Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello, 

My shelter is considering having high school students come in and "work" to gain experience in the real world via an internship or apprenticeship. However, we are running into the issue of legality since some of the students would be minors. My question is, has any other shelter or rescue done a program like this, and if so, how did you address the many potential risks associated with the animal industry? 

Our community does a program called Silver Cord. This is where students volunteer at designated places in our community. They are required to have so many community service hours a year to earn their Silver Cord when they graduate. We have all parents of minors sign a consent form. I would check to make sure your consent form covers you for your required state.  We love in volving our community kids! They have even been doing Tik Tok and FB videos for our shelter! They have a different perspective than us "older" folks and they really care about the animals. I would encourage all shelters to have some type of program for the kids in the community!

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Hali Gray
Manager
Almost Home Animal Rescue
IA
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