Recent changes to leadership requirements for trips and outings indicate that at least one adult registered adult must have completed Youth Protection Training. This requirement can be met by taking the training course online at the Online Learning Center.
A bi-monthly newsletter is produced and distributed by e-mail. This newsletter provides an update on what is new and newsworthy to Direct Service Units. With each issue, we will try to keep you abreast of activities and issues of interest to our units. If adult leaders in your unit are not receiving this newsletter, please contact us at intnldiv@netbsa.org.
A Web Site has been created by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America to help inform the public about the legal issues that confront Scouting - bsalegal.org is the official Boy Scout Web site for news, information, education, and answers to questions about the legal challenges confronting Scouting today. Go to www.bsalegal.org
Scouting has been under a relentless legal assault and publicity barrage since 2000 when the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the organization's First Amendment right to freedom of association. The new Web site, bsalegal.org is part of Scouting's communication effort. Our goal is to educate key audiences and counteract misinformation and disinformation about the organization and its policies. Those audiences include the media, the general public, and supporters of Scouting.
The BSA is one of a growing number of organizations using the World Wide Web to address litigation challenges. The site gives the BSA a way to reach key audiences from the media to Scout families. It does so by employing many of the same features used by larger organizations. On the site, you will find sheets and answers to frequently asked questions about various cases and legal issues; copies of legal filings in important cases' and news clips and opinion articles from respected journalists and scholars. There is even a video Webcast of a February 2004 conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. where legal scholars made presentations supporting the BSA's legal position.
What's more, there are tools on the Web site that you can use to stay informed and to help spread the word. For example, you can enter the email addresses of friends and send them a customized email inviting them to visit bsalegal.org with a link to the site.
You are invited to see for yourself. Visit bsalegal.org. Register for updates, Email your friends, fellow Scouters, and colleagues. Most of all, use the new Web site to keep yourself informed and aware.
The Boy Scouts of America has two long-established funds that individuals or groups of Scouts from the United States of America wishing to assist in the rebuilding of Scouting in countries such as Iraq or the many countries hit by the tsunami may contribute to:
1. The United States Fund for International Scouting (USFIS). This is used for larger gifts from individuals, corporations and foundations. 2. The World Friendship Fund (WFF). This is used for smaller contributions, typically collections taken by Scout groups for use around the world.Donations to either fund may be designated "to help restart Scouting in Iraq" or "to help rebuild Scouting in countries devastated by the tsunami."
Both funds allocate 100 percent of the donation for the purposes specified. There are no administrative fees or charges deducted. Checks or money orders should be made payable to one of the two funds, sent with a note specifying "to help rebuild Scouting in countries devastated by the tsunami" or "to help restart Scouting in Iraq," and mailed to:
Boy Scouts of America
1325 West Walnut Hill Lane
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, TX 75015-2079
Contributions to either fund are considered gifts to a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, and donors will be provided a receipt for tax-deduction purposes.
For additional information, contact the BSA International Division by e-mail intnldiv@netbsa.org.
Listed below are brief outlines of insurance coverages provided by or through the local council:
Comprehensive General Liability Insurance
This coverage provides primary general liability coverage for registered volunteer Scouters with respect to claims arising out of an official Scouting activity with the exception that the coverage is excess over any insurance which may be available to the volunteer for loss arising from the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle or watercraft. This insurance is only available while the vehicle or watercraft is in the actual use of a Scouting unit and being used for a Scouting purpose. Because of the high limits, volunteers should NOT be placed in a position where their assets are jeopardized because of a negligence liability claim or lawsuit.
The insurance provided unregistered Scouting volunteers through the BSA general liability insurance program is excess over any other insurance the volunteer might have to his or her benefit, usually a homeowner's, personal liability, or auto liability policy.
There is no coverage for those who commit intentional or criminal acts.
Automobile Liability Insurance
All vehicles MUST be covered by a liability insurance policy. The amount of this coverage must meet or exceed the insurance requirement of the state in which the vehicle is licensed. (It is recommended, however, that coverage limits are at least $50,000/$100,000/$50,000.) Any vehicle carrying 10 or more passengers is required to have limits of $100,000/$500,000/$100,000 or $500,000 single limit. In the case of rented vehicles the requirement of coverage limits can be met by combining the limits of personal coverage carried by the driver with coverage carried by the owner of the rented vehicle. All vehicles used in travel outside the United States must carry a liability insurance policy that complies with or exceeds the requirements of that country. The council's automobile liability insurance is excess of the insurance the owner of the auto carries, providing insurance protection above the limits carried on the auto up to the council's $15 million limit of coverage. A tour permit or a council short-term camping permit is required when units travel overnight or outside their district. The council should establish more specific guidelines setting forth when a local council tour permit is required. National tour permits are required for all trips of more than 500 miles or more one way and all tours outside the United States of America. These permits should list the drivers' names and limits of automobile liability insurance carried.
A tour permit or a council short-term camping permit is required when units travel overnight. Check with your local council office for other requirements. National tour permits are required for all trips of 500 miles or more one way and all tours outside the United States of America. These permits must list the drivers' names and limits of automobile liability insurance carried. Leaders should file local tour permits two weeks before the activity and national tour permits one month before the activity.
Unit Accident Insurance Plan (Health Special Risk, Inc.)
Unit accident insurance is available through the council; information is sent to units each year in their charter renewal kits, and the coverage must be applied for by the unit. This plan provides coverage for accident medical expenses and accidental death and dismemberment while participating in official Scouting activity, including going to and from meetings. New members are automatically covered under the plan until the renewal date. Non-Scouts attending scheduled activities (including group travel to and from such activities) for the purpose of being encouraged to participate in Scouting are also automatically covered. However, the plan does not cover parents, siblings, or other guests.
Council Accident and Sickness Insurance Plan (Health Special Risk, Inc.)
This accident and sickness insurance may be provided for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, LFL participants (coverage may be purchased for all participants or only Explorers), and adult volunteer leaders registered in the council, and covers them for accidents and sickness (as well as accidental death and dismemberment) while participating in any official Scouting activity. This coverage is applied for by the council and is in effect on an annual basis. Additional information on coverage, limits, etc., may be obtained by contacting the council office.
Camper's Accident and Sickness Insurance Plan (Health Special Risk, Inc.)
This accident and sickness insurance is provided for all Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, LFL participants (coverage may be purchased for all participants or only Explorers), adult volunteer leaders, and all other persons registered and attending official council events (e.g., summer camp, day camps, Wood Badge courses, etc.), if purchased by the council. It is purchased for specific events of the council and provides coverage for medical expenses for accident and sickness and accidental death and dismemberment. Additional information on coverage, limits, etc., may be obtained by contacting the council office.
PLEASE REPORT ALL SERIOUS INCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS AND/OR SICKNESS, OR IF A SUMMONS IS SERVED ON A VOLUNTEER, TO THE COUNCIL SERVICE CENTER IMMEDIATELY.
Call phone number (972) 580-2000 and speak to BSA Risk Management if you have a question related to insurance.
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Direct Service ·
Boy Scouts of America http://www.directservicebsa.org intnldiv@netbsa.org |