Registered Merit Badge Counselors

[fritz1255]

This probably fits into the category of a rhetorical question since I think I already know the answer, but here goes......

I have been chairman of our Troop Committee for a few months. The main thing I am working to improve is our compliance with required paperwork. My instinct at this point is if I don't see it, it's not happening.

Most of the Merit Badges offered in our Troop are counseled by parents. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that most of the parents who counsel are not registered Merit Badge Counselors, although most of them are on the Troop Committee, so they are registered leaders. I am well aware of the fact that they are supposed to be registered Counselors, so nobody needs to reply with that (obvious) information! My questions are:

1) How can I find out who is actually registered as MB Counselors within the Troop without "blowing the whistle"? Casually ask our District Executive for a list of registered Counselors?
2) Are the "blue cards" submitted to Council? The point in asking this is that the cards clearly state the name of the MB Counselor, so maybe they are not being cross-checked against the list of approved Counselors at the Council level?
3) Anybody have similar experiences/situations?

[JazerNorth]

1) How can I find out who is actually registered as MB Counselors within the Troop without "blowing the whistle"? Casually ask our District Executive for a list of registered Counselors?

Your District should have a volunteer who is responsible for the list of MB counselors. Ask your DE for the list, or the person who is responsible for that list.

2) Are the "blue cards" submitted to Council? The point in asking this is that the cards clearly state the name of the MB Counselor, so maybe they are not being cross-checked against the list of approved Counselors at the Council level?

From my experience, we don't turn in blue cards to the Council. The Scout Shop only requires the "advancement sheet" (I don't know the real name) with a list of the scouts and badges earned. If there are any quesitons as to if the badge was completed, the blue card is the actual proof, and they are only kept by the Scout, MB Counselor, and Troop Advancment chair.

3) Anybody have similar experiences/situations?

We thought we had a bunch of MB Counselors, but after checking with my District Advancment person (he keeps the list of counselors) we only had 2 registered. We are now in the process of re-registering all of the ones we 'thought' were actually registered.

Enjoy.

JazerNorth

[Mrw]

The same for us.

There is a district counselor list. I am not a t all happy with how it is kept updated, but it exists.

The scout shop only requires the advancement report. Blue cards stay with the troop. I have a shoe box full. They go back for years and I only keep them because someone else did. If there is an issue with the troop advancement records, they want a copy of the advancement report to correct it. I keep those from the late 80's too.

Comparing the names of the counselors on the blue cards to the district or council list would be a problem for anything done out-of-council. We are the last troop in the council geographically and I have had kids go to counselors in either of the neighboring councils (one immediately east of us and one immediately south).

I do know that at this point, all our parent counselors are registered as such with council. I have been with the troop longer than any of them. Makes that easier for me to know.

[Lynda J]

You need to be sure all counselors signing off on badges are registered. You get a boy going for his Eagle BOR and someone that isn't a registered counselor has signed off on one of his required badges. They turn him down because of it.

We register our counselors each year. I make sure that the forms are filled out. I make three sets of copies. I give one to Council. One to our District Advancement Chair and I keep one. Our DAC is set up with a spread sheet and send out a completed list to all SMs and District Committee members.

So it is important that you make sure and keep good records on who you use as counselors.

[Mrw]

Just out of curiosity Lynda, how would the Eagle review board know if a boy had gone to a non-registered counselor?

[wagionvigil]

The boys are to bring their copies of the blue cards to the BOR they have the signature on them. They are the official MB card not the pocket card they get back from the service center.

[fritz1255]

In our highly mobile society, a boy may be in Scouting in one part of the country, then move to another. Even if a boy lives at the same address during his entire time in Scouting, Merit Badges may be earned at different summer camps, and sometimes with Counselors from different Councils. So the boy is to bring in his 20-odd blue cards to his Eagle BOR, and someone is able to cross-check them against the names of every registered Merit Badge counselor everywhere in the last several years since the boy got his first Merit Badge? What happens if one of the blue cards is lost? Does he get turned down for his Eagle badge? I will venture a guess that very few Scouts have all their blue cards and can prove that all their counselors were registered. That sounds to me like a rule that is on paper somewhere, but never enforced.

Verifying that a boy has done all the required work and is qualified to receive his Eagle is the responsibility of the Scoutmaster and the Troop Committee, and should be done well in advance of the BOR. That's why we sign off on their applications.

[Mrw]

I have never seen a request for the blue cards at the point of an Eagle BOR. The badges are to be listed out along with the dates and these are checked against the council records when the Eagle application is first turned in and well before the BOR. At least this is how it works in my neck of the woods.

If there is an issue with the council records, they want to see the advancement report as proof they boy had earned the missing award.

The SM is to sign off that all the listed badges and ranks were earned as reported. As Advancement Chair, I always go over this before the SM sees it since I have all the records anyway.

If the blue cards don't go to council in the first place, why would they then want them years later?

[wagionvigil]

I through the Blue Card thing in just to see what happened as I have argued with folks about asking for them. When the Eagle application goes to the Service center the first time the Eagle or Advancement Secretary varifies that the scout has met all the requirements for Eagle. They sign off and then the BOR is set up. That is all that is required. SHe does look and make sure that the counselor is on the approved list if from our council. you are correct about travel etc. BUT councils are aware of Counselors from other parts of the country on some Merit Badges.
At Laurel Caverns we see Scouts from as Far west as Illionis and as far north as MA. and as far south as the Carolinas. The councils know what is offered and the counselors are approved by the local council.

[Chief J]

Our District Advancement Chair maintains a District Level Merit Badge List. He strives to keep it current, and sends copies out to all SM's when asked. We in the Troop also maintain who has completed an application to be a merit badge counselor when it is sent to our District Advancement Chair for processing.

The Scout is supposed to be given the blue card and the name of the MB counselor from the Scoutmaster at the time he wants to work on the badge. If the person is not registered, how can they be assigned to the new scout?

As for blue cards and making Eagle are concerned, this has been my experience. When the application packet goes to the Council Service Center for review before being sent to National, the secretary will verify all information on the application with the information in ScoutNet (National's database). If there is any discrepency at all including if a merit badge was awarded, or even if the date awarded on the application is different than the date in ScoutNet, then the differences must be reconciled. This is where the blue card or advancement card the Scout is supposed to keep comes into play. Council will review the actual documentation of the award to determine which is correct, application or Scoutnet. If the Scouts documentation is missing, then it is the Scout's or Troop's responsibility to prove that the information on the Application is correct and ScoutNet is wrong. This can be done by contacting the Merit Badge Counselor or Troop Advancement Reports, etc.

To summarize this long story, if the information on the application is different than the "official: record, then the records must be reconciled and verified. As for did a registered merit badge counselor sign the blue card, the only time I think this could be disputed is if someone in the advancement chain had knowledge that the person signing the card was not registered to counsel that badge. If this occurs, then there could be a problem with the awarding of the merit badge.

Chief J

[Eamonn]

That Darn list has been the big head ache of my term as District Chair.
The Dean of Merit Badges has a list.
Everyone who is a merit badge counselor is on the list.
Some have offered to take on any Scout from any Troop, others will only take Scouts from the home unit.
The "Term of Office" is a year. Merit badge counselors serve for the term of the District Charter. Reminders are sent out before the end of the year and if someone doesn't reply they are no longer on the list.
The list is mailed to every SM and can be requested via E-mail.
Everything at the District end was working fine.
However it wasn't working once the cards got to the Service Center, our staff said that they didn't have time to go over the cards and make sure that everything was in order.
So now the Dean of Merit Badges goes into the Service Center and does random checks.
Any merit badge that was passed by someone not on the list is kicked back.
Everyone knows that this is happening and while it may go against Trustworthy, it has got the system working as it should.

[Mrw]

I have issues with how well updated our district counselor list is. I fairly regularly have a boy come back and say the person told him they were no longer doing this.

The blue cards on the other hand do not go past the troop in our council. I do know who I am sending the boys to, and if they come back with someone who signed off and is not on my list, they need to let me know how they used that person and why. That way I can verify they are a counselor.

As far as coucil records go, I periodically get the troop advancement report from council to check for accuracy. I occasionally find an error in data input which is much easier to correct now than it might be in 5 years when the boy needs it to be right. The boys come to me to check their dates when the need them for an Eagle of palm app.

[EagleBoy62204]

This probably fits into the category of a rhetorical question since I think I already know the answer, but here goes......

I have been chairman of our Troop Committee for a few months. The main thing I am working to improve is our compliance with required paperwork. My instinct at this point is if I don't see it, it's not happening.

Most of the Merit Badges offered in our Troop are counseled by parents. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that most of the parents who counsel are not registered Merit Badge Counselors, although most of them are on the Troop Committee, so they are registered leaders. I am well aware of the fact that they are supposed to be registered Counselors, so nobody needs to reply with that (obvious) information! My questions are:

1) How can I find out who is actually registered as MB Counselors within the Troop without "blowing the whistle"? Casually ask our District Executive for a list of registered Counselors?

For our council and district we have something called the Dean of Merit Badge Councilors. Hes the one who trains the adults to become councilors, including running the whole process.

2) Are the "blue cards" submitted to Council? The point in asking this is that the cards clearly state the name of the MB Counselor, so maybe they are not being cross-checked against the list of approved Counselors at the Council level?

Here you dont turn the blue cards in, but our troop has a Rank Advancement Chairman who records the information and sends that information to council. So, yes, here the information rather than the cards(cause those go to the boy and the councilor) go to council.

[/b]

[commish3]

The reason that a scout must go to the Scoutmaster to get a blue card BEFORE starting on a merit badge is so that the SM can make sure that the scout has the name and contact information for a qualified, registered, counselor. If your scouts are going to non registered counselors that is a violation of Youth Protection as well as Advancment policies, it is the scoutmasters responsible to end such behavior immediately.

A list of currently registered counselors is available from your council office.

There is no such thing as a "troop registered" counselor. Counselors are either registered with the council or they are not registered as counselors.

They can be recruited by the troop, but the troop does not register them, nor do they have the authority to approve them. Only the council can do that.

[Eamonn]

I think you will find that in most Councils the District Advancement Committee are in charge of the Merit Badge Counselor list.

[Lynda J]

I don't think it would ever happen but that does not mean it couldn't. I make sure that all our counselors for our troop renew their forms each year. Our new DAC has almost elimated the issue of counselors no longer being active.

When our DAC took over he found over 30 counselors that hadn't renewed in over 5 years. They weren't even on the Council list any more but they were still signing off on badges. The policy now is that at our first RT in August he gives each troop a list of counselors they have registered. It is our responsibility to contact those people and confirm they still want to counsel badges. If they wish not to then we make sure they are removed from the list. If they do we make sure they fill out a new form and it is turned in.

[fritz1255]

An update: we are getting most of the Troop Committee registered as Merit Badge Counselors. Since we are all registered leaders, it just means filling out the Merit Badge Counselor form. All of us so far have filled in the blank that says we will do badges only for our Troop. Sounds selfish, but we are in a rural district, and none of us is particularly anxious to get on "the list" and be asked to travel 50 miles over bad roads to teach a class at a far-away Troop. If a local Troop asks, that would be different, but that would be "word of mouth" rather than through Council.

[ASM-142]

An update: we are getting most of the Troop Committee registered as Merit Badge Counselors. Since we are all registered leaders, it just means filling out the Merit Badge Counselor form. All of us so far have filled in the blank that says we will do badges only for our Troop. Sounds selfish, but we are in a rural district, and none of us is particularly anxious to get on "the list" and be asked to travel 50 miles over bad roads to teach a class at a far-away Troop. If a local Troop asks, that would be different, but that would be "word of mouth" rather than through Council.

There is no reason why the scout (or Troop) could not travel to you.

[Mrw]

We are not rural, but almost all the counselors we have seen expect the boy to come to them.

[riverwalk]

Hmmm, over here, an MBC fills out ANOTHER Leader App, besides the Counselor form. Hmmm, reminds me I have to do this before next Saturday, yikes.