1. This is a overview of practical Family Scouting implementation issues for Units in the Atlanta Area Council.
It is adapted from general information posted at and in other locations, with a focus on practical issues for units as they implement the Family Scouting program, and work with their Chartered Organization, their families and their community.

2. What Is Happening?
Starting in 2018 (right now), families can choose Cub Scouts for their sons AND their daughters.
Packs can accept girls in the summer of 2018 … no need to wait to take registrations until school starts back … and summer is a good time to recruit leaders from excited families of girls to be ready to roll when school starts up.
Troops of girls in Scouts BSA can’t officially form and take registrations until 2/1/19, but need to start to plan now …
Pack Online Registration is available on the “Be A Scout” website at BeAScout.org and by updating information in My.Scouting.Org, a Pack can show what kind of Pack it is: All Boy, Both Girls and Boys, or All Girl.
Starting February 1, 2019, girls aged 11 (or 10 with Arrow of Light) through 17 can join all-girl Scouts BSA troops, just like boys in all-boy troops.

3. BOYS & GIRLS CUB SCOUT PACK ALL-GIRL CUB SCOUT PACK
How Will Cub Scout Packs Look?
CUB SCOUTS
AGES 5-10 (OR GRADES K-5)
ALL-BOY CUB SCOUT PACK
BOYS & GIRLS CUB SCOUT PACK
ALL-GIRL CUB SCOUT PACK
Three types of Packs. “All-Boy” are just like now. “All-Girl” just like it says. “Boys & Girls” Packs will have Boy Dens and Girl Dens … more to follow about how it works.
The “Be A Scout” website at BeAScout.org can show what kind of Pack you have: All Boy, Both Girls and Boys, or All Girl. To update your pin for the "Be A Scout" site, a "Key 3" leader of your Pack (or a “Key 3 Delegate”) needs to log in to your My.Scouting.Org account and update “Organization Manager” for your Pack to "Opt-In" to Family Scouting and then show whether you are All Boy, Both Girls and Boys, or All Girl.  The Key 3 leaders are Cubmaster, Chair, or Chartered Organization Representative.
While you’re there, you should update your “BeAScout” setting in your My.Scouting.Org account if it’s been a while … be sure the Pin Status says "Active" if you want your pin visible to on the map (more and more people use that site to find units), and make sure the Apply Status is set to "Active" to permit the submission of on-line applications for Youth and Leaders. See for how to update both parts.
CUB SCOUT PACK
ALL-BOY DEN
ALL-GIRL DEN

4. New “2 Deep” Rules – All Units
Effective October 1, 2018, two registered adult leaders 21 years of age or over are required at all Scouting activities, including meetings.
This is a change from prior BSA policy where only one adult needed to be registered, and one adult could be age 18.
Action Plan: Register and train more Adults as leaders or assistants. Especially female adults (see next slide).
This is a new rule and covers all BSA programs, not just Cub Scouts, and not just Packs with girls.
It applies to Dens, Packs, Troops, Crews and Ships.
Some who work hard to recruit more leaders and register them have noted that for Cub Scout Den Activities like meetings, the pre-10/1/18 “two deep” rule was two adults (one registered plus one other adult), and was sufficient protection for youth. Some have noted that Lion Dens of Kindergarten Scouts and Tiger Dens of First Grade Scouts already have Adult Partners for Scouts. Some have noted that it would be unfortunate for Den Activities like meetings to be cancelled if there isn’t a second registered adult.
The BSA invites comments about program issues, and these program guidelines evolve. The Family Scouting Website at says: if you have any further questions, please us

5. Leader Rules – Units with Girls
Units with girls need one over 21 female registered leader.
And a registered female adult leader over 21 must be present for any activity involving female youth.
Overnights: Two 21 or over registered leaders needed, and if girls are present, at least one must be female.
Other rules still apply, like one BALOO trained leader for Pack Overnighters.
This is similar to existing rules for Crews in Venturing … note again the key need to recruit and register enough 21 and older female leaders, so that activities are not cancelled.
Having a registered female adult leader present seems to be a solid and logical rule for activities that involve female youth, and should be appreciated by family members.

6. Den Rules – Boy & Girl Packs
Dens will be single gender — all boys or all girls. But there’s more to it – see this FAQ from the BSA: Q: Should girl dens and boy dens meet at the same time and place? A: “It is up to the chartered organization and the pack or the den to decide meeting times and places.”
This rule, that “dens will be single gender — all boys or all girls”, is subject to some misunderstanding and maybe some myth-making, but the official FAQ from October 2017 (updated in June 2018 as shown here) makes it clear that All Scouting is Local on this matter – and Chartered Organizations and leaders may make this determination, as they do now in many aspects of den activities!
For example, some Chartered Organizations will be completely comfortable with boys and girls doing activities together. Many have boys and girls in the same Sunday School classes and other youth activities at the Church. The Chartered Organization can direct how that will be done.
And the pack and den – and their families – can decide.

7. More on Boy & Girl Dens …
Also from the FAQ: Q: Can separate girl dens and boy dens work on the same activity at the same time together? A: “this can be treated the same as two dens of the same gender working together. It will be up to the good judgment of leaders to decide what is best for their units.”
Another issue is Leaders – Den Leaders and Assistants do not volunteer for every situation. A Den Leader volunteer willing to handle 8 to 10 Scouts with an Assistant shouldn’t be assumed able to handle 18 to 20 – it’s not what she signed up for. And some parents may volunteer to lead only boys, others to lead only girls, though others may be OK with working with dens of both genders.
Bottom line is:  how your boy dens and girl dens do activities will depend on your numbers, your families, your leaders, your resources, and your chartered organization.

8. How to Decide (Boy & Girl Dens)
Chartered Organization wishes … … if the Chartered Organization requires separate girl den and boy den activities, follow their rule. Den Leaders and Assistants willingness … … some will want to work only with girls, some only with boys. Some are OK with both. Families wishes … … if your families want separate girl den and boy den activities, they can do that - if they provide the needed leadership.
Separate dens of all boys and separate dens of all girls works best if you have nice den sized groups of boys and girls at each grade/handbook level with a sufficient corps of leaders. If you have, say, 7 First Grade girls, and 8 First Grade boys, that makes two nice sized dens. And if you have 15 First Grade boys and enough engaged leaders, you will want to split up into two dens anyway ... that's a lot of first graders. Or you will usually. It depends on your families, your leaders, your resources, and your chartered organization. Some packs have dens of 20 boys that meet at the same time and place and do the same activities with a corps of 4 or 5 den co-leaders and assistants engaged. With the added leaders, when they need to split into small groups of 5 or 10 during an activity, they do so.
But say you have 2 second grade girls, the only girls in your pack, and 7 second grade boys. So the girls would be in their own Wolf Den and the boys are in their own Wolf Den. If there is an engaged den leader and second adult (two registered adult leaders 21 or over, at least one female) for the girl den of 2, they can meet as a girl den of 2 – that may work. But if the families and leaders want, the two Wolf Dens can do the same activities at the same time, together. Just like two Wolf Dens of boys. You'll need a female as one of the two registered adult leaders 21 or over present. And hopefully that girl den of 2 will grow to a girl den of 10.

9. How Will Scouts BSA Troops Look?
February 2019
for ages (or 10 with Arrow of Light)
SEPARATE TROOPS FOR BOYS & GIRLS
OPTION: “LINKED” TROOPS / SHARED COMMITTEE
CHARTERED ORGANIZATION
CHARTERED ORGANIZATION
CHARTERED ORGANIZATION
TROOP COMMITTEE
TROOP COMMITTEE
TROOP COMMITTEE
Basic rule is that there will be “Separate Troops for Boys and Girls”. But … the administration of Troops chartered by the same Chartered Organization can lead to “linked” Troops that share the same Troop Committee, supporting both the troop of girls and the troop of boys.
[Some might wonder “why can’t there be “linked” packs, so that Packs that share the same Chartered Organization can share the same Pack Committee, supporting both the pack of girls and the pack of boys. Good question. Not an “automatic” or “click the box” option, but thoughtful Chartered Organizations and packs might want to work together closely as if they are linked. Remember: registration in a second unit is free, since you can be a “multiple” in other units as long as you pay registration in one.
Taking it a step further … some units might want to create similar informal links between pack and troop and crew committees, as especially in dealing with “crossover” from a pack to a troop, there is a value in coordination, and oftentimes troop veterans can offer support to pack newbie leaders.]
ALL-GIRL TROOP
ALL-BOY TROOP

10. Concepts for Boy & Girl Troops
Scoutmaster …
… have a different Scoutmaster for a girl troop and for a boy troop (but each could also be an ASM in the ‘other’ troop)
Troop Number …
… could be different or could look the same: existing troop 123 could share 123 with a Scouts BSA girl troop (with a different ScoutNet prefix)
SPL and PLC …
… youth leaders come from within the troop, so each will have a separate SPL and PLC
Are they “Boy Scouts”? In a “Boy Scout troop”? …
… no, they are “Scouts”. In “Scouts BSA”. In a “troop”.
“Standalone” Troops of girls will operate like current “standalone” Troops of boys.
You might only see other troops at camporees and summer camp.
But … girl Troops alongside boy Troops have some special issues, whether linked or not. For example, sharing of equipment and meeting space.

11. Joint Girl & Boy Troop Activities
Girl + Boy Troops can do activities together. From the FAQ:
Q: “Can a boy troop and girl troop meet at the same time?”
A: “Yes. Based on the preferences of the chartered organization, the boy troop and girl troop could meet at the same time and place.”
Q: “Can courts of honor be held jointly?”
A: “Yes, courts of honor can be held jointly if the chartered organization chooses.”
The rule that “troops will be single gender — all boys or all girls” is also subject to some misunderstanding and maybe some myth-making, but the official FAQ updated in June 2018 make it clear that All Scouting is Local on this matter – and Units may make this determination, as they do now in many aspects of BSA activities!
So they may do activities together. If that’s what the Chartered Organization allows.

12. More FAQ on Boy/Girl Troops
Q: “Can a boy troop and girl troop meet as one big troop?”
A: “Opening and closing of the meetings can be together or separate, depending on space and desire of the chartered organization and unit leadership.
The other components of the Scout meeting should be run separately.”
Q: “Can a boy troop and girl troop plan events together?”
A: “Yes, they can plan events together, as troops currently do.”
More on the next slide, because it’s not just up to the Chartered Organization and the Adult Leaders …
Note the word “should” in “The other components of the Scout meeting should be run separately”. Given the common structure of a Troop Meeting as Opening, Skills Instruction, Patrol Meetings, Inter-patrol Activity and Closing, the advice says clearly that Openings and Closings can be together or separate, and by definition patrols of the girl Troop would meet separately from each other Patrol. Skills instruction often is individualized based on who needs the skill or the experience instruction, often with several different instructions going on at once – so if that “should” be done separately, it doesn’t say it “must” be done separately. Same with Inter-Patrol Competitions. Could be “Inter-Troop Competition”.

13. More on Troops and Leadership
In a Scouts BSA troop, it’s a Scout-led program:
The Scouts decide what to do – they lead their troop.
How much a pair of troops might do activities together hopefully won’t be decided by Scoutmaster or Committee at all, because – unlike Cub Scouts – Scouts BSA is a Scout-led program.
You might think a troop of boys and a troop of girls would want to do the same activities … but you might be wrong. The Patrol Leaders Council of each troop should determine than, not a Scoutmaster or Committee. Granted, more separate activities will put more demands on adult leadership to support program the youth of the respective troops want to do, but if a girl troop and a boy troop want to go their own ways, you can enlist them to help recruit the necessary leadership to do so – just like we should enlist them to raise the money needed to go places and do things.
Some troops of boys and girls will want to do a lot of activity together, others will want to be nowhere near the other troop, others will be OK with “going to the same places” but keeping a respectable distance from the other troop … sort of like how patrols should really camp at least 300 feet apart, not all clumped together.

14. Timeline – Cub Scout Packs
Program and Summer Program!
Plan for Next Year
Finalize Family Decisions
Leader Recruiting
Youth Signup and Den Organization …
… Finish Leader Recruitment and Training
Do Adventures!
Program
Plan for Crossover
Do Summer Adventures too (Overnight Camp / Day Camp / Your Fun Ideas)
Plan for Next Year! (Calendar of Activities, and Leader Recruiting)
Youth Signup
Leader Signup
Program Underway!
October 2018 –
February 2019
February
and beyond
July-August, 2018
Aug – Sept, 2018
Here’s the general timeline for Cub Scout Packs during this 2018 launch year for “Family Scouting” … right now, you can finalize (and maybe change) your “Family Scouting” decision by your Chartered Organization in conjunction with the Pack Leaders who will deliver the program.
Most units have decided already, but if (like many) a unit elected to stay “all boy” out of uncertainty over what Cub Scouting for girls would look like or concern about recruiting sufficient leaders, it’s not too late to change your mind: at any time, a Pack can update their “BeAScout.org” pin through my.scouting.org to elect to be a family pack (both boys and girls). Some packs might get a swell of interest (and leader prospects) as the summer rolls on and when school starts back up.
So July and August are key times to bake in your decision … especially by recruiting the key leaders you’ll need.
And as you deal with your Chartered Organization and community, remember that we are promoters of the Girl Scouts of the USA – we want all youth to be in scouting somewhere … we want strong GSUSA troops and program. We both do “scouting”: we just do it a bit differently – we think girls interested in the BSA are likely those who don’t find the GSUSA program appealing, and some girls might want to be involved in both!
That rolls very quickly into the August/September Signup and Program Launch for most Packs – as you do your Sign Up Events, you need to be sure that you have sufficient engaged (trained) leaders to have a great program, and if you have lots of Scouts sign up, you may need even more leaders. And as you get going with lots of new families, have fun and easy events like Night at the Braves, Fall Campouts (even if you just “go for the day” on Saturday), and fishing and biking and hiking and field trips that families will enjoy and that will help parents “step up” as leaders.
The Cub Program goes all year long, but for 2018 there are some special issues, since the first Scouts BSA troops for girls are only in the planning stage, making connection to the right troops more challenging – troop leaders are just now figuring out how to deliver the program in girl troops.
If you have girls completing the Arrow of Light, and parents who want to support them, you can help troops launch strong Scouts BSA troops for your girls with your parents as key “founding” leaders on February 1, 2019.
Have you decided whether to be a “Family Scouting” Pack?
Do you have key leaders in place for the program?
Do your Arrow of Light Scouts have a Troop destination …
many will want to join Scouts BSA on day one (2/1/19)

15. Timeline –Scouts BSA Troops
Finalize Decision
Youth Soft Signup / Arrow of Light (and other) Visits
Planning
Day One is … February 1, 2019
Troop Program and Summer Camp!
Develop Girl Troop Decisions
Leader Recruiting
Decision Time: Will you host a girl troop?
“Soft” signup recruiting – invite prospects to activities and meetings.
Work with incoming Scouts, troop committee(s), and boy troop PLC to plan upcoming events , etc.
New Scout Handbooks due in January, 2019
Submit unit, youth and adult apps 2/1/19.
Launch the new Troop (elections, camping, etc.)
Summer Camp!
August 2018 –
January 2019
February
and beyond
Now into October
Here’s the general timeline for troops in the BSA during this 2018 prep year for “Family Scouting” and Scouts BSA troops … right now, you can finalize (and maybe change) your “Family Scouting” decision by your Chartered Organization in conjunction with the Leaders who will deliver the program or be affected by it. Some leaders of existing troops will welcome dual roles with a Scouts BSA girl troop – but not all, and having a “mirror” troop will require additional leaders to be engaged, both to run the new troop for girls, and to deal with the “coordination” issues that will result with many Chartered Organizations (like how to share the BSA equipment fairly, like troop trailers and cooking gear).
As you deal with your Chartered Organization and community, remember to be promoters of the Girl Scouts of the USA – we want all youth to be in scouting somewhere … we want strong GSUSA troops and program (we’re just offering a different program).
Sometime in the latter half of 2018 Chartered Organizations will need to decide if they want to offer Scouts BSA for girls, and when they do … they will “want it now”. While we can’t start officially until February 1, 2019, it’s a good planning practice to do “soft recruiting” (so you can plan how many girls are likely to join 2/1/19), and perfectly fine for those interested in joining to attend events as visitors, including (if your PLC invites them – and you may have girl Arrow of Light dens asking to visit) troop meetings and campouts and other events, and even instruction in Scout Skills. [For those worried about insurance, they are covered “while attending scheduled activities for the purpose of becoming registered Leaders and Scouts”, says Atlanta Area Council ACE Policy Number PTP N ] All of this “pre-launch planning” will help your launch on February 1, 2019.
Details will follow about how and when Unit Applications (for the new Scouts USA troops) will be processed, and how Youth and Adult online registrations will work – for paper registration, those could be completed in advance and submitted for entry on 2/1/19.
For program, Scouts BSA troops for girls will hopefully launch into a full program – likely, youth leader elections will be an early matter, and hopefully troop committee(s) and youth will have a full camping and activity schedule. For summer camp, Woodruff and Bert Adams will hold space either under existing boy troop reservations (even if the girl troop will elect a separate campsite) or as a “to be formed” Scouts BSA troop for girls.
Has your Chartered Org decided whether to add a Scouts BSA troop for girls? Time to Talk!
Have you got key leaders in place?