunteers with the knowledge and skills needed to respond to medical emergencies in outdoor and remote environments. This hands-on course focuses on situations where professional medical help may be delayed, making it essential for those participating in high-adventure activities and extended outdoor trips.

Participants learn how to assess injuries, manage medical emergencies, and make informed decisions when caring for someone in the wilderness. Training typically covers topics such as patient assessment, environmental emergencies, wound care, fractures and sprains, and emergency response planning.

This course is especially valuable for leaders supporting outdoor adventures and high-adventure experiences within Scouting America, helping ensure that youth and adults can participate safely in backcountry and remote settings.

Who should attend:

• Adult leaders participating in high-adventure trips
  
  
• Volunteers supporting outdoor and backcountry activities
  
  
• Scouters who want to strengthen their emergency response skills in outdoor settings

Wilderness First Aid training helps leaders be prepared, confident, and capable of responding effectively when emergencies occur in the outdoors. 

Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills Training

Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS) is a hands-on training course that teaches adult leaders the fundamental outdoor skills needed to support a successful troop program in Scouting America. The course focuses on the outdoor methods used in Scouts BSA, helping leaders understand how to guide youth through outdoor adventures safely and effectively.

During the training, participants learn and practice essential outdoor skills such as camping, cooking, knots and lashings, fire building, map and compass navigation, first aid, and outdoor ethics. These skills help adult leaders better support youth-led troop activities and reinforce the outdoor experiences that are central to the Scouting program.

IOLS training also emphasizes the importance of teaching these skills in a way that encourages youth leadership, teamwork, and personal growth.

Who should attend:

• Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters
  
  
• Troop committee members supporting outdoor programs
  
  
• Adult volunteers who want to strengthen their outdoor leadership skills
  
  

IOLS is an important step in preparing leaders to deliver safe, engaging, and skill-building outdoor experiences for Scouts.

Youth Protection

The Boy Scouts of America places the greatest importance on creating the most secure environment possible for our youth members. To maintain such an environment, the BSA developed numerous procedural and leadership selection policies and provides parents and leaders with resources for the Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing programs.

Leadership Selection

The Boy Scouts of America takes great pride in the quality of our adult leadership. Being a leader in the BSA is a privilege, not a right. The quality of the program and the safety of our youth members call for high-quality adult leaders. We work closely with our chartered organizations to help recruit the best possible leaders for their units.

The adult application requests background information that should be checked by the unit committee or the chartered organization before accepting an applicant for unit leadership. While no current screening techniques exist that can identify every potential child molester, we can reduce the risk of accepting a child molester by learning all we can about an applicant for a leadership position—his or her experience with children, why he or she wants to be a Scout leader, and what discipline techniques he or she would use.

Youth Protection training should be taken within the first 90 days of becoming an adult leader. While there is no standard time period after which an individual would be required to retake Youth Protection training (either online or the guided presentation discussion version), each person is encouraged to take either course as a refresher every 24 months. This does not preclude local councils or the National Council from requiring a date-specific certificate of completion for the online version.

Barriers to Abuse Within Scouting

The BSA has adopted the following policies to provide additional security for our members. These policies are primarily for the protection of our youth members; however, they also serve to protect our adult leaders from false accusations of abuse.

• Two-deep leadership. Two registered adult leaders or one registered leader and a parent of a participant, or other adult, one of whom must be 21 years of age or older, are required on all trips and outings. The chartered organization is responsible for ensuring that sufficient leadership is provided for all activities.
• No one-on-one contact. One-on-one contact between adults and youth members is not permitted. In situations that require personal conferences, such as a Scoutmaster’s conference, the meeting is to be conducted in view of other adults and youths.
• Respect of privacy. Adult leaders must respect the privacy of youth members in situations such as changing clothes and taking showers at camp, and intrude only to the extent that health and safety require. Adults must protect their own privacy in similar situations.
• Cameras, imaging, and digital devices. While most campers and leaders use cameras and other imaging devices responsibly, it has become very easy to invade the privacy of individuals. It is inappropriate to use any device capable of recording or transmitting visual images in shower houses, restrooms, or other areas where privacy is expected by participants.
• Separate accommodations. When camping, no youth is permitted to sleep in the tent of an adult other than his own parent or guardian. Councils are strongly encouraged to have separate shower and latrine facilities for females. When separate facilities are not available, separate times for male and female use should be scheduled and posted for showers.
• Proper preparation for high-adventure activities. Activities with elements of risk should never be undertaken without proper preparation, equipment, clothing, supervision, and safety measures.
• No secret organizations. The Boy Scouts of America does not recognize any secret organizations as part of its program. All aspects of the Scouting program are open to observation by parents and leaders.
• Appropriate attire. Proper clothing for activities is required. For example, skinny-dipping is not appropriate as part of Scouting.
• Constructive discipline. Discipline used in Scouting should be constructive and reflect Scouting’s values. Corporal punishment is never permitted.
• Hazing prohibited. Physical hazing and initiations are prohibited and may not be included as part of any Scouting activity.
• Junior leader training and supervision. Adult leaders must monitor and guide the leadership techniques used by junior leaders and ensure that BSA policies are followed.
• Member responsibilities. All members of the Boy Scouts of America are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the principles set forth in the Scout Oath and Law. Physical violence, hazing, bullying, theft, verbal insults, drugs, and alcohol have no place in the Scouting program and may result in the revocation of a Scout’s membership in the unit.
• Unit responsibilities. The head of the chartered organization or chartered organization representative and the local council must approve the registration of the unit’s adult leader. Adult leaders of Scouting units are responsible for monitoring the behavior of youth members and interceding when necessary. Parents of youth members who misbehave should be informed and asked for assistance in dealing with it.

Digital Privacy

A key ingredient for a safe and healthy Scouting experience is the respect for privacy. Advances in technology are enabling new forms of social interaction that extend beyond the appropriate use of cameras or recording devices (see “Barriers to Abuse Within Scouting”). Sending sexually explicit photographs or videos electronically or “sexting” by cell phones is a form of texting being practiced primarily by young adults and children as young as middle-school age. Sexting is neither safe, nor private, nor an approved form of communication and can lead to severe legal consequences for the sender and the receiver. Although most campers and leaders use digital devices responsibly, educating them about the appropriate use of cell phones and cameras would be a good safety and privacy measure.

The “three R’s” of Youth Protection

The “three R’s” of Youth Protection convey a simple message to youth members:

• Recognize situations that place you at risk of being molested, how child molesters operate, and that anyone could be a molester.
• Resist unwanted and inappropriate attention. Resistance will stop most attempts at molestation.
• Report attempted or actual molestation to a parent or other trusted adult. This prevents further abuse and helps to protect other children. Let the Scout know he or she will not be blamed for what occurred.

Guide to Safe Scouting
The purpose of the Guide to Safe Scouting is to prepare adult leaders to conduct Scouting activities in a safe and prudent manner.

It Happened to Me: Cub Scout Meeting Guide
Video Facilitator Guides. A sample letter to parents and guardians as well as English and Spanish meeting guides for facilitators’ use when showing the age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention video.

A Time to Tell: Troop Meeting Guide
Video Facilitator Guides. English and Spanish meeting guides for facilitators’ use when showing the age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention video.

Youth Protection Meeting Guide (Venturing Program)
Video Facilitator Guides. A sample letter to parents and guardians as well as English and Spanish meeting guides for facilitators’ use when showing the age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention video.

Camp Leadership … A Guide for Camp Staff and Unit Leaders
Brochure for unit leaders and camp staff who are responsible for providing a safe and healthy camp setting where Scouts are free from the worries of child abuse.