Scouting Update: Current Updates on Unit Meetings and Operations
Friday, June 5, 2020 – Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our Council has made the health and safety of our Scouts, families, leaders, and staff its number one priority. As local and state restrictions related to COVID-19 begin to ease, we wanted to continue to offer guidance on in-person local unit meetings and activities. At this time, if unit leadership, parents, and charter partners collectively agree that small in-person meetings best meet their needs, they may proceed under the following criteria:
- State guidelines still prohibit any mass gatherings of 10 more people and require social distancing.
- All local and state governments, both where the unit is chartered and where the meeting or activity is to take place, must clearly permit the activity in terms of gathering size and ability to maintain proper social distancing. All local, state and federal guidelines must be followed for all phases of the meeting or activity (such as food, housing/tents, swimming etc.).
- Chartered organizations must approve in-person activities and/or meetings prior to restoring them. As you continue to resume your program, you should also regularly consult with your chartered organization for guidance and to keep them informed.
- Parents should be consulted and a majority of the parents in the Scouting unit should approve restoring in-person activities.
- All meetings and activities are recommended to take place outdoors.
As your unit begins to resume some of these activities, here are a few potential things that your unit could consider:
- Look back at your unit calendar and determine if there were any relevant activities or events that had to be cancelled. One example might be an advancement or youth recognition event. Consider recognizing youth in their den or patrol.
- There are a few socially distant activities we’ve made available to your unit for the month of June.
- For Cub Scouts, consider the brand new Cub Adventure Boxes which will help youth complete 3 elective adventures for their current rank. All of the supplies are included along with self-guided videos and instructions.
- For Scouts BSA members, consider completing a few of the merit badges they had planned to get at camp through the Virtual Merit Badge Challenge which offers 19 different merit badges throughout June.
As additional guidance is shared from the states of Ohio and Kentucky, we will continue to provide you with updates. You can also continue to find the most recent updates here on this page. The guidance shared above is based on the current regulations. Please continue to monitor your states current guidelines as there is potential that future updates may include additional restrictions. As always, please stay safe as you continue to deliver the promise of Scouting to local youth.