Incident Reporting
Reporting Significant Incidents
Programs must promptly report significant incidents involving youth participants to CYS. Prompt reporting helps Cornell support affected individuals, address emerging risks, and improve the safety of youth programs.
What Should Be Reported?
Examples of incidents that should be reported include:
- Serious injuries, illnesses, medical emergencies, or participant hospitalization.
- Missing, unaccounted for, or unauthorized departure of a participant.
- Significant behavioral incidents, including threats of violence, physical altercations, bullying, harassment, hazing, stalking, intimidation, or other conduct that creates a safety concern.
- Mental health emergencies, threats of self-harm, suicidal ideation, or other situations involving a substantial risk of harm.
- Exposure to hazardous materials, unsafe conditions, or environmental hazards.
- Transportation-related incidents involving minors.
- Incidents involving law enforcement, emergency responders, or other outside agencies.
- Significant property damage.
- Near misses or other events that could reasonably have resulted in serious injury, illness, or harm.
This list is not exhaustive. Any event that impacts participant safety, requires emergency response or medical evaluation, creates a significant behavioral or supervision concern, or presents substantial reputational, legal, or operational risk to the program should be reported.
When in Doubt, Report
If an event impacts participant safety, requires medical evaluation or treatment, raises significant behavioral or supervision concerns, or could result in legal, regulatory, media, or parental scrutiny, it must be reported.
Why Reporting Matters
Reporting an incident does not mean that anyone has violated policy or done anything wrong. Incident reports help Cornell:
- Provide support and guidance to program staff
- Identify emerging risks and safety concerns
- Improve program procedures and training
- Meet legal and institutional obligations
- Prevent future injuries and incidents
Additional Reporting Requirements
Some incidents must be reported to multiple university offices. Reporting an incident to CYS does not replace reporting obligations required by university policy, law, or other institutional procedures.
Depending on the circumstances, additional reports may be required to address health and safety incidents, property damage, vehicle accidents, abuse, maltreatment, sexual misconduct, or other safety or compliance concerns.
Related Reporting Resources
| If you need to: | Resource |
|---|---|
| Recognize signs of abuse or maltreatment | Learn about possible indicators of abuse, neglect, and concerning behavior involving minors |
| Report abuse | Review Cornell's reporting requirements and reporting contacts under University Policy 8.8 |
| Report illness, injury, property damage, or vehicle accidents | Review Risk Management and Insurance reporting requirements |
| Report another type of concern | Access additional reporting resources, alternative reporting options, and anonymous reporting channels |