These Guidelines are no longer valid.
Safeguards for Unit Meetings and Activities:
1. We continue to encourage virtual meetings. Many units have developed a hybrid program between meeting in person and virtual. There are still several free media platforms to accommodate virtual meetings. You must follow all youth protection policies and safeguards for online meetings including having multiple adults over the age of 21 present the entire time. If both male and female youth are on the same conferencing event, one adult of each gender must also actively participate. As a reminder, make sure youth are never being recorded or filmed.
2. As a reminder, it is important that your unit committee develops its own COVID-19 safety plan and shares with your Chartered Organization in order to receive further guidance and permission to meet in-person. Your Chartered Organization may have its own policies and requirements on meetings. At a minimum, this plan should address the safeguards listed below including but not limited to transportation, maintaining social distancing, wearing face coverings, taking attendance, and sanitization. It is important this plan is communicated to each of your Scouting families. Although not required, it may be an excellent learning opportunity for the Patrol Leaders Council, Crew Officers or Ship Officers to participate in drafting and preparing the plan.
3. Be sensitive to all families and consider offering a hybrid (both in-person and virtual) program opportunities to ensure all Scouts can participate. Parents should only resume in-person Scouting when they are comfortable. Scouts must be able to continue to be members in good standing and accrue tenure by participating in-person or virtually with the unit if parents state they are not yet comfortable having their youth participate in-person. Parents are highly encouraged to ask their unit leadership questions about the unit's plan to restart in-person Scouting safely and a unit should ONLY begin meeting if social distancing can be ensured.
4. We know these times can be stressful for families. The Boy Scouts of America has resources available to help our families with stress and other mental health concerns. Please go to https://www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/cd-resources/ to see what resources might be available to your unit.
5. The plan should include a COVID-19 communication strategy. It should include a plan for if a member of the unit or their family tests positive for COVID-19 or has been exposed to someone who has tested positive and also a contact tracing plan. Despite all precautionary measures, there is always a risk of exposure to communicable diseases. For guidance, please refer to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/open-america/contact-tracing/index.html
6. Please follow local, state, and federal guidelines as it pertains to participation in activities. There are specific safeguards that continue to be set for activities such as museum visits, national, county, municipal, and state parks, zoos, and amusement parks. These safeguards can quickly change, so always check local, state, and federal guidelines before you participate in activities. Please familiar yourself with the Ohio Public Health Advisory website and the color code system for your county. If a county is listed Level 3,or red, on the map, this means that there is a very high risk of exposure and spread of COVID-19. It is encouraged to limit in-person day activities. If a county is listed Level 4, or purple, this indicates a severe exposure and spread of COVID-19. This means that all in-person Scouting activities must cease and you can only meet virtually until the county is not declared purple. As a reminder, Camping is permitted for Scouts living in counties at alert levels 1, 2, or 3. If your unit’s county is above level 3, you are prohibited at camping at a Lake Erie Council camp. If Lorain or Ashtabula County are at a level 4 alert level, each respective camp will be closed for the duration of the time at alert level 4. For guidance, please go to coronavirus.ohio.gov.
7. When transporting Scouts, carpooling is highly discouraged. If attending an activity at Beaumont or Firelands Scout Reservation, temperature checks will be administered. Please advise if a temperature of an individual is over 100.3 degrees, the individual and the entire vehicle is sent home. If a unit is planning an activity outside the State of Ohio, please also be aware of certain travel restrictions other states may have including the need for self-quarantining. Learn more about travel guidelines here.
8. While non-camping activities and meetings can resume, there is NO overnight camping allowed outside of Beaumont Scout Reservation, Firelands Scout Reservation or other BSA Camps authorized to be open by the rules of their State or other jurisdiction. Unit's who choose to camp independently when it is not permitted by the State, will not be covered by liability insurance as well as supplemental health insurance.
9. Units may not provide homecooked meals or serve commercially purchased food. Outside of resident camp, food for activities should be purchased and prepared by the Scout's individual family. If a unit is camping at Firelands Scout Reservation, Beaumont Scout Reservation or any other BSA Camp, they must contact the director in charge ahead of time to discuss the food program that will be carried out by the camp and unit.
10. As it pertains to the Cooking Merit Badge requirement 5 which has a camp cooking and serving requirement, this requirement must be completed with the same patrol the Scout has been regularly meeting and camping with.
11. To help reduce the spread of COVID-19 while helping our units fundraise, the Lake Erie Council highly encourages units to participate only in popcorn or Scout’s Own fundraising. There are several options available this fall to keep your families safe including 100% online selling. Be on the look out for promotions and other resources to help units have fundraising success this fall and winter. Check out https://lecbsa.org/popcorn to learn more. If a unit wishes to do a fundraiser outside of popcorn or Scout’s Own, the unit must receive prior approval. Please go to https://lecbsa.org/unit-budget-calendar-tools to obtain your unit fundraising application. All applications for unit fundraising are subject to approval.
12. When meeting as a group please remember:
To maintain social distancing and limit group sizes to 10 or fewer. As with summer camp, we encourage troops to follow the patrol method and split large groups into patrols of under ten people and maintain social distancing between patrols. Packs can split into smaller dens of 10 or under while meeting in large groups. With summer approaching, large outdoor spaces are a more ideal place to meet. Again, please make sure there are no restrictions with your desired meeting venue.
To wear face coverings. As of July 22nd, 2020, the State of Ohio has issued a mask mandate.
To sanitize the meeting area as well as the equipment used for each activity.
To keep attendance for both youth and adults in case contact tracing is needed.
To adhere to Youth Protection Policies.
To ensure hand sanitizer is available (either supplied by the unit or requiring each person to bring their own) with unit and youth leaders encouraging regular use.
To encourage everyone to wash their hands with soap and water if available for at least 20 seconds.
There is also additional guidance that can be found at:
While we know these safeguards make Scouting look a little different than normal, we must adhere to these changes for everyone's safety. We look forward to helping our units begin to meet and participate in activities again. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us should you need any help. As more updates become available, we will continue to update you accordingly.
Yours in Scouting,
Greg Voyzey
Director of Field Services
Lake Erie Council
