There is sometimes a discrepancy between the list of merit badges a counselor thinks they are registered for and the official list of badges that is recorded in the council’s computer system. Council’s list of badges is what appears on the council’s merit badge counselor list and also in the merit badge counselor list that is displayed in Scoutbook.
Discrepancies happen for a variety of reasons: the paperwork was missing required signatures or other required information; the paperwork was dropped off at the council office and never made it to the district merit badge dean for review and approval; the paperwork got lost before the change could be recorded.
Prior to Scoutbook, merit badge counselors could do little to ensure that their paperwork was successfully processed and recorded. A counselor could check the next published merit badge counselor list to see if the changes were implemented, but that list is normally only sent to unit leaders and not counselors.
Scoutbook includes features that now allow a merit badge counselor to see the official list of badges that council has on file for them. This information is automatically synchronized between Scoutbook and the internal computer system that the council uses to associate badges with counselors.
All merit badge counselors should periodically use the steps below to check that their list of badges is correct:
2) Click on My DashBoard
3) Then click on My Account and then My Positions
4) Under the My Current Positions & Roles section, you should see a Merit Badge Counselor position.
5) If you don’t have a Merit Badge Counselor position, you are not registered as a merit badge counselor with the council. There are a couple of reasons for this condition:
a) You’re a first time counselor and your paperwork is still being processed. The amount of time it takes to fully process a merit badge counselor application once all the paperwork is valid varies throughout the year and can sometimes take weeks. Your district’s merit badge dean may be able to provide more insight.
b) You have been a merit badge counselor for years and now you’re no longer listed as a counselor. The most likely cause of this is that you failed to respond to our annual reregistration query or you let your Youth Protection Training expire and you were automatically dropped as a merit badge counselor. Check with your district’s merit badge dean to confirm your status. If you have been dropped from the list, you will need to submit the same paperwork that is required of a first time counselor to be added back to the list.
6) If your profile includes a Merit Badge Counselor Position, your screen will look similar to the one below:
7) If the list of badges that is displayed is not what you think it should be, you will need to work with your district’s merit badge dean to submit the necessary paperwork to add the merit badge(s) to your profile.