NEW YORK (AP) - The Boy Scouts of America deflected questions about a report suggesting it is considering seeking bankruptcy protection, though the head of the organization said it is exploring "all options" as it tries to stay afloat while facing sexual abuse lawsuits and dwindling membership.
"I want to assure you that our daily mission will continue and that there are no imminent actions or immediate decisions expected," Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh said in a statement this week.
The Cherokee Area Council, which serves 11 Scout groups in the Chattanooga area, assured its members in a news release that it is financially stable.
While the council holds a charter to conduct Boy Scout programs, it is a separate entity that receives no funding from the national organization. Rather, the local council pays fees to the national organization as part of its charter agreement, according to a release from Cherokee Area Council representatives.
Scouts recite the scout oath during the Boy Scouts of America Annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Chattanooga National Cemetery on Saturday, May 26, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Thousands of volunteers placed more than 50,000 flags on the graves of veterans to honor their memory for Memorial Day. / Staff photo by Doug Strickland"We'll continue to focus our efforts on Scouting's principal values of service to the local community by practicing sound financial planning and stewardship," Cherokee Area Council Chief Executive Officer and Scout Executive Scott Fosse said in the release.
The Cherokee Area Council has had its own charter since 1914 and is community funded, giving it protection as the national organization considers its next steps, according to local Scouts Chief Development Officer Victoria Johnson.
"We're in a strong financial state and are growing in the community," she said. "We have a history of that."
Surbaugh's statement was in response to a Wall Street Journal report that the BSA, founded in 1910, had hired a law firm to assist in a possible Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. He described the report as "news speculation," but he acknowledged that the group is "working with experts to explore all options available" as well as the pressures arising from multiple lawsuits related to past instances of sexual abuse.
"We have a social and moral responsibility to fairly compensate victims who suffered abuse during their time in Scouting, and we also have an obligation to carry out our mission to serve youth, families and local communities through our programs," Surbaugh said.
Other institutions facing multifaceted sexual abuse scandals have sought bankruptcy protection recently. USA Gymnastics took the step last week as it attempts to settle dozens of lawsuits related to abuse by now-imprisoned gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. About 20 Roman Catholic dioceses and other religious orders around the U.S. have previously filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of clergy sexual abuse claims.
Surbaugh apologized on behalf of the BSA to those abused during their time in the Boy Scouts.
"We have always taken care of victims - we believe them, we believe in fairly compensating them and we have paid for unlimited counseling, by a provider of their choice, regardless of the amount of time that has passed since an instance of abuse," he said. "Throughout our history we have taken proactive steps to help victims heal and prevent future abuse."
Scouts gather for the Boy Scouts of America Annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Chattanooga National Cemetery on Saturday, May 26, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Thousands of volunteers placed more than 50,000 flags on the graves of veterans to honor their memory for Memorial Day. / Staff photo by Doug StricklandIn addition to abuse-related litigation, the Boy Scouts have been trying to reverse a decline in membership. The organizations' current youth participation is about 2.3 million, down from 2.6 million in 2013 and more than 4 million in peak years of the past.
In a major step toward revitalization, the BSA is moving to open all its programs to girls, but even that has caused problems.
Last month, the Girl Scouts of the USA filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the BSA for dropping the word "boy" from its flagship program in an effort to attract girls.
That suit was in response to the BSA's decision to rename its program for 11- to 17-year-olds; it will be called Scouts BSA rather than the Boy Scouts, though the parent organization will remain the Boy Scouts of America.
Locally, some Scouts have welcomed the changes.
"I think the people in the Scouting community and the parents, especially in our area, they seem open to it," Thomas Nelson, a parent of twins in Cub Scouts and Brownies, previously told the Times Free Press.
Working parents and crammed schedules often mean girls are brought along to their brothers' scouting activities. Now girls will be able to get credit - and earn badges - for things they are already doing, Nelson said.
Paul Mones, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who has handled many sex-abuse lawsuits targeting the BSA, said the organization has assets of more than $1 billion, but has been under increasing pressure from litigation as public awareness of sexual abuse intensifies.
Mones was co-counsel in a 2010 sexual abuse case in Portland, Oregon, that led to a nearly $20 million judgment against the BSA on behalf of a man molested by a Scout leader in the 1980s. As a result of that case, the Oregon Supreme Court ordered the BSA to release previously confidential files on suspected abusers.
Staff reporter Mark Pace contributed to this story.