Membership FAQ

The system is setting the medical form expiration date to the last date of the month for all users, regardless of the actual expiration date.  How can we correct this to show the accurate expiration dates?

By calculating the medical form expiration date as the end of the 12th month from the date it was completed, we are following BSA policy.

According to the BSA, the Annual Health and Medical Record “is valid through the end of the 12th month from the date it was administered by your medical provider.  For example, a physical administered March 3, 2014, would be valid until March 31, 2015.  The AHMR in use before March 1, 2014, will be valid only until April 1, 2015, and only if it was completed before April 1, 2014.”

You’ll find this policy posted on the BSA’s site here: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/Resources/MedicalFormFAQs.aspx.


One of my adults is now showing up as a scout...OR...one of my scouts is showing up as an adult.  How do I fix this?

In either case, you can correct this by going to Membership → View / Maintain Members → All Active Members and updating this person's record.  At the top of the detail page you’ll see a checkbox for Adult?  Check that box to make this member an adult; uncheck it to make this person a scout.  Click Save & Exit to save this change.

This can happen if you've assigned the same user both the "Scout" and "Adult" user roles.  This can be corrected on the Users and Passwords page by deselecting the role from this user's list of authorized roles.


Why does the system display an error message when I try to delete a scout?

The system does not allow you to delete a scout or an adult from the system if there is related information about that person in the database.  This related information may include financial transactions, rank advancement, merit badges, or participation in troop events.

In most cases, the best way to remove a membership record is to make that member inactive by entering a past date into the Left Troop field.  Before you do this, first make sure this member's account balance is set to zero, since you won't be able to enter transactions for this person after you make them inactive.  You should also ask your site administrator to delete this member's User ID so they won't be able to log on to your website.


I entered a date into the Left Troop field for a scout, and he still appears on the Active Scouts list.  Why is that?

If you enter a future date into the Left Troop field, that scout (or adult) will continue to appear on active member lists until that date is in the past.


If I make a scout inactive by entering a value into the Left Troop field, will all of their information be deleted?

No.   Making a troop member inactive does not cause any information to be removed from your database.   However, most of this information will no longer be visible.   If you need to view information about an inactive member, temporarily blank out the Left Troop field for that member.


If I change a scout to an adult by checking the Adult checkbox, will all of their scouting history be deleted?

No.   Changing the status of a member from scout to adult does not cause any information to be removed from your database.   However, some of this information - in particular, rank advancement and merit badges - will no longer be visible.   If you need to view this information about an adult, temporarily change them back to scout status by unchecking the Adult checkbox on their record.


Can we upload scout medical records to the site?

No.   There is a federal law called HIPAA that creates strict rules regarding on-line access to medical information.   Rather than risk violating these rules, we recommend that you keep your medical records on paper in a secured storage location.

The BSA strongly discourages troops from creating electronic copies of medical forms. Please see this official blog post: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2015/01/23/say-no-to-digitizing-medical-records/.

You will find the same policy stated on the BSA's FAQ page for medical records:  http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/Resources/MedicalFormFAQs.aspx


When I try to print the troop directory the report doesn't display correctly.  How can I fix this?

Reports are created as PDF documents, which require Adobe Acrobat Reader™ software to display correctly.

It is possible you do not have this software installed on your computer.

You can download this free software from the Adobe website at http://get.adobe.com/reader/.