Add Connection Button not showing up for MBC

Ok this came from a leader in a troop that I am working with. but when I try to add you as a MB Counselor I get an error message saying that you’re not listed for Family Life (see attached pdf print screen). I’m not sure why this happens, because I can find you using the search tool – it just doesn’t acknowledge you as a MB Counselor for this badge.

@KimberlyHansen

Has a Troop Admin approved your Merit Badge Counselor (MBC) position in Scoutbook?

Have you combined your multiple MBC positions into a single position?

There are two separate steps involved in being linked to a scout as a MBC in Scoutbook. First, your MBC position has to be approved in Scoutbook. Then, you have to be connected to a particular scout as a MBC for that particular badge.

Likely, you still need your position as a MBC approved by someone in Scoutbook for the software to operate correctly. If your council were uploading and managing the Scoutbook list, that would handle the approval.

Since it appears your council is not uploading their MBC list, you need a unit admin to add you as a leader in their unit first, with the position Merit Badge Counselor, and you have to accept that position. Alternatively, you can set the unit association for your position to some troop where you know a unit admin, and they go in to their roster and Approve your position. Then, you should be able to be associated with scouts for the merit badges on your list in Scoutbook, assuming your status as a counselor is set to available.

No not that I can see and I have one listed but I don’t know why there are still problems adding me as a MBC on their roster. What do you mean Troop Admin?

They are having problems because they are trying to connect Scouts to you as a MBC, but your MBC position is not approved in Scoutbook.

Troops that use Scoutbook have one or more Troop Admins. A Troop Admin can add you to their Troop Roster with the position of Merit Badge Counselor. After you have been added to the Troop Roster and approved by a Troop Admin as a MBC, then you will be able to connect with Scouts for the individual merit badges.

So what the best ways to go to get this fixed because I have had 4 boys wanting to add me as their MBC for their Disabilities Awareness badge and Family Life badge and I might have more scouts that want to add me as well???

The easiest way is to ask a Troop Admin (usually Scoutmaster, Committee Chair, or Advancement Coordinator) from one of the Scouts’ troops to add you to their Troop Roster in Scoutbook as an MBC.

So let’s say that most of the Scouts are from Troop 1234 (made up troop number). Contact the Scoutmaster from Troop 1234 and ask the Scoutmaster if he or she will add you to their Troop Roster in Scoutbook. If the Scoutmaster agrees, you can go to:

My Account → My Positions → + Add the MBC position

with that troop. After you do this, you will appear on the troop’s Troop Roster page in Scoutbook, and all they need to do is approve your position. Once that is done, they can then connect you to Scouts with whom you are working.

You should only have one MBC position listed under My Current Positions & Roles.

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From the Troop Roster page, a Troop Admin can see your name, click on it, click on your Merit Badge Counselor position, then scroll down to the bottom of the screen and approve your position. They will see something that looks like this:

After your MBC position is approved, then you can start connecting to Scouts.

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Is there a way that I can be unit admins and Merit badge counselor?

Short answer: not unless a unit assigns you to be one. Honestly, unless you had reason to be an admin in my unit, I wouldn’t make you one. We limit the number of admins to the minimum necessary to maintain functionality to reduce the chance of unintentional problems. I suspect other units manage things similarly.

Intrinsically, a merit badge counselor isn’t a unit position, rather a council or district position (depending on how your council delegates MBC management). Scoutbook was originally set up as a unit tracking tool, and is getting other positions added into it.

The analogous “admin” position for MBCs is actually a council admin. However, not all councils are actively administering MBC positions on Scoutbook at this time. However, because adult leader positions can be associated with a unit, having a unit admin “approve” your position is a bit of a residual backdoor to getting positions managed until the system is fully implemented by all councils.

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Thank you. :grinning:

Thank you all for your help unfortunately nothing been solve or resolve and I have run out of ideas because nothing been achieve or fixed.

Have you asked one of the troops that you are working with to add you to their Troop Roster in Scoutbook? You are kind of stuck until a Troop Admin approves your position as a MBC in Scoutbook.

@KimberlyHansen - since your council does not upload the list, you are dependent upon a unit admin to add you to the unit leadership roster and approves the position. Unless and until that happens there is nothing that any of us can do.

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I believe I did and yes my council did upload the list, they told me. I did ask them but I don’t want to keep sending emails to that person until they let me know that it works. I am all hard copies because then I wouldn’t be running into problems like I have been for a month.

@KimberlyHansen - are your MBC positions listed as such:

If they appear as you posted earlier, then they have not uploaded them to scoutbook.

Which council is this?

@jacobfetzer New Birth of Freedom Council

They told me they uploaded list and approve me as I have already been approve before. This is what it looks like now.

@KimberlyHansen - it appears that they have not uploaded it to scoutbook. If they had it would match what mine is with Blue check marks and noting the approving council.