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The Girl Scouting Movement has a strong reputation for mental and physical safety for its members and provides the national Safety Activity Checkpoints to assist volunteers and staff in creating safe and fun activities.
Key Points:
- Volunteer-to-Youth Safety Ratio is described on pages 9-11 of the national Safety Activity Checkpoints and must always be observed based on the specific activity and levels/number of children present (Girl Scout or not) UNLESS a child is under the constant care of their own parent/guardian who is not acting as an activity chaperone.
- Volunteers must refer to the relevant Safety Activity Checkpoint when planning activities with the girls. Council staff are available to assist with questions.
- First aiders are recommended at all Girl Scout gatherings and are required at certain activities. See the Safety Activity Checkpoints for specifics.
- Girl Scout activities are based on levels (e.g., Daisies, Seniors). Volunteers with younger girls (Daisies and Brownies) should carefully review the Safety Activity Checkpoints for which activities are and are not permitted for younger girls.
- Adults who plan to participate in more than 1 Girl Scout activity should be current volunteers (i.e., background-checked adult Girl Scout members who have completed required training, including child abuse prevention).
- All adults who go on overnight trips, handle money or drive children outside of their household must be current volunteers.
- Girl Scout drivers must have a current GSCSA motor vehicle check (i.e., driver’s license check).
- Travel Progression: All overnight travel requires Council pre-approval. View the National Travel Progression Chart.
- Daisies may go on one-night trips without a parent. Daisies may go on 2-night trips within the Council geography or up to 2 hours outside of the Council geography if accompanied by parent/guardian. The parent/guardian must be a volunteer.
- Brownies are able to do 2-3 nights within a 6-hour drive from home without a parent/guardian. Because Savannah is the birthplace of Girl Scouting and has many activities designed for Girl Scouts, GSCSA will approve any of our Council’s Brownies to travel specifically to Savannah for 2-3 nights without a parent. Brownies with travel experience may travel for 4 nights or longer distances within the southeast if accompanied by a parent/guardian.
- Juniors may travel on Girl Scout trips within the United States.
- Cadettes and above may travel internationally.
Be sure to submit the Troop and Service Unit Activity Approval Form for the following activities:
- Approval for higher risk activities as listed below
- Approval for international travel
Activity Approvals Forms must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the activity’s start date. For overnight travel or activities with drivers, more than 3 weeks is encouraged to avoid delays in approvals and last-minute disappointment. 6 months or more prior to activity start date is encouraged for international travel.
Council pre-approval is required for the following activities:
- Aquatic/Water Activities:
- Amusement Parks if aquatic
- Inflatables if aquatic
- Canoeing
- Kayaking
- Packrafting
- Rowing
- Sailing
- Scuba Diving
- Snorkeling
- Standup Paddleboards
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Tubing
- Waterskiing, wakeboarding, and towed tubing
- Whitewater Raftig
- Windsurfing/Sail Boarding
- Backpacking
- Camping
- Chartered transportation
- Horseback Riding
- Target Sports:
- Archery
- Ax/Knife/Hatchet Throwing
- Shooting Sports
- Overnight Travel/Trips
- Ziplining
Activities that Are Not Allowed by Girl Scouts
The following activities are not approved by the Girl Scouts’ national insurance company as Girl Scout activities:
- Bungee jumping
- Flying in privately owned planes, helicopters, or blimps
- Hang-gliding
- Hunting
- Outdoor trampolines
- Paintball tagging
- Parachuting or skydiving
- Parasailing
- Riding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
- Riding electric scooters
- Riding jet skis
- Riding a motorbike
- Snowmobiling
- Stunt skiing
- Untethered hot-air ballooning
- Zorbing
Girl Scout Activity Insurance
Activity Accident Insurance is completely automatic with no additional cost to troops or service units. In addition to accident/injury coverage for Girl Scout events, the policy automatically includes sickness coverage for all overnight Girl Scout stays (including camp) and Girl Scout international travel. This change, effective for trips occurring on and after October 1, 2025, eliminates the need for manual individual insurance requests entirely.
In the event of an accident or incident, volunteers must submit the Accident/Incident Form to info@girlscoutcsa.org. For injuries regarding medical diagnosis or treatment, staff will contact the volunteer or family regarding claim information. More information is available at www.mutualofomaha.com/girl-scouts. Claims must be filed within 90 days of the accident.
