The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy Tuesday morning. The organization is facing some 300 lawsuits from men who say they were abused while in the program.
BSA says the bankruptcy will allow them to create a ‘Victims Compensation Trust.’ To pay victims and provide them with counseling.
On a local level Scouting is split into regional councils, six are based in Indiana. Each Scout council is financially and legally independent. Money donated to local councils will not go to the victim’s fund. Local scouting activities are not expected to be impacted by the bankruptcy.
“Scouts are still meeting today and tomorrow like they were yesterday so the scouting program remains the same, if not stronger,” said John Cary, Scout Executive for LaSalle Council in South Bend.
A statement from the BSA says they’ve also made changes in training and policy that protect youth now in the program.
Cary said the training programs also show youth how their leaders should behave.
“We are actually not only educating our adults, we’re educating our youth members. We take that very serious[ly] and we have extensive trainings, information that’s provided to both adults and youth.”
Cary said information from BSA about the abuse within the organization will be handled at the national level.