Breastfeeding Counselor Requirements Policy

Breastfeeding Counselor Requirements (March 2012)
To maintain accreditation, Breastfeeding Counselors must:

  1. Demonstrate support for the organization by actively working towards our mission and by renewing their membership each year.
  2. Maintain communication with and regularly report their activities and helping contacts to the organization.

Breastfeeding Counselor Membership Requirements (March 2012)
Breastfeeding Counselors (BCs) are required to renew their membership each year, and are encouraged to renew upon receiving the automated renewal notice, before membership expires.

  1. BCs who allow their membership to expire will be contacted by Member Services as a second reminder. Further correspondence will come from Volunteer (BC) Support. When membership is expired, BCs may be subject to a consequence of temporary suspension of volunteer committee duties and voting privileges.
  2. BCs with an expired membership for more than 60 days will have her Chapter information removed from the website.
  3. BCs with an expired membership for more than 90 days:
    • will be excluded from providing breastfeeding help directly to mothers.
    • will be removed from all committee work.
    • will be removed from the roster of active BCs.
    • will no longer be considered an accredited BC, which includes loss of liability coverage.
  4. BCs who lose their accreditation for failure to renew their membership may only be fully reinstated by the Board of Directors, with verification from Member Services and Volunteer (BC) Support that the BC is now up-to-date in all reporting requirements and that she holds a current membership in Breastfeeding USA.

Breastfeeding Counselor Reporting Requirements (April 2012)
Breastfeeding Counselors (BCs) are required to report their statistics to the Volunteer (BC) Support Committee, and are encouraged to report as soon as possible after the close of each month. The preferred method of reporting is by using the online Community Chapter Activity Report (CCAR).

  1. BCs that are 30 days late in reporting will be sent an email reminder to submit their statistics each and every month.
    BCs who are repeatedly delinquent in submitting statistics will receive direct communication from the chair of Volunteer (BC) Support requesting completion of statistics.
  2. Volunteer (BC) Support will make every effort to connect with the BC, including emailing, phone calling, and other available communication methods.
  3. A BC who fails to submit statistics for four or more months will be reported to the Board of Directors, and will have her contact information removed from the website.
  4. Because regular reporting is a requirement to maintain BC accreditation, a non-reporting BC may be denied privileges associated with voting membership. Failing to report for six months will result in loss of accreditation as determined by the Board of Directors.
  5. BCs who lose their accreditation for failure to report their statistics may only be fully reinstated by the Board of Directors, with verification from Volunteer (BC) Support that the BC is now up-to-date in all reporting requirements and that she hold a current membership in Breastfeeding USA.