The Merit Badge Counselor Rolls Will Fall?

[InquisitiveScouter 1656]

The call just came out from our council...

--------------------------------------------------------

Thank you! for your willingness to serve youth in the XXX Council as a Merit Badge Counselor. 

There is more to merit badges than simply providing opportunities to learn skills. There is more to them than an introduction to lifetime hobbies, or the inspiration to pursue a career—though these invaluable results occur regularly. It all begins with a Scout’s initial interest and effort in a merit badge subject, followed by a discussion with a unit leader, continues through meetings with a counselor, and culminates in advancement and recognition. It is an uncomplicated process that gives a Scout the confidence achieved through overcoming obstacles. Social skills improve. Self-reliance develops. Examples are set and followed. And fields of study and interest are explored beyond the limits of the school classroom.  All this occurs because of the desire by a Scout to earn a merit badge through their association with you.

New this year (from the National Office) – effective August 1^st:   There will be a $25 annual registration fee for any Merit Badge Counselors that do not have a current Unit, District or Council registration.   Fees can be sent to the Council Service Center payable to XXX Council

---------------------------------------------------------

The straws on the camel's back are getting heavy!

Have any of you had discussions with those who are registered solely as MBC's, and what impact this will have on them?

Edited August 18, 2023 by InquisitiveScouter

[mrjohns2 582]

2 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

The straws on the camel's back are getting heavy!

Have any of you had discussions with those who are registered solely as MBC's, and what impact this will have on them?

Agreed. No idea. I have become exhausted with things like this and haven’t reached out to advancement people to find out how many are affected. 
 

To me this says we don’t want non-scouter MBCs. 

[Eagle_Chris 21]

This may definitely decrease the # of merit badge counselors and push more of the responsibility to existing volunteers within the Council and units.  So instead of a unit volunteer just being a SM/ASM/Committee member - we may begin to see the volunteers registering to become MB counselors at the Council level.

One of the positives of this change may be the virtual merit badge sessions may start to decrease.

[Eagledad 2779]

I remember someone from National in the early 90's saying the majority of scout abuse complaints were filed against the MB Counselors. This might be an approach to addressing that issue.

Barry

[SiouxRanger 491]

5 hours ago, Eagledad said:

I remember someone from National in the early 90's saying the majority of scout abuse complaints were filed against the MB Counselors. This might be an approach to addressing that issue.

Barry

Gee.  First time I have heard that.

My council has not appeared to have dropped any merit badge counselors from its rolls in centuries.  Maybe 10 in 100 on the list are active. 90 out of 100 calls for assistance are met with "You are calling me for what???"  Or, no replies to emails.

The "password" (old TV show) is "Administrative efficiency."

[AwakeEnergyScouter 247]

You guys need some of us folks from "ordnung, ordnung!" cultures as administrators 😂 Ordnung muß sein!

Edited August 19, 2023 by AwakeEnergyScouter
Autocorrect changed ordnung to ordning, and it's really funniest in German.

[HICO_Eagle 93]

One of the things that kept me from getting more merit badges when I was a Scout was the difficulty in finding counselors (even more so, ones that I could get to on the public bus system).  As an adult volunteer, it was still difficult to get and keep counselors outside the basic core subjects, particularly when National started demanding more paperwork to show you had the background or expertise on the subject.  Charging them a fee to register is not going to help that situation.

[MikeS72 437]

I can only speak for my district and my experiences when using the MB look up in Scoutbook. When using the MB counselor search feature in Scoutbook I have pretty much always found that I know everyone who is listed, as they are already registered at some level.  While I am sure that there are those individuals who are listed as a counselor for one MB and one only and that is their only BSA position, I have yet to come across them.  As a matter of fact, I have only once done a search for a counselor and not found multiple options (all registered in other scouting positions) and that counselor just happened to be me!

I have not seen an official reason for adding the $25 fee for someone who does not hold another BSA registration, but I can only imagine it has to do with the cost of the background check.  

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

Is any other council adding the council fee to MBCs? Mine is.

[InquisitiveScouter 1656]

2 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Is any other council adding the council fee to MBCs? Mine is.

??? You mean more than $25??

[RememberSchiff 3682]

I am seeing fewer volunteer MBC's and more commercial (museums, farms, colleges, camps, canoe outfitters, etc.) MBP's. I call them Merit Badge Programs as who knows who the MBC is. Sometimes it is the host instructor, sometimes it is a proxy. Host instructor collects fees (scout/parent paid), the proxy (a registered scouter) handles bureaucracy and together they fulfill YP, sort of. 

More often, these MBP's are rushed one meeting and nearly devoid of  the Adult Association Method. Just have parent register scout online with a credit card. Oh don't forget to fill out online workbook with online answers before first class. 

What is the Total Cost of Advancement these days for a scout, scouter, unit?

My $0.01, time for coffee.

[mrjohns2 582]

11 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Is any other council adding the council fee to MBCs? Mine is.

No. That is crazy. 

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

My council is charging a fee for all registered adults, including MBCs. I am told the fee covers insurance, but since MBCs cannot camp, shouldn't be discounted?

 

 

[dk516 29]

On 8/19/2023 at 4:04 AM, MikeS72 said:

I have not seen an official reason for adding the $25 fee for someone who does not hold another BSA registration, but I can only imagine it has to do with the cost of the background check.  

The $25 is to cover background check and resulted from the agreed changes to the YPT requirements as part of the BSA settlement. https://scoutingsettlementtrust.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/Dp0000016pkB/a/Dp000000sbbh/AhKrs3XmfO3xRHRKdUwxZnLdNGGK0AW0oNN3o8d8GYU

One key requirement is that any youth facing adult needs to be background checked. Volunteering for other organizations besides BSA that require a volunteer to submit background check requests, I am getting charged anywhere from $20-$35 per background check request so I personally feel the $25 are not out of line in this regard. It is unfortunate but most MBCs I know from our Council list already serve on a unit or other registered position anyways. It might result in some issues with MBUs and related cost but I think that remains to be seen after a year or so.

[curious_scouter 134]

Ours is not, but I know of a council in Ohio that is.

I expect ours will follow suit.  It's also possible they are doing this already but I am not aware as I hold a fee-paid position already.