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Requirements and Guidelines for Paid/Unpaid Minor Interns:

Internships involving minors who are not matriculated students must follow Policy 8.8: The Protection of Minors and Abuse Reporting, complete all the requirements below, and read and understand the below guidelines before the internship may commence. 

Requirements:

  1. Register the internship with the Children and Youth Safety Office (CYS) at Cornell thirty (30) days before the internship begins.  
  2. Complete the Internship Planning Questionnaire (form opens in a new window).
  3. Inform Human Resources of the internship involving a minor, whether paid or unpaid. Please note that HR will ask you to obtain the minor's original working papers for all internships.
  4. Obtain background checks for all individuals who will be responsible for supervising or working directly with the minor intern.
  5. All individuals who will be responsible for supervising or working directly with the minor intern must complete the required youth protection training. 
  6. The faculty, staff, and students working with the minor must know to report known or suspected abuse and any incidents involving a minor to CYS.
  7. All individuals responsible for supervising the minor intern must read and understand the Youth in Labs Guidelines. 
  8. The parents must sign an assumption of risk form for their child. Please request that form here. Once signed, upload the form to the registered program.

Guidelines

  • Cornell University faculty and staff are responsible for supervising the minor and must be present whenever the minor is in attendance during the internship hours. Students are not allowed to supervise minor interns.
  • Cornell University is not responsible for transporting minor interns to and from campus to participate in the internship program. 
  • Cornell University is not responsible for providing or finding housing for the minor intern to participate in the internship and will not be responsible for anything related to such housing.

  • The faculty, staff, students, and volunteers involved in the internship must abide by the University's Standards of Behavior for Working with Youth. This includes avoiding all situations and circumstances in which an adult has one-to-one contact with a minor in which that access also presents opportunities for secrecy or privacy.

  • Interns must abide by the conduct rules for youth participants.
  • Minors are prohibited from attending after-hours social events.
  • Minors are prohibited from joining University clubs.