Lost "Blue Cards"

[PeteM]

What do you do when a scout comes along and says that he has lost his blue cards and his COH cards for some of his merit badges?

 

Same question, COH rank cards.

 

I have a few scouts that cannot seem to find their cards that I give to them at the COH, they only have the cloth badges.

 

How do you do the replacements?

 

Thanks.

 

Pete

[Lisabob]

If they have the badge then why do you doubt that they earned the rank? The cards can be purchased at your scout shop.

 

Now if you are talking about blue cards for a MB that wasn't finished yet, then that's up to the scout and the MB counselor in large part. Some would require the boy to start over, others would operate on the principle that "a scout is trustworthy." It really depends on the situation.

[evmori]

Merit badges can be purchased without ever looking at a merit badge pamphlet! Just because a Scout has a merit badge doesn't mean he has earned it.

 

If the Troop record-keeping is accurate & current, this isn't really an issue. The MB counselor should have his portion of the blue card & council should have a record of it being earned.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[scottteng]

http://www.scouter.com/Forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=145552#id_147945

 

According to the above thread blue cards are obsolete and not used any more!

 

I recommend the trading card plastic sleeves put into a small binder with all ones cards blue, rank, toten, fireman, and training each scout and scouter should have one. After all what do you say if the DE comes up to you at an event and asks if you have the training to do what your doing?

[evmori]

According to the above thread blue cards are obsolete and not used any more!

 

Not all councils use or ever used blue cards. Mine still does.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[Lisabob]

True Ed, but the same can be said of blue cards or rank advancement cards, and for that matter, signatures can be forged on them too. I hate to start down that road (so much for "a scout is trustworthy!").

 

If I understood the original post, these are scouts in his troop. So surely someone would have noticed if Bobby Scout suddenly "jumped" from TF to Life? Or showed up with a sash full of MB patches all of a sudden, with no clear explanation or recollection from anyone in the troop about how or when they'd been earned?

 

For completed, recorded ranks and MBs, as others state, this is really a non-issue because people should be able to provide back up records (if it is deemed to be necessary to go that far in order to verify). In this case, I just don't see how having or not having the accompanying award card is all that important. I know some troops that don't even hand out the recognition cards - they only hand out the cloth badges.

 

[jr56]

True, some people are moving away from Blue Cards, but they are still nice to have just in case there is no record of a scout earning a particular merit badge at council when he goes to fill out his Eagle Application. He has to provide some written documentation that he earned the merit badge, and the blue card provides one form of such.

[sst3rd]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Advancement Report units are required to submit for advancements. Whether a Scout has lost his blue cards, lost his handbook, lost his rank cards, or if a Troop receives a transfer Scout and his documentation is incomplete, those Advancement Reports validate all advancement. Advancements Reports create copies for the Council and the unit (and I think there's a third copy, but I can't remember whose copy that is). You can then update a new replacement handbook and precede with confidence. All Councils require Advancement Reports. As for all of the units, they're supposed to use them.

 

sst3rd

[John-in-KC]

When I was troop advancement coordinator, I printed one copy of the Advancement Report for Council, and kept a file copy in digits. Periodically (~3 times a year), I updated the SM with a copy of the Scouts' individual advancement and activity histories.

 

If the Scout has turned in his card, the information is available. Until he turns in his card, the matter is between him, the SM, and the Counselor.

[LongHaul]

All I can say is this is how it is done in Chicago Area Council. We have to turn in the front portion of the Blue Card with the advancement report in order for the advancement to be recorded by council. We used to turn these in at the council office, now we are using the online advancement National came up with and are required to turn in a copy of the advancement report with any necessary signatures and the front portion of any merit badge cards to the district advancement chair before our online report will be validated. Should a boy reach the point he is applying for Eagle and he finds that a merit badge has not been recorded with National his portion of the Blue Card will only tell him where to go to get a replacement front portion to submit. By this I mean the applicants portion is not accepted as proof of completion. What more if the boy has already turned 18 any new advancement will not be accepted no matter when the badge was actually earned. Unless you have a copy of the advancement report with the badge listed as having been submitted AND THAT REPORT CONTAINS ADVANCEMENT WHICH WAS RECORDED, (proving the advancement report was actually received) you have a problem which only National can solve.

LongHaul

Sorry for the caps but the format option would not work, wanted to just bold face the text