From the National Scouting America Office - November 2025

Family Troop option available for charter organizations

The National Executive Board for Scouting America approved the implementation of the combined Troop option. The “Family Troop” option will become available to all chartering organizations as a third-option on Dec. 15, 2025. Troops will continue to be able to organize as boy Troops and girl Troops. 

With enormous gratitude for your work, the Troops participating in the combined Troop pilot may continue to operate as family Troops. At this time, all “hold” Troops in the pilot do not need to be rechartered. For any Family Troop that has already rechartered its “hold” Troop for 2026, the national office is working on a plan to refund those payments. We are also working on a plan to adjust Quality Council metrics to negate the impact of family Troop unit mergers on your council metrics.

Though we will soon communicate directly with the combined Troop pilot units in your council, we would like you to also reach out to the key three of each of those pilot Troops and share the news. 

Pilot Troops have several action items to complete, including:

1. Decide on whether they would like to continue to operate as a family Troop.
2. If the pilot Troop decides to leave the family Troop model, please provide them with the attached Converting From a Family Troop guide to revert to their original pre-pilot Troops.
3. If the pilot Troop decides to continue as a family Troop, the Scoutmaster should review their roster on my.scouting.org and confirm that all youth and adults are properly registered in the primary unit (the Troop that will continue forward as the family Troop). Troops should not recharter their hold Troop.
4. Please provide your family Troops with the Family Troop Best Practice Guide. Their feedback helped develop this guide.
5. Regardless of the Troop's decision, we recommend that the Scoutmaster communicate their decision to either continue or discontinue the model to their Council Pilot Representative, District Executive, and Unit Commissioner. 

We will also be communicating next steps (as they become available) to your Council.

Please note that boy Troops and girl Troops not currently participating in the combined Troop pilot, including non-pilot linked Troops, are not eligible to adopt the Family Troop until Dec.15, 2025. More information will be coming soon.

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to bringing Scouting to every eligible youth. Now more than ever, America needs the character-building power of Scouting!