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In the What to do about late outing cancellations thread.

A few posters discussed permission slips.

What are they for? Are they needed? It seems that this take the responsibility off of the scout and puts it on the parent's. Is this not opposite of what we are trying to teach?

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They're not really a release from liability from us, they're a notice to the parents. They are required I think because scouts are still minors and under the care of their parents, so we have to make darn sure the parents atleast know where their kid will be and for how long. It actually makes the scout more responsible for getting their parents to sign the slip, not less responsible for their own saftey. It's one of those technicalities that are just a good idea because not every parent is as observant or caring as they should be.

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Bob White's response cites the only place where permission slips are hinted at. They are not required, but using a formal written permission slip provides written confirmation of the parents intentions. I can think of a few nightmare scenarios.

 

What if the parents had plans for a weekend and the scout just went on an outing that he wanted to attend without telling his parents what he was doing? Unlikely, but certainly possible. Suppose the parents call the cops? Unlikely but possible. A little piece of paper can go a long way towards avoiding such situations.

 

Only a Class I medical form is required for non-strenuous events of less than 72 hours duration where medical assistance is readily available. I don't think any "consent to treat a minor" is contained in the Class I form, but I could be wrong about that. Suppose that I am right, and you have those in your possession on an outing where medical treatment is required and that is all you have. Few medical facilities are going to treat this scout without the parents' clear and unequivocal permission that a well drafted permission slip provides. Do you want to see treatment delayed while somebody tracks down the parents?

 

There are many ways to deal with the permission slip problem. We use a form that even includes space for the scout to sign acknowledging that he is financially responsible for food and supplies purchased for the outing even if he ends up not going.

 

Don't leave home without them, whatever they may look like!!

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Permission slips are always a great idea.

 

I've never really thought before about the right to treat clause. We should probably have that added.

 

The main thing we use them for is to know who is responsible for picking up the scout in case of illness or unacceptable behavior, and how they can be reached.

 

I know that some troops put a Behavior Policy reminder on every permission slip, to be signed by the scout and their parents. That has not been that big of a deal to us in the past though so we haven't.

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What happens if the parent cant take the kid, but the kid gets a ride with somebody.... happens all the time here. Then that boy gets hurt, lost, etc and the parent could easily charge the leader with kidnapping, etc or sue them or the troop by saying the leader didnt have permission to take the boy with them. That paper with the parent's signature would fix that.(This message has been edited by hops_scout)

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My scout troop uses a permission slip that has a medical release form on the bottom for us to seek medical attention for the boy in case of accident and illness.We do try to notify the parents but sometimes we are several hours away from home and have all the medical forms and records with us but the form is just a reminder of date and time we are leaving and are kept in a folder in the GTSS.

We are required to have written permission slips for any outing by our CO as part of a youth program they have called "Safe From Harm"

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