Training Updates

Cub Scout Leader Position Specific Training – New Facilitated Learning Materials (for use by Council/District Training Staff)

Instructor Syllabus (Updated Sept 2025)

Leaders who complete either the online or facilitated training are considered trained for their position.

Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO) (Updated Oct 2025)

This one-and-a-half-day course is designed as an introduction to the Cub Scout outdoor program for leaders interested in adding a camping component to their Pack activities.

BALOO training consists of an online pre-requisite component in addition to an overnight hands-on practical. Click here to access the prerequisite training.

Scouting America’s Cub Scout level camping policies will be taught along with the discovery of the necessary tools to help units carry out a successful camping experience. Completion of this course is mandatory for a MINIMUM OF ONE adult on a Pack overnighter.

Instructor Syllabus

This course should not be taught with IOLS. As part of a two-part blended learning format, the on-line modules are the first step to become BALOO trained. The on-line training modules contain introductory and basic information that will be built upon during the practical training that is completed during an in-person, council instructed course. The on-line component must be completed prior to the practical component and the course facilitator should check this before allowing enrollment into this part of the course. The in-person syllabus is facilitated by the council training committee and the syllabus must be followed to include the overnight portion of the training. Otherwise the training code will not be awarded.

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Course (Oct 2025)

This new replacement course is now available since the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion course has been retired. It replaces the requirements for Merit Badge Counselors who desire to teach the Citizenship in Society Merit Badge. 

We encourage everyone involved in Scouting to take this course as Scouting America promotes a culture where every youth, volunteer, and employee feels a sense of belonging and builds communities where every person feels respected and valued. 

This course covers understanding identities, diversity, inclusion, belonging, unconscious bias, and creating inclusive units. The course aligns with Scouting America’s mission to prepare youth to make ethical and moral choices by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law. 

The course can be accessed from the my.scouting home page and is the catalog of the Volunteer Learn Center.

Peer-On-Peer Abuse (Dec 2025)

This new training supersedes the previous facilitated course “Understanding and Preventing Youth-on-Youth Abuse”. This essential training is specifically tailored for camp and NYLT staff and focuses on the prevention of youth-on-youth incidents that may arise during camp activities that fulfills the specific NCAP requirement outlined in SQ-402.B.2. Completion will award the training code CS95 with a one-year expiration. CS95 will no longer be available for manual entry.

Key highlights of the course:

• Abuse and Problematic Behavior Module: Understand the types of abuse that can happen between youth participants and how to proactively build safeguards into Scout meetings, outings, and camp activities.

• Peer-On-Peer Behavior Module: Recognize different kinds of behavior using the traffic light analogy (green, yellow, red) and understand the importance of supervision and monitoring.

• Barriers to Abuse Module: Explore the highly effective safeguards designed for prevention and ensure the protection of youth members and adult leaders in Scouting.

• Reporting Peer-On-Peer Abuse Module: Learn the steps that must be taken to report peer-on-peer abuse and understand the NCAP standards that require timely incident reporting.

The course can be accessed from the catalog of the Volunteer Learn Center.

Virtual Training for Science of Training and Craft of Training (Sept 2025)

In September, Fundamentals of Training and Trainers EDGE were updated. With the updates came a name change – Fundamentals of Training is now Science of Training (D70) and Trainers EDGE is now Craft of Training (H96). Following the updates, an on-line training for Science of Training was released.

We are currently working on developing a Facilitator Guide that will give trainers the information and tools needed to do both Science of Training and Craft of Training virtually. We are hoping to have this released in late spring/early summer.

Position Trained Requirements (Oct 2025)

See the new PDF here.