FAQs For parents and adult leaders:
FAQs For the troop's merit badge counselor coordinator:
For parents and adult leaders:
The merit badge program is part of the advancement plan of the Boy Scouts of America. It has guided the interests and energies of Boy Scouts for nearly 90 years and is one of the most unusual educational programs ever devised. A merit badge is an award that is presented to a Boy Scout or Varsity Scout when he has completed the requirements for one of about 120 subjects in a wide variety of art, craft, hobby, sport, trade, profession, agribusiness, service or self-improvement areas. The badge is only a small piece of cloth with a design embroidered in color; but its significance is as large as the interest of the merit badge counselor who helps a Scout earn it.
Earning merit badges gives a Scout the kind of self-confidence that comes from overcoming obstacles to achieve a goal. Through the merit badge program, a Scout also learns career skills, develops socially, and may develop physical skills and hobbies that give a lifetime of healthful recreation.
A. Choose one or more merit badges that you feel qualified to counsel from the 120 merit badges currently offered by BSA. Jump to all BSA merit badges along with current requirements. B. Review the requirements for the badge. Be sure you can support the requirements for the subjects you choose. C. Submit a Merit Badge Counselor Enrollment Form via your troop's merit badge Coordinator to the District merit badge Dean along with a copy of your BSA Adult Volunteer form. D. Obtain merit badge counselor training from your troop, District or this web site.
Submit a Merit Badge Counselor Enrollment Form to your troop's Advancement Chair or merit badge counselor coordinator. If this is your first merit badge subject, you probably need merit badge counselor training.
National BSA Advancement Policies and Procedures state, "Qualifications of Counselors. Persons serving as merit badge counselors must be registered as a merit badge counselor with the Boy Scouts of America. They must be men and women of good character, age 18 or older, and recognized as having the skills and education in the subjects for which they are to serve as merit badge counselors, as well as having the ability to work with Scout-age boys."
No. National BSA policy states that merit badge counselors are not required to pay a fee if they are only registered as merit badge counselors. In the National Capital Area Council a position code of "42" is used on the Adult Volunteer registration form to identify such counselors.
The merit badge program can not happen without the service of hundreds of merit badge counselors in PatuxentDistrict - like yourself - expert in a particular subject and interested in helping Scouts grow into men of character, ready to take their place in the world of work as participating citizens.
There is no official limit, although more than a dozen is unusual. Some well-trained, lifelong Scouters are can offer quality counseling for many different merit badges. Adult volunteers who may be new to Scouting can contribute by advising on just one merit badge. This is especially true for a merit badge that is not offered in the District Directory or is offered by only one or two other MB counselors and the subject happens to be of particular interest to the adult. Check here for merit badges that are underrepresented in PatuxentDistrict.
Yes. Some counselors advertise themselves as available district-wide and are identified in the District Directory. However, once you are approved as a merit badge counselor you may counsel any Scout, including Scouts from another troop. This is so even if you originally indicated a preference to only counsel Scouts in your troop. But, you may only counsel the merit badges listed under your name. In your next update, you could indicate a willingness to counsel outside your troop.
For changes to personal information (address, phone number, spelling of name, etc.), or to delete a merit badge send your update to the District merit badge Dean. You may send e-mail. To append a new merit badge(s) to your current listing, submit a Merit Badge Counselor Enrollment Form via your troop's Advancement Chair or merit badge counselor coordinator to the District merit badge Dean.
The BSA Troop Committee Guidebook indicates one of the duties of the Advancement Committee Member is to develop and maintain a merit badge counselor list.
Obtain the current merit badge counselor listing for your troop. Review and confirm the information for each MB counselor. Use the Merit Badge Counselor Enrollment form for additions. Send updates to the District merit badge Dean via the U.S. Postal Service. Include a note with your name, phone and e-mail. Jump to the annual reregistration page.
In the case of counselors who are no longer associated with my troop, who are no longer registered with BSA, or who are no longer active MB counselors, send an e-mail note to the BCD MB Dean requesting removal of specified merit badge counselors associated with your troop.
The MB counselor list is reregistered annually after the February rechartering the National Capital Area Council. These updates should be provided as soon as possible. Other updates can be done throughout the year as the information becomes available.
No. National BSA policy states, "All merit badge counselors must be trained in the aims of Scouting and in advancement procedures." You should give each new merit badge counselor a copy of Merit Badge Counseling. You can use Merit Badge Counselor Orientation to conduct a one-on-one training session or a group session.
Old records will be deleted just before the next Patuxent District NCAC Merit Badge Counselor Directory for 1999-2000 is published.
