YPG & Cub Residence Camping

Nancy Smith S <munss@UXA.ECN.BGU.EDU> asked, concerning Webelos
resident camp, "(A flyer from the Council) states that "in
accordance with national guidelines....." we have to have 1 adult
over 21 and 1 over 18. Basically the 2-deep leadership. When I
attended Cub Leader training and when my husband attended SM
fundamentals (just a few weeks ago) we were both told that even
Webelos MUST have a parent with them for overnights!
"I called the district office to clarify the flyer and inquire
about the 2-deep leadership as opposed to one parent/adult for each
boy. I was told that our DE wrote that and interpreted national
policy for the camp.
"Am I wrong or is he wrong?"

Nancy, what your DE did not explain is that the Youth Protection
Guidelines and the Camping Guidelines are two (in this case, three)
separate but related policies.
Youth Protection Guidelines requires two-deep leadership
(actually, two-deep in adult and youth) as a *minimum* for any
meeting or group. It does not establish a maximum ratio, only a
minimum. It does not address Cub Scout or Webelos Camping
situations per se. In the handout, "Youth Protection Guidelines --
Training for Volunteer Leaders and Parents" (#32-220A/1990) which
you should have been given at your Youth Protection Guidelines
training, it says, concerning Creating External Barriers (pp 8-9):
"The following policies have been adopted to provide additional
security for youths in the program. In addition, they serve to
protect leadership from situations in which they are vulnerable to
allegations of abuse. ... Two registered adult leaders or one
registered adult leader and a parent of a participant, one of whom
must be 21 years of age or older, are reqquired on all trips and
outings. ... When camping, no youth is permitted to sleep in the
tent of an adult other than his own parent or guardian. ..."
In "Guide to Safe Scouting (#10-212,/1994), similar language is
used on page four concerning leadership requirements for trips and
outings.
BTW, as an aside, since there have been a number of posts on this
subject, let me note that on this same page, left column, final
paragraph says, concerning transportation to and from planned Scout
outings: "If you cannot provide two adults for each vehicle, the
minimum required is one adult and two or more youth members--*never
one on one**". (Emphasis in the book).
Now, on page 13 of this same "Guide", we find that the general
rules about Cub Scout and Webelos Scout camping and family camping.
They say (in part): "Cub Scouts (second- and third-graders) and
Webelos Scouts (fourth- and fifth-graders) may participate in a
resident overnight camping program covering at least two nights and
operating under certified leadership in an established Scout camp
operated by the council during the normal camping season."
Now, you need to know that Cub Scout resident camps operated by
a Council operate under another set of guidelines generally
referred to as the NCS (or National Camping School, where these are
reviewed in detail and camp directors are certified to be camp
directors) guidelines. These *must* be followed to the letter of
the law or the regional inspection team that inspects every camping
program every year has the authority to shut it down on the spot
and send the kids home. My personal copy of these guidelines is on
loan at this moment (so I cannot quote chapter and verse) and my
own cub resident camp director certification is about three years old, but
this
rule has not changed: the ratio of youth to adult supervision
(interpreted as campsite supervision, as in the overnight setting)
is 4:1 *maximum*, and the YPG minimum of two-deep (one at least 21,
the other at least 18) must also be addressed. I do not believe
that one of these adults must be a parent, *but I ***may*** be
wrong.*
In other words, a resident camp campsite must have a minimum of
two adults and two youth, and those two adults cannot supervise
more than eight youth; a third adult could bring the youth figure
to twelve, a fourth to sixteen, etc.
So, your DE was right, the explanation obviously incomplete, and
I hope the boys will enjoy resident camp.

YiS,
Craig Bond, SDE
Mandeville, LA
Istrouma Area Council

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