Welcome! This forum has a treasure trove of great info – Scouters helping Scouters! Just a heads up, though - all content, information, and opinions shared on this forum are those of the author, not the BSA.
Hello, I am a new den leader for an Arrow of Light den. I have completed the application, paid the fees, completed all kinds of training from the BSA and our sponsor organization. Pack leader says I have been approved, but I still am unable to access any Den Leader materials, or see my den roster in Scoutbook. I registered and did the YPT training back in July/Aug, and have been trying to get this solved ever since. Any advice on getting my den leader role “unstuck”?
@ReidSorenson you are not registered as an adult leader and I see no others that could be you - call council to see if you application has been processed
Hello, BSA 137304998 here, I have had a similar issue with our Pack admin telling me he was unable to assign me to a Leader role (AOL den leader). Also, he was unable to search my BSA # when trying to assign the role even though my account is associated with our pack.
@HaroldIbarra - did you submit an adult application, criminal background check form and was the application approved by the charter org and submitted to council?
Hello. Yes to all of the above, but knowing that this a pre-requisite is helpful. I went and did a livescan criminal background check last week so it may be a matter that the information hasn’t been received by the Council yet. California had a law change this year requiring the DOJ/FBI livescan so it is different from past years and our Pack leaders are probably not aware that getting this document turned in is a requirement prior to assigning Leader roles in Scoutbook.
It’s been necessary for quite some time now. Adults can’t be assigned a leadership role until they are registered leaders, i.e. they appear on the official unit roster at my.scouting with a registered position. As a point of clarification, the lion and tiger adult partner roles are often mistaken for registered adult roles, since they appear on the official roster. However, neither position requires an adult application nor the associated background check, YPT, and fees, at least from a national-BSA standpoint. Thus, from a BSA standpoint, these are not “registered adult” positions. As a side note, I’m beginning to think that we should adopt the terminology “registered scouter” to refer to adults who have completed the adult application/background check/YPT/etc process is these discussions. Most folks know that a parent isn’t a “scouter”, but most parents are “adults”. So, when we say “registered adult” that can be slightly confusing for folks who aren’t as familiar with the typical use.
I would suggest talking to your council professionals about whether or not your lion/tiger adult partners are required to complete the AB506 training/livescan/background checks, as the rules are not necessarily as straight-forward as they might appear. I’ve seen a lot of conflicting statements on the 'net as to how the rules are applied.
I’d be really surprised by that, as a California-based scouter myself. Our unit and council leadership have been all over our emails about making sure this got done in a timely fashion since late last year.
Thank you for the additional information, that really helps. I think the confusion stems from our pack leadership not realizing until now the substantial differences in the background check process from before vs now with AB506 livescan. I am the only new Den Leader this year aside from one for the Lion den. As you mentioned, perhaps the Lion leader requirements are slightly different, so that ended up adding to the confusion because the Lion leader had no issue getting registered in Scoutbook.
It looks like I’ve taken care of all the items you listed for required adult registration; I just need to give it a few more days for the Livescan to get delivered to the Council. Thank you all for your feedback!
@HaroldIbarra I think what Charley means is that Lion and Tiger Adult Partners are not considered registered adult leaders by the BSA.
However, Lion and Tiger Den Leaders are considered registered adult leaders (have to have current YPT, criminal background check (CBC), fill out BSA adult application form, pay the fee, be approved by the Chartered Org. Rep., and whatever else might be required by state / local laws).
@HaroldIbarra - as I stated before, please check your council website for guidance on who is a registered adult leader. I see this over and over again with pack leaders where they do not understand the concept. I get the need to have adults and specifically parents/guardians involved but failing to follow BSA guidelines is not helpful.
@Stephen_Hornak thank you. Although, I think you misunderstood my question a bit. Our Pack Leader has done a tremendous job ensuring that we follow all BSA guidelines and the Council website’s listed requirements. My question was simply regarding my own lack of knowledge regarding at which point in the process a Leader role can be assigned in the Scoutbook software, especially considering I have completed all of the Council and BSA requirements (from my perspective, anyway). Now, it is apparent that the reason I can’t be added is that my Livescan report has not yet landed on the Council’s desk to officially finalize my registration.
