|
In an effort to bring Girl Scouting
to more girls by maximizing our volunteers’ training time, we have made
some changes in training requirements without reducing the quality of courses.
In order to support the mission and attain the goals of the Girl Scout
Movement, it is essential that our volunteers know and understand them.
It is also imperative that each adult who is responsible for girls knows
the policies and procedures, both of the national organization and the local council.
Providing the Girl Scout program is not enough; it must be done with the
safety and well-being of the girl and adult members in mind.
Our national policies require councils
to provide training. Those who do
not attend required trainings may be putting girls at risk, and are putting themselves
in a possible position of personal liability.
However, we feel Leaders and Co-Leaders, who are the responsible parties,
may choose how information is disseminated to the other registered adults assisting
the Troop. All adult volunteers who
have direct and ultimate responsibility for groups of girls must complete a volunteer
application, agree to a criminal background check, be interviewed, and complete
training as required by the Council (Leader’s Digest Blue Book of Documents,
pg 8; Safety-Wise, pgs 9 & 69). This also applies to registered parents
taking over a troop already in existence. Other adults who assist with girl program
may be required to be registered and attend trainings. Due to safety and administrative
reasons, we have returned to our process of allowing only one “01”
per troop. One of the leaders
must assume primary responsibility and be the point of contact for the troop,
and be designated by Position Code “01”. Please note the following definitions: Leader (Position Code 01) - has primary responsibility for the troop &
is the point of contact. Co-Leaders (Position Code 02) - equally shares program delivery duties
for the troop. Assistant Leader (Position Code 02) - provides assistance upon direction
from Leader(s). Troop Committee Member (Position Code 03) - other adults registered with
the troop; may help as needed (e.g., driving or sharing skills). Introduction to Girl Scouting (Intro) training and Basic Leader
Training (BLT) must be taken by the Leader (01) before a troop begins
meeting. Intro and BLT must be taken
by Co-Leaders as soon as possible. All Leaders/Co-Leaders must complete
Program Level Training within six months after taking BLT. The next Program Level training must be taken by all Leader(s)/Co-Leaders
before the troop moves to a new level. It is strongly recommended
that other registered troop adults (e.g., Assistant Leaders, travel advisors)
take these trainings, too. Experienced Leaders/Co-Leaders should do a BLT
Refresher every 3 years to ensure awareness of policy and procedure changes. Also, the Leader/Co-Leaders is/are responsible for making sure other adults who
work with the girls meet registration requirements, and have basic information
(knowledge and understanding of Girl Scout safety requirements, GSUSA and Council
policies, the girl/adult partnership, troop government, and Girl Scout traditions). Other trainings are required for certain circumstances.
For example, if a troop wants to travel, camp or have overnight events,
a registered adult must take the appropriate training.
That trained adult must assist the girls in preparing for the activity,
and then accompany them. An adult certified in CPR and First
Aid must accompany the troop in certain circumstances (see Safety-Wise). This First Aider (see Safety-Wise
pg 36-37 for definitions) may be any of the registered adults. At all times a troop must be accompanied
by a Leader or Co-Leader who has attended all the required basic courses. We recommend
that the Leader or a Co-Leader does not fill all of the roles for
traveling and camping. That is, the
Leader should not be the camping trained adult and the First Aider.
(Example: for a troop to travel to San Francisco,
one Co-Leader would attend Domestic Troop Travel training and assume the role
of Travel Advisor; the other Co-Leader would attend CPR/FA training and assume
the role of First Aider. However, both Co-Leaders could attend
both courses if they wished.) | 
