Training Helps Scout Leaders Spot Abuse : Instruction: The program teaches adults how to deal with suspected child abuse and gives them guidelines for their interaction with Scouts.

Boy Scout leaders and volunteers are known for their mastery of first aid and the outdoors.

But the local Boy Scout council requirement that went into effect April 1 calls for a type of skills training that Robert Baden-Powell, who founded the Boy Scouts in 1907 in Great Britain, may never have dreamed of: spotting and dealing with child abuse.

Youth Protection, a child abuse training program, was started last year by the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Its goal is to teach participants how to spot abuse and what to do when they suspect it. A 90-minute video also defines what constitutes abuse and gives troop leaders behavior guidelines to follow in their own interaction with Scouts.

Although adult volunteers are not required to participate, packs will not receive permission to go on outings unless accompanied by at least one person who has completed the training program, Scout officials said.

There have been several cases in Southern California involving Scout leaders accused of molesting youths.

In 1984, a 25-year-old Scoutmaster of a Westminster pack was charged with 36 counts of molesting a half-dozen Scouts. In February, a San Diego Boy Scout council was found to be partially negligent in a case involving a Scoutmaster who molested an 8-year-old Cub Scout. And in 1990, two Scoutmasters from Twentynine Palms pleaded guilty to molestation counts involving several Boy Scouts and a girl.

But according to Scout Executive Kent Gibbs, these cases were not the impetus for the training program.

“I don’t think this program was set up because of problems the Boy Scouts are experiencing,” Gibbs said. “This was done to protect kids from all walks of life.”

The training program does include behavior guidelines for Scout leaders. Its purpose is to help Scout leaders spot signs of abuse among Scouts, as well as to protect Scout leaders from being accused of abuse or the organization from charges that it is not doing everything possible to protect its young charges.

Gibbs said the organization has a responsibility to protect Scouts.

“Because of the statistics, we are going to remove every possible opportunity for sexual, emotional and physical abuse,” Gibbs said.

Anne Lanphar, who has been through the training and has two sons in Boy Scouts, thinks Scouts are safer because of it. “Other adults (involved in Scouting) are going to be more aware of pedophiles in Scouts,” Lanphar said. “It only takes one, and the training is aimed at preventing that situation from ever arising.”

Since the program was initiated, there has been an increase in awareness among Scout leaders about child abuse, and, as a result, there are more inquiries to the council office about the problem.

According to Jason Stein, public relations director for the Orange County Council, the office receives two or three calls a month, most from Scoutmasters concerned about boys in their packs. There have been no calls involving suspected abuse by Scoutmasters or other adult volunteers, Stein said.

About 5,000 Scout leaders, adult volunteers and members of other community organizations have gone through the training program since it was introduced in March, 1991.

The program is open to anyone in the community who works with children, but the majority of participants have been affiliated with Boy Scouts, Stein said.

Lanphar went through the program last March and is now a trainer. She has been involved with the Boy Scouts for four years and is a Scoutmaster for a pack in Brea. The program, she said, although depressing, was informative.

“I didn’t realize how bad (the problem) was,” Lanphar said. “I feel I have a better ability to recognize signals of abuse.”

Before attending the program, Lanphar had suspected that a child she knew was being abused. Lanphar had been curious about behavior changes in the child, who was not a Scout, but it wasn’t until she participated in the training program that she recognized the behavior as a signal of abuse.

“I hadn’t been asking the right questions, but once I took the course I came right out and asked her if she was being abused,” Lanphar said. “I could see the answer (was yes) in her eyes.”

Participants also receive instruction in what is considered appropriate behavior for themselves. For one, the Boy Scouts have adopted a “two-deep policy” that forbids a leader from being alone with a Scout.

Complying with that policy has meant rethinking many routine situations, Lanphar said. Merit badge counseling, which is usually done privately, is now done in more public situations.

Even Scouting’s highest honor, reaching Eagle Scout status, has been affected by the new policy.

Before the Eagle dinner where the Scouts are honored, they are matched with adults and spend the day with them before coming to the dinner. Although the day is usually spent at the adult’s job, the Boy Scouts have decided that this practice will have to be modified--perhaps by having Scouts go in pairs rather than individually, Lanphar said.

“It is worth it because it protects the boys,” she said. “If we stick up more barriers for abusers, we cut down on its occurrence.”