I was thinking about BSA’s software solutions the other day after renewing my Youth Protection and found myself asking again the same question that is always on my mind:

WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET BETTER TOOLS
TO HELP ADMINISTER THIS PROGRAM??

Let’s forget about the more complicated stuff I mentioned back in March after taking the Voice of Scouting (VOS) survey.  How about something super simple… like this:

When someone’s youth protection certification expires,
SEND THEM AN EMAIL NOTIFICATION!!!

For something as important as YPT, alert them that it has expired!  Don’t wait for it to be discovered when filling out the next Tour Plan or even worse, at Rechartering.  Why hasn’t this already been implemented? Is there anyone at the Unit level who can even get a report of YPT expiration dates for everyone in their unit?  It’s crazy how far behind BSA is with technology.  I mean, seriously…it’s 2012!!

I would quit my job in a heartbeat to work on official BSA solutions to make the administration of this organization better!  In fact, I wonder if National would ever consider leveraging a satellite development team to help out with BSA’s technology needs.  In other words, some projects would be managed and implemented in Texas while others could be outsourced to industry professionals in another state (say here in Utah).  I sent this question to BSA Headquarters twice this summer: once in June and again today (August). I hope to hear something back from my second inquiry…