Youth Protection &
Adult Leadership
How does the BSA prevent child
abuse in Scouting?
The Boy Scouts of America has adopted
a number of policies aimed at
eliminating opportunities for abuse
within the Scouting program. These
policies focus on leadership selection
and on placing barriers to abuse within
the program.
Leadership
The Boy Scouts of America takes great
pride in the quality of our adult
leadership. Being a leader in the BSA is
a privilege, not a right. The quality of
the program and the safety of our youth
members call for high-quality adult
leaders. We work closely with our
chartered organizations to help recruit
the best possible leaders for their
units.
The adult application requests
background information that should be
checked by the unit committee or the
chartered organization before accepting
an applicant for unit leadership. While
no current screening techniques exist
that can identify every potential child
molester, we can reduce the risk of
accepting a child molester by learning
all we can about an applicant for a
leadership position—his or her
experience with children, why he or she
wants to be a Scout leader, and what
discipline techniques he or she would
use.
