Dear all registered Scouting volunteers in California:
As announced earlier, California Law AB 506 (“AB 506) is taking effect on January 1, 2022 and will support our mission to protect the youth in our program from neglect and abuse.
Working with the other Scout Councils in California, we have created the California Scouting web portal (www.CaliforniaScouting.org) that will be your point of reference to help answer your questions about AB 506 and connect you with the resources you will need to fully comply with the law. Please note that the website is subject to change as we learn more and fully set up all its functions.
The law requires employees, administrators, and volunteers of Youth Service Organizations to complete training in child abuse & neglect reporting and undergo Live Scan background checks. All registered BSA volunteer positions, administrators and employees including camp staff must comply with AB 506. In addition, regular volunteers, defined by AB 506 as volunteers who are 18 years of age or older and who have direct contact with, or supervision of, children for more than 16 hours a month or 32 hours per year, must complete the training and background check as well.
For questions regarding whether your specific position requires training and background checks, please visit the FAQ page.
Below is the 3-step process to be in compliance with AB 506. We ask that all volunteers complete all steps as soon as possible as this is a requirement to be a leader.
AB-506 VOLUNTEER PROCESS
1. REQUIRED STATE MANDATED REPORTER TRAININGAll Registered Adult Volunteers and Regular Volunteer positions identified as requiring training shall complete the California Mandated Reporter Training: Volunteers beginning January 1, 2022. The training is available online take about 2 hours to complete. Council Board Members and Camping Staff/Council Employees will need to complete the 4 hour general training course.
NOTE: This training in addition to BSA Youth Protection Training.
2. UPLOAD COMPLETED TRAININGOnce you have finished the training, upload your state Mandated Reporter Training Certificate to the Crater Lake Council page on the California Scouting portal.
3. LIVE SCAN FINGER PRINTING & BACKGROUND CHECK (coming soon)The council has submitted its request for authorization to the California Department of Justice to receive state and federal criminal offender record information (CORI). Once we have received authorization, we will update the website and share our Live Scan Request Form that will allow you to get fingerprinted.
Please do not schedule your Live Scan until we announce that we are ready to receive them, as any scans done before we have authorization will be invalid and need to be done again. NOTE: Each organization requires their own live scan, so you will still need to complete this step even if you have been fingerprinted for another organization.
Once this step is available, you will only need to complete your live scan once for the council. There are many Live Scan locations throughout the state.
In addition to completing the Live Scan form, you will also need to review and sign a Consent Form. By signing the Consent Form, you will allow the Council to receive your criminal history record from state and federal agencies. Additionally, you will allow the Council to share your criminal history with a designated individual of BSA national. If you have any questions after reviewing the Consent Form, please contact Jim Westfall at james.westfall@scouting.org
Thank you for your commitment to protecting our youth. Together, we are providing a safe Scouting program for thousands of youth across California. If you have any additional questions please contact feel free to contact me at James.Westfall@scouting.org.