qwazse

Sorry your attempts fell on the having "to be willing to accept a little hurt." It's better to drop him from the charter. If he wants to come back in the new year, it will require talking to you, plus the paperwork. If he take's up the first burden, I'm sure the BSA youth application will be pretty light. If he doesn't come round, he's better off for having dealt with you. Hopefully he'll have the good sense to tell you that when he grows up. (Here's praying he does.)

Oh, not irate. Just jawin' on the other half of the shoe. It is possible to not throw the baby out with the bathwater, work hard to build the cardre of adults so you'll never come up short, everybody doing what they can to hold accountable, etc ... I suspect that's what the OP is trying to do. Get a bead on the G2SS wording and explain to her parents that they need some men to step up. But, it ain't hurting anyone to know that a stipulation can amount to nonsense. And "compliance" might not get you the YP someone thinks it will. It might work against you. That's where nose-to-the-grindstone good judgement needs to be applied. IMK and her committee thinks she's used it. You disagree. Folks in internet-land may fall somewhere in between. It's a good idea to hash out why they do. Here's where we agree: If any unit leaders are in this kind of bind with routinely finding appropriate two-deep, for whatever reason, I definitely think they need to get in touch with their DE or even SE and build a better action plan than going off with some provincial interpretation of the G2SS.

And how, pray-tell, does encouraging units across the country to procure a politically-correct-sexed person they may barely know from Adam or Eve to supplement their complement of chaperons-of-uniform-but-opposite-to-the-youths' sex do that? How does cancelling the activity help that one youth who might have been counting on it to get a day away from an abusive situation? Most rules are a reaction to something gone wrong. It's always good to know when they aren't likely to have the intended effect of making things right, and adjust accordingly.

I tell a scout to be true to God and his Country. Self comes in a close third, but only in terms of physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

'Skip, it varies. Many parents who need it are too proud to speak up (rugged individualists), and many who don't are quick to milk the system for all it's worth. In our neck of the woods, we've found it best to have that policy, but not put it in writing. We train our adult leaders to be on the look-out for boys and families who might be in a bind. The SM has a discretionary fund for minor things. For substantial expense, he can meet with the treasurer and committee chair to make an executive decision. At the next committee meeting, the treasurers report will have that decision of the amount spent without mentioning names or number of kids assisted. This sounds a little cloak-and-dagger, but we have parents and boys who would not accept charity if they ever thought word would get out. And, we have the occasional boy who wants to go on a big trip, but his spending priorities put making payments for the next adventure at the bottom of his list.

Gold Bond is your friend, gsd. Just sayin'!

Well, let's see ... If it's a choice between some token female and a dad who I can trust to speedily dispatch anyone who lays a hand on my female youth, guess what I'm choosing? In the same vein, I kinda trust IMK to choose a mom who will be accountable. I don't believe the group less safe from abuse because the men she trusts can't make the hike, but the one woman she trusts can. And, given the probabilities, I definitely don't think a troop full of boys are at less risk if you cancel the weekend and leave them to their own devices. All that said, IMK, I would recommend extending your contacts to other troops, commissioners, and unit reserve types who've earned.your trusts, so that you have a bigger depth chart.

1. Men's room? 2. What are SPL's for?

That is not a simple goal. It's more like a vision. But, there are lot's of goals that could help you toward that vision. For example, Contact 10 parents about promising to attend committee meetings. Aggressively promote training opportunities for unit adults. Develop a cub-coordinated recognition for adult leaders. With the CC, draft a yearly agenda. One of those, or something else might be within your reach. Anyway, keep your vision, but keep in mind that you'll be revising A LOT.

Part of the challenge at the cub level is actually drawing out the parents. Nobody really knows anybody, and you're always wondering who just needs a little nudge, and something great will be provided for the boys. This does it as well as any.

Headlines are rife with every possible combination ... Anybody got real stats about the relative risks of accusations during overnight activities among groups with same sexed leaders of youth of the opposite sex?

One thing that may help for Mr. Do-Nothing is keeping him on the short list for special service projects that pop up from time to time. So, for example, you approach the PL and say "SPL and I need a volunteer to help set-up activity X. It may involve some hiking/hauling/touching base with the ranger. Is there an older first-class scout who we may borrow for the next few hours?" (nudge-nudge wink-wink).

Think in terms of things you've been meaning to do, but haven't done, yet you could do if you put your mind to it -- even if other people don't help you. So, your goal for the district campout is ambitious, but what if nobody shows? The real goal for you would be to identify key volunteers, find a date on the schedule, and if all goes well, promote it. Goals should focus on your primary position. And, like in SSScout's case, your ticket guide will help you sort through what fits and what doesn't. So, brainstorm now, but be prepared to do a lot of editing over the training weekends.

What are the PL's telling you? Do they think they can work with one boy but not the other? How far apart does each patrol camp from the others? You used the phrase "my patrol". Have you been assigned to be its advisor for any particular reason? IMHO it is reasonable to suspend a boy for not participating in the life of the troop. But you really want to save that for a really bad apple. Maybe that applies to Mr. Do-nothing, but I don't think it applies to Mr. Slip-shod. That said, if you're planning any kind of super-activity, you'll need multiple shake-downs and conditioning weekends to make sure these boys are getting up to speed.

Oh, to somebody not getting their entitlement it is. You're basically rubbing their "poverty" in their face. Let's face it. Guys like us get our kicks when some kid comes to you asking about breakfast and we reply, "Well, the water is there, your bowl is in your pack, and your patrol's stove, pot, and oatmeal is thataway ..." Not everybody sees the good in that. My bottom line: let the CC know about the parental "drama-du-jour" and tell him/her to fix it. The bigger the troop, the more you get these crack-pots, the more it can't be the SM who deals with them. Basically BD, anything more than one sentence (that's all the boys will read anyway), is giving the haters just what they want. (I learned that one early on as crew advisor.) That gas thing ... your CC and COR need to make sure it's in the troop budget.

The "third world generals" (I'm sure some read this forum) of Seneca district are a great group of guys and gals who have bent over backward for us any time we needed it. But like BD my life is insane, so I make it to about 1/4 of RTs. Click, the best tool which hasn't been used much is the phone call. For never seen ... "We're missing you at RT. Hope your adult leaders can pay us a visit soon. The next meeting is ..." For first-timers ... "Just wanted to say thanks for coming to your first RT. Sorry we didn't have time to talk much. Hope to see you again." For the ones you haven't seen a while ... "Just was at RT and realized I hadn't seen you for a while. Let me know if there's anything we can do to support your unit.

Has it been anything but ...? Second mistake. Speaking up for yourself. I'm just glad the members of this forum could give you years of practice getting such judgements. In my neck of the woods, I call it "North Side Entitlement Mentality." What I do: 1. Tell the boys I'm not having any of it. 2. Tell the boys I'm not disrespecting their neighborhood, and in fact I could just as well find folks in every neighborhood (even wealthy ones) with the same attitude. 3. Tell the boys that fundraising is important. If they want a spur-of-the-moment car wash to see if they can shave costs, you'll see if they can make time for it. Then, as ASM, I (and other committee) reply to these these comments (usually we know exactly who'll make them) and stick up for the SM. We tell the SM to saw some logs or call in some turkey. He doesn't have a bone in this fight even though some rude parents are trying to make it so.

For a twisted world. The entire policy is a long bet on certain combinations of youth and adult sexes being lest likely to yield malfeasance by any member of the group. This discounts the possibility that a given pair of dads may be the best chaperones a given group of girls could ever have, or that a given pair of moms may be best for a group of boys. It also ignores the possibility that certain youth have qualified to take their mates hiking and camping, and they may be better off with no adults present. Always be aware that regulatory compliance may reduce your organization's time in court, but will only go so far in minimizing your or your youths' risk of exposure to abuse.

O'S. It's easy for us to see more men behaving badly on campouts ... We camp with mostly men. But YPT isn't just about adult behavior. It's about the kind of accusations troubled teens may make!

We love our stereotypes don't we? A couple of dads can't be trusted with the young ladies, but a couple of moms can be trusted with the boys? The intent of the guideline is to ensure that overnights have at least one member of the same sex as the youth participants.