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[quote=cburkhardt]Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts are quite different in many ways.  You should examine both programs carefully before joining either.  I’m lead Scoutmaster of the 53-member all-girl Scouts BSA Troop in the District.  We have over 25 women and men involved with our Troop.  Those who pay attention to Scouting-related postings on this site will recall that I hosted detailed discussions a few years ago when the former “Boy Scout” program became “Scouts BSA” and began all-girl operations.  I just noticed this thread and read through the comments, many of which are illuminating.  I won’t repeat my thoughts of a few years ago, but wanted to state basic facts for readers.

The Cub Scout program (for girls and boys age 5-11 is operated on the basis where small subgroup “Dens” of 8-12 youth meet fairly regularly.  These groups are segregated by girls and boys, and the BSA is entirely welcoming of LGBTQ youth and adults.  If a child identifies one way or another, just fine.  There is no one-on-one parent-to-child requirement of any type, so the poster on that matter might not have the full understanding of how Cub Scouts currently works.  My wife and I helped form and run an all-girl “Den” about four years ago when they were first allowed.  We had a wonderful time with our daughter and many of her friends.  Now, hundreds of all-girl Dens are all over metropolitan DC and can be located on the “BeAScout.org” web site.

The small “Dens” get together occasionally as a larger “Pack”, when there can be some informal interaction with the all-boy Dens, but these are pretty infrequent (monthly in some cases).  While members of the BSA are asked to confirm belief in a higher power, that is about it.  There is no person going around administering litmus tests on that.  Like society in general, the BSA went through its process of eliminating the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy it first adopted in the late 70s.  These issues are “old news” to people familiar with the BSA in the DC area.  My old postings go into elaborate detail about these issues, what happened and why.

In just three years since forming, our Scouts BSA Troop for Girls in the District has become a respected institution.  This is the program formerly known as “Boy Scouts” for youth age 10.5-18 years of age.  Our 53 diverse girl members, 25 women and men adult volunteers, 106 supporting parents and the wonderful Episcopal Church parish that is chartered to provide the program provide astounding experiences and character development.  Hard to believe, but this behemoth of an organization with a $60,000 annual budget is run by a high school freshman who became the District’s first female Scouts BSA Eagle Scout.  We have three Eagle Scouts so far.  If you want to see what one Scouts BSA Troop looks like, you can examine our web site at ScoutsBsaDcGirls.org.

My experience is that girls join a Scouts BSA Troop to accept leadership challenges involved and experience the outdoors in a comprehensive manner.  I’m certain that no other youth organization for girls in DC exceeds the variety and regularity of outdoor activity our youth leaders plan.  While we are a bit larger than some Scouts BSA Troops near us, we are not unusual in offering these leadership challenges and outdoor experiences.

You should visit and discuss what is offered by the Scouting-oriented all-girl organizations that are near you.  While I don’t know much about it, I am very happy the Girl Scouts are so strong and well run in our area.  We have several former Girl Scouts that have joined our Scouts BSA Troop for a variety of reasons, but no person on this site (including me) evidences the requisite knowledge to meaningfully compare these two entirely different programs with vastly different activities, objectives, business models and parent interfaces.  What I can say is that in our metropolitan area, Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA operate at the highest possible level of program quality with very strict youth protection standards.  Good luck with your exploration of Scouting for your girl.  I hope she joins a Girl Scout or Cub Scout organization, and maybe later considers Scouts BSA.  The time you spend evaluating her options is merited, because you may be choosing for her to spend many years with one of these programs, and they are quite different.
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