In a conversation between Ernest Thompson Seton, one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and James E. West, the first Chief Scout Executive, West told Seton that the 3 most important things the BSA needs to do to make a positive impact on youth is training, training and more training. 

Several years ago, our council felt strongly that training was so important that it now requires that all registered unit level volunteers complete the basic training for their position within one year of registering.  A copy of the council training policy can be found at this link.  Remember, in addition, youth protection training is required prior to registration and must be renewed every 2 years.

Den Leaders deliver the Scouting movement to our entry level members, so ensuring that they have the needed information is critical to their success. 

There are three options for Den Leaders, and all other unit leaders, to get trained:

• Attend the in-person Council Wide Specific Training, the next one is Saturday December 7, from 8:00am to 12:00pm at First United Methodist Church, 113 West Central Ave, Van Wert, OH.  You can register on line at this link.  Future trainings can be found at www.blackswampbsa.org   
   
• Online Training which is available through your my.scouting.org account (make sure your id number is in your profile).  The online training is divided into 3 segments, to enable you to get some hands-on experience between the training modules and are not particularly designed to be done in one sitting.  The segments for Den Leaders are:
  • Before 1^st meeting
  • Before First Outdoor Activity
  • Earning Your Training Strip

A break down and timing of the all the online segments for all unit leader positions can be found at this link: https://my.scouting.org/Documents/PositionTrainedCourses.pdf

Please note that Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters require Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills in addition to the online or in-person training to complete their basic training. The next course is scheduled for May 9-10, 2020.  Watch the council website for more info. 

• The third option is that your unit recruits an individual to be a unit trainer to conduct the training at the unit level.  The process for having a unit trainer is outlined at this link. 

Remember that as per the council training policy, new Den Leaders, as well as all new volunteer leaders, have one year from the time of their registration to complete the basic training for their position.  At the time of recharter, if a volunteer who has been registered for over one year, has not completed their position specific training, they will not be allowed to continue in that current role.  The recharter process is the only way to attempt, and resource available, to track compliance of the training policy.  For example, a new Den Leader is recruited and registered in September of 2019, this new Den Leader will have until December of 2020 to complete the basic training or they will not be able to continue in the Den Leader role. 

With that said, training was designed to make sure our volunteers have the resources and tools to deliver the values and excitement of the Scouting movement to the youth and families of our community!  Every Scout deserves a trained leader.