Scouts Say National Bankruptcy Filing Won't Affect Indiana Boy Scouts

More than 45,000 Boy Scouts salute during the singing of the national anthem as part of the Boy Scouts of America 2010 National Scout Jamboree on Fort AP Hill, Va., July 28, 2010.
*Cherie Cullen/U.S. Department of Defense*

MATT RASNIC

The Boy Scouts of America is seeking bankruptcy protection.

The Chapter 11 filing is an attempt to work out a plan to compensate several thousand men who say they were sexually abused as scouts.

Boy Scouts of America released a statement and a video outlining how the organization plans to move forward if its Chapter 11 bankruptcy is approved.

There are nine councils that provide scouting opportunities across the state of Indiana.

The councils we contacted provided the same written response - which states local scouting would continue as usual.

[Council name] has not filed for bankruptcy. Meetings and activities, district and council events, other Scouting adventures and countless service projects are taking place as usual. In short, there should be no change to the local Scouting experience.

The national organization of the Boy Scouts of America is the only entity involved in the Chapter 11 filing. [Council name] – which provides programming, financial, facility and administrative support to local units and individual Scouts in our area – is separate and distinct from the national organization. Our camps, properties and all local contributions are controlled by our council.

The video from the national organization says Boy Scouts is establishing a trust to compensate victims.

The Buffalo Trace Council serves the Southwest area of the state near Evansville. Scout Executive John Harding says he doesn’t know if his council will donate to the proposed compensation trust.

But Harding says all donations that people make to their local scout councils do not go to the national organization. That money is all used to fund local scouting experiences.

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