Juniata Valley Council Update to the Pennsylvania Child Protection Law
July, 2017
Scouting Volunteers,
The Boy Scouts of America Youth Protection Mission Statement: True youth protection can be achieved only through the focused commitment of everyone in Scouting. It is the mission of Youth Protection volunteers and professionals to work within the Boy Scouts of America to maintain a culture of Youth Protection awareness and safety at the national, regional, area, council, district, and unit levels
With this Mission Statement in mind, on June 28, 2017 the Juniata Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America Executive Board voted unanimously to expand the Council’s policy regarding compliance with the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law, which was amended to take effect on July 1, 2015, to include all adults that are registered with the Council.
Prior to this vote, we required this level of clearance only for direct contact leaders and others who may be in leadership positions over youth members under the age of 18.
Effective January 1, 2018 all registered members of the Juniata Valley Council who are age 18 and above must provide the following clearances to the Juniata Valley Council to remain registered:
- Report of Criminal History from the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), cost – free, takes 10-15 minutes: https://epatch.pa.gov/home
- Child Abuse History Clearance from the Department of Human Services, cost – free, takes 20-30 minutes: www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home
- Fingerprint based FBI criminal history clearance submitted through the Department of Human Services, approximate cost – $25.75, takes 5-10 minutes online and 10-15 minutes at the fingerprinting location: www.identogo.com/locations/pennsylvania Enter Service Code 1KG6ZJ
- Volunteers who have resided in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania continuously for the past 10 years can submit a Disclosure Statement Application for Volunteers in lieu of the fingerprint-based FBI Clearance.The Volunteers Disclosure Statement Application for Volunteers in lieu of the Fingerprint based FBI Clearance is found at this link: https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/dhs/documents/keepkidssafe/resources/documents/disclosure-statement-for-volunteers.pdf
The Boy Scouts of America and Juniata Valley Council will continue to require completion of the Youth Protection Training programs for all registered adults. More information is available at http://www.scouting.org/Training/YouthProtection.aspx.
- Additional Information: http://www.jvcbsa.org/risk-management/new-pennsylvania-child-protection-laws/59391
- Juniata Valley Council’s A Unit Guide to Compliance
