Do parents need to be registered to help at den meetings?

[WolfDenMom1 0]

Hello! I am leading a wolf den this year, and I'm wondering about the policy for involving parents in den meetings. I have 8 wolf cubs and was thinking it could be helpful to have some rotating parent help at den meetings to help keep the kids on task. I was considering asking parents if they could volunteer to stay and be involved in implementing 1-2 den meetings throughout the year. I would do all the planning and leading - I am good with that part, I could just see the benefit of a backup adult to keep things running more smoothly. However, our committee chair said that any parents who help out need to be YPT trained and registered volunteers. Given that this means paying $130 to be registered, I cannot in good conscience ask that of parents. I wanted to double check if this is true, and if there is any room for unregistered parent help at den meetings - are there specific guidelines somewhere? Otherwise, I can see if any of the parents are interested in specifically becoming an assistant den leader, I just thought spreading it out would be an easier way to get volunteers, as well as a nice way to get to know the families a bit better. As a note, all the dens meet at the same time and place, so there are other registered leaders present, they are just busy with their own den activities. A number of parents do stay anyway, they just do their own thing while they're waiting. 

[DannyG 69]

Hi! I like your idea. The rule is in YPT:

Quote

Two registered adult leaders 21 years of age or over are required at all Scouting activities, including all meetings. 

You are required to be there, that's it. You can ask any number of adults to help lead a scout activity as long as you have at least 2 registered adults to supervise. I think it is a great idea to have the parents use their own expertise and lead those portions of the activity.  Who knows, maybe the experience will lead them to become more involved and they register as a scout leader someday in the future?  It seems wasteful to force them to register if they only lead one or two activities a year.

[fred8033 1593]

Requiring 2+ registered leaders for each den meeting escalates den mtg plans to "PACK" level planning. 

Pack reserves one bigger den meeting space and a common time.   Then dens share.  If not two dens, then have a pack committee member, CC or CM attend too.  

In the old days, we could reserve a school cafeteria for a very cheap rate (a $50 budget item per month for the year).  OR a local church.  OR an outdoor space that is just "used" without reservation.

Edited October 30, 2023 by fred8033

[KublaiKen 192]

To be clear, if the Committee Chair is saying that the adults who help out have to be YPT trained and registered, that is a unit rule, not a BSA rule. There is no such BSA requirement.