The Blue Card: A Vital Record In the March-April 2017 issue of the Advancement News, we discussed the of Counseling.” In that article, we mentioned the role that the “Process For Merit Badge” (aka the Card”) plays in the overall merit “Application “Blue badge earning process. This follow-up article will deal more directly with some of the specific areas of the Card” that the counselor needs to understand. “Blue The Card” is a Scout’s official record for keeping track of his advancement. It “Blue shows when the Scout met with his unit leader to discuss the badge; it lists requirements that have been completed; and it pro-vides helpful information for counselors. To the Scout, the Card” is a very important piece of his scouting “Blue trail, and, as such, it is extremely important that the merit badge counselor do the upmost to ensure it is properly filled out, signed, and dated. The diagram shows some important areas of the Card” to which the merit “Blue badge counselor should pay careful attention. 1. The Card” must be presented with the dated signature of the unit leader, “Blue i.e., Scoutmaster. 2. The requirement score sheet indicates what requirements the Scout may have completed previously. If your counseling sessions with the Scout only allow certain requirements to be completed (called a then those “partial”), requirements should be noted in this area along with your initials. Subsequent counselors with whom the Scout may work will use notations in this area as a road map to see what has been completed and what has not. 3. The easy-to-remove Counselor’s Record section of the Card” trifold is not “Blue to be detached until the Scout has fully completed the merit badge. Do not remove this portion of the Card” when only partials are being recorded. It is “Blue for the signing merit badge counselor’s records and should be kept for a reasonable period of time in case questions arise. 4. The merit badge counselor’s dated signature is required here when the merit badge is completed and deemed earned.
The Blue Card: A Vital Record In the March-April 2017 issue of the Advancement News, we discussed the “Process of Counseling.” In that article, we mentioned the role that the “Application For Merit Badge” (aka the “Blue Card”) plays in the overall merit badge earning process. This follow-up article will deal more directly with some of the specific areas of the “Blue Card” that the counselor needs to understand. The “Blue Card” is a Scout’s official record for keeping track of his advancement. It shows when the Scout met with his unit leader to discuss the badge; it lists requirements that have been completed; and it pro-vides helpful information for counselors. To the Scout, the “Blue Card” is a very important piece of his scouting trail, and, as such, it is extremely important that the merit badge counselor do the upmost to ensure it is properly filled out, signed, and dated. The diagram shows some important areas of the “Blue Card” to which the merit badge counselor should pay careful attention. 1. The “Blue Card” must be presented with the dated signature of the unit leader, i.e., Scoutmaster. 2. The requirement score sheet indicates what requirements the Scout may have completed previously. If your counseling sessions with the Scout only allow certain requirements to be completed (called a “partial”), then those requirements should be noted in this area along with your initials. Subsequent counselors with whom the Scout may work will use notations in this area as a road map to see what has been completed and what has not. 3. The easy-to-remove Counselor’s Record section of the “Blue Card” trifold is not to be detached until the Scout has fully completed the merit badge. Do not remove this portion of the “Blue Card” when only partials are being recorded. It is for the signing merit badge counselor’s records and should be kept for a reasonable period of time in case questions arise. 4. The merit badge counselor’s dated signature is required here when the merit badge is completed and deemed earned.
The-Blue-Card-a-vital-record.docx