The safety of our members is our highest priority. Protecting the volunteers and the council’s legal interests is also a high priority.
Restrictions on Girl Scout activities are generally set by GSUSA in partnership with our insurance company. Activities that are not allowed by GSNorCal are the activities which are not covered under Girl Scout insurance. These activities are deemed by the insurance company to carry an inherent level of risk that they are not willing to assume. Each council has its own individual insurance coverage. Activities may vary from council to council.
Activities that require prior written permission from the council are those that have additional laws, certifications, or other guidelines which must be followed in order to be covered by our insurance. Our Risk Management team will assist you in meeting those guidelines.
GSNorCal believes that most volunteers would rather focus their time on having fun with the girls doing Girl Scout activities, rather than in spending time researching legal texts to ensure that they are following local and state laws and working with the insurance company to make sure they will be covered.
GSNorCal’s approach is for staff and interested volunteers to monitor laws and guidelines so that you don’t have to! When we must place restrictions on certain activities, there is lots of in-depth discussion and research to make sure there isn’t another solution. Guidelines found in the GSNorCal’s Volunteer Essentials and on our forms, is a result of that work.