Cub Scouts opens to girls in Chicagoland, northwest Indiana

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Pathway Adventure Council Boy Scouts of America welcomed girls aged 5-10 to join its Cub Scouts program on Monday, according to council marketing and communications director Kate Jacobs.

This comes after a small-scale launch in Chicagoland during which a few girls had already joined the program. Now, the 296 Cub Scout packs in Chicagoland and northwest Indiana can welcome girls to join, though Jacobs said the packs can choose to stay boy-only. Jacobs added that the "vast majority" of the council's packs are open to this co-ed involvement and that girl-only packs are allowed in addition to the co-ed ones. Dens, which are grade-specific groups within a Cub Scout pack, will be single-gender.

The Boy Scout program will also see changes in February 2019. It will be renamed "Scouts BSA," according to Jacobs, and open enrollment to girls aged 11-17; scout troops will be single-gender.