No response to this request when it was submitted. I’d like to second this.
Due to the difficulty in getting the security right to do electronic signatures and the liability that comes with it, my opinion is the BSA will not add this to Scoutbook for the foreseeable future.
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In addition, some jurisdictions do not recognize electronic signatures for consent purposes. Whether they should or not is a different issue.
I’d be happy with a button like we currently have in Troop Web Host. The parent logs-in and only they have access to the button. I don’t think this has to be to the level of digital signatures / PKI.
Those jurisdictions that don’t accept an electronic consent can continue to require a wet signature, but at least this option would be there.
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What happens when I take an injured Scout to the ER and they say “what says you have the right to have this kid with you”? I am all for electronic signatures, but I am not sure they will accepted a box checked in TroopWebHost or Scoutbook.
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I’d be curious to know if that’s ever been an issue…
I can see a big, ugly, legal mess when something wrong happens…
As @Matt.Johnson noted, proving to an ER that you’re allowed to consent for medical care in the absence of a parent would be one thing. That happened in our Troop this past summer, when a youth had to go to Urgent Care after cutting himself cooking.
Another thing is access to the documents in the back country… A check box on an online form is pretty useless if you can’t access it. Paper is portable and the batteries never die. I’ve had youth in our units before where the parents were going through a bitter divorce, and neither parent was above using the kid (and our Pack, by extension) as a bludgeon against the other parent. I’m not about to get caught out without docs covering my behind if something like that erupts again…
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Hmm. Thanks everyone for the insights. In all the years we’ve been using it we’ve never had a single issue.
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