Summer Youth Employment Program FAQs

• First, complete the online application at youcle.org/syep.

• If you are selected, you and your parent/guardian will receive a confirmation email inviting you to schedule an intake appointment.

• Selected applicants will hear from Y.O.U. in April or May.

• If you do not receive any communication by May 2, it means you were not selected for this year.

Once selected, there are two major steps you must complete before starting work:

(1) A parent/guardian intake appointment and (2) Youth orientation.

1. Parent/Guardian Intake Appointment

The intake appointment is required and must be completed by a parent or guardian only.  

The purpose of the appointment is to:

• Verify proof of residence, proof of identity, and household income

• Schedule the young person’s orientation date

Additional details:

• Intake appointments run from April through May

• Appointments last about 90 minutes

• If a parent/guardian does not attend an intake appointment, the youth cannot participate in SYEP

• Information about your appointment, including confirmation and rescheduling options, will be included in your email— or you may call 216-776-3900 for assistance

• Check out the Eligibility FAQs for more info.

2. Youth Orientation

The youth participant must attend orientation and bring all required documents.

Orientation details:

• Held May 30 – June 6

• Attendance is mandatory in order to have a job with Y.O.U.

• Sessions last about 4 hours

• At orientation, you will receive your Employment Plan, which outlines your job placement and start details

• You may also submit direct deposit information at this time

Documents to bring:

• Participants will need to bring their Photo ID and Social security card to Orientation in order to fill out their tax forms.  

• 14–15-year-olds: Work permit (If you do not bring a valid work permit, you will be sent home and will not be able to participate)

• 18-year-old males: Selective Service verification (staff will help you register if needed—bring your Social Security number)

It is ONLY upon the completion of these steps that you are fully accepted into the Y.O.U. Summer Youth Employment Program and considered to be hired.

• If you do not report to work on your first day and have not properly notified your site supervisor and your Job Coach, you are not hired by Y.O.U. 

Y.O.U. partners with hundreds of employers and worksites across Cuyahoga County to provide summer job opportunities for youth.

Common types of jobs include:

• Hospitality & tourism: custodial work, food service, event support

• Human services: junior camp counselor, recreation aide, nonprofit support

Where jobs are located:

• Most worksites are with nonprofits, schools, city programs, and local businesses in the Greater Cleveland area (e.g., CMSD, Salvation Army, Cleveland recreation centers).

Skills required:

• Jobs generally require basic entry-level skills, such as clerical tasks, light cleaning, painting, gardening, computer input, filing, and answering phones.

• Pay rate: $13.50 per hour for 20–25 hours per week

• Holidays: Youth are only paid for hours worked. Worksites are asked not to schedule participants on holidays.

• Make-up hours: If a participant works less than 150 hours, they may be able to make up hours with their job coach and worksite supervisor before the program ends. Make-up hours are not guaranteed and are subject to the supervisor’s approval. 

Most youth begin working on June 15, unless your Employment Plan lists a different start date.

• Some work assignments may require one or both. There is no cost to the student or family for a required background or drug test. Students and families will be informed if a background or drug test is required at orientation or before. 

• No. Phones do make it much easier to stay in touch with your Job Coach and your Resource & Support Specialist, but you are not required to have one.

• You do need to provide a valid phone number that you can be reached at and you should check the messages for that number at least once per day during the work experience.

• A cell phone can making clocking in and out at work much easier, but if you do not have a phone you can work out a plan with your Worksite Supervisor for how you will log your time worked so you can be paid.

If there are more applicants than the number of available jobs, you may be placed on a waiting list. You will be notified if you are on the wait list.

If you are the waiting list, you must still complete your scheduled orientation to ensure you are ready for work if availability changes.