Blue Cards are a restricted item?

[kbandit]

Went to ScoutStuff today to order merit badge books needed for summer camp and blue cards (100 pk). Well blue cards are now a restricted item. Why? This is silly to me but maybe someone with some wisdom can enlighten me.

Pretty sure I ordered a pack last year maybe not.

 

Thanks

[eisely]

Well you certainly are right about the silly part. Maybe someone further up the chain of authority decided that the boys are advancing too fast and accomplishing too much and this was one way to slow things down.(This message has been edited by eisely)

[Buffalo Skipper]

Restricted to whom?

[KC9DDI]

Maybe that's just a "bug" with the ScoutStuff website, and they're actually not restricted if you buy them in a brick-and-mortar scout shop? Actually my council's store gives them out for free to whoever asks for them....

[John-in-KC]

US Scouts has a copy. Get blue cardstock and voila!

 

http://www.usscouts.org/advance/docs/34124.pdf

[moosetracker]

At one time in my council I might have had a glimmer of a clue why. Now, I would not.

 

We had a family try to get their boys to eagle by making up their own blue cards, and presenting them to council for credit. The father was the CC, so he signed the paperwork, the mother signed up for any MB her sons wanted credit on.. The council at the time used the blue cards as proof the MB was completed.

 

Thing was, the records at council started not matching up with the record with the troop. When discovered, they got a hand slap, but no one revoked any of the fraudulent blue cards. (And the CC was dismissed as CC by the COR & committee vote.)

 

But now, the blue cards are no longer used, everything is passed in through the computer..

[Engineer61]

"But now, the blue cards are no longer used, everything is passed in through the computer.. "

 

Scout's troop still uses the Blue Cards, but they are turned in when completed and the data has to be entered by the Advancement Chair into Troopmaster.

 

I have 600 filled out cards stacked up....

[moosetracker]

Sorry - Engineer.. forgot to clarify they are no longer used at council. Yep, my husband who is Advancment guy for the troop (until Wed, when he turns in his data).. Still uses the blue cards on the troop level. But the troop is not as easily fooled by parents who want to make up their own bluecards for their sons to push them through..

 

Our troop though does have a policy that only the SM holds the blue cards, and the scout must go to the SM to get the blue card and discuss the councilor and get his signature before he can start the MB.

[eagle90]

I just bought a stack of 100 cards last week. No restrictions whatsoever. This was from a national shop.

 

Dale

[bnelon44]

Blue cards are the only nationally recognized merit badge application. Still are.

 

Different topic, Scoutmasters are suppose to sign the cards indicating they approve the merit badge counselor and the Scout taking the badge before the Scout starts to see the counselor for the badge. .. so Moosetracker, your troop policy is national policy too.

 

Note that after the Scout finishes the merit badge, and the counselor signs off, the badge is earned, the SM can't take it away from the Scout, so the SM should make sure he approves the MB counselor at the beginning. The SM signiture at the end simply acknowledges that the SM received the report from the MB counselor that the Scout earned the badge.

 

(This message has been edited by bnelon44)

[moosetracker]

Yeah I knew the signing of the card & SM verifying the MB was National policy. Don't know if the fact the SM is the only one to hold the Blue cards is though..

 

My husband (as Advancement Chair) did get ahold of a few. I think because they handed them out to my son at summer camp like water.. Anyway, Came in handy about a month ago. Had a scout insisting he took a MB with me, husband didn't have his card and is very good with the cards and never had lost one (Still not sure if this was him. Scout has prior history of accusing husband of having card, but when requested he relook, he would find that he had never turned it in). I didn't remember counseling him, but had my little stub of the blue card showing I had signed him off.

 

So I re-filled out a new card for him, and then husband could take it to troop and have the SM re-do the signatures.. Saved about a week's time of replacement, process..

[bnelon44]

SM doesn't have to be the keeper of the cards. He just needs to sign the card initially authorizing the Scout to work with that particular MB counselor.

 

After that, the process doesn't say who keeps the card until done (most Scouters would say it is the Scout's responsibility.)

 

When done, the MB counselor signs the card. At that point the badge is earned.

 

The Scout brings the card back to the SM (to close the loop.) The SM should discuss the Scout's experience with the Scout and sign the applicant's record of the card signifying that he has received the card.

 

Then the process just says the troop (usually it is the advancement coordinator) submits an advancement report to council and purchases the badge and the badge is given to the Scout at the next troop meeting.

 

 

[Eagle92]

bnelon44,

 

Sorry you are incorrect. Blue cards are an option that most units use, but not all. Never heard of a blue card until I started working for national.

 

 

Actually what is used to purchase MBs from the national stores I worked at or visited was the advancement reports.

 

On a different note, supply has some silly notions on what is restricted and not at time.

The Sea Scout leader's miniture or lapel pin, hat pin, and knot device pin are all restricted items, yet are needed for uniform wear (hat pin and device) or can be worn as a lapel pin in civilian attire,

[bnelon44]

>Sorry you are incorrect. Blue cards are an option that most units use, but not all. Never heard of a blue card until I started working for national.

 

Advancement reports are the council records for advancement (either the 3 part form or the Internet version.) However the merit badge application is an official BSA form for recording that a merit badge has been earned and signed off by a merit badge counselor. Note the advancement form does not have a place for a merit badge counselor to sign nor a place to keep track of partial merit badges earned.

 

This will be clarified in the new Advancement Guidebook that will be issued 3rd Qtr. The blue card is the nationally recognized merit badge record.

 

Though it has not been clearly stated in the past, units, districts, and local councils do not have the authority to implement a different system for merit badge approval and documentation. In any case, through the years, many councils have created new forms and approaches to the process, some including IT components. In an effort to gather and consider these potential best practices, councils will be asked to submit descriptions and copies of their blue card alternatives to the National Advancement Team.(This message has been edited by bnelon44)

[Beavah]

Yah, there's a difference between a national form and an official form, eh?

 

There are all kinds of national forms or "nationally recognized forms." If yeh pick up da program booklets, you'll see a national form for meeting plans.

 

Now does that mean that every troop has to use da form when planning meetings? Nah. Most don't. It's just a piece of program material.

 

No different for blue cards. Some units use 'em, some don't. Some camps use 'em, some don't. They're an optional record-keeping tool. A few of the smaller districts/councils collect 'em, but most don't (or if they do they just box 'em and recycle 'em. ).

 

As we continue in fits and starts down the road to modern electronic recordkeeping, I'm seein' less and less of blue cards in the field. That to my mind is a good thing. While some adults dearly love "official" forms and paperwork procedures, I've never seen it as being value-added for the boys.

 

Beavah