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Indianapolis Diocesan Religious Emblems Counselors are qualified and certified Catholic Scouters who have met the criteria to teach Catholic Scout Religious Emblems to Roman Catholic Scouts with the permission of the Scout's parent.
Catholic Scout Religious Emblems are designed around the academic grade level of the Scout to help in his spiritual development and an understanding of God's work and blessings in family and individual life.
The first step to become a religious emblems counselor, is to obtain (or provide proof of) Safe and Sacred training. This is the Archdiocese of Indianapolis' youth protection training to educate adults on the protecting of our youth. You can begin by opening the following link, Safe and Sacred. In the event you have difficulty with completing Safe and Sacred, you can reach out to Kristen Leffler (click name for email) or calling (317) 236-1594.
If you are working with BSA youth, the second step will be to obtain (or provide proof of) Youth Protection training. This can be done online, by clicking the following link, BSA Youth Protection.
Training opportunities include the annual University of Scouting in late January. Numerous courses, including religious emblems counselor and Scouting in the Catholic Church, are offered in this day-long experience. Girl Scouts' Kaleidoscope in mid-November will also provide additional training opportunities.
Short seminars, provided by the Crossroads of America Council's Chaplain Corps, are held periodically at the Golden-Burke Scout Center
(http://www.crossroadsbsa.org/Training/Golden-BurkeScoutCenterTrainings.aspx).
It is important that the Religious Emblems Counselor has a strong sense of his/her Faith and a willingness to follow the guidelines of each respective Emblem and it's requirements.