Boy Scouts welcome girls, change name to Scouts BSA

Boy Scouts of America calls it “Family Scouting,” and inviting girls to be part of its packs and troops could help reinvigorate a century-old organization that, nationally, has seen its numbers drop by almost two-thirds since its 1972 peak.

The Boy Scouts, the longstanding program for boys age 11 to 17, now admits girls as members. That program will be known as “Scouts BSA.” The Boy Scouts of America’s program for younger kids, the Cub Scouts, has been accepting girls since June 2018; more than 77,000 girls nationwide have since become Cub Scouts.