About Internships and Eligibility

Q: What’s an Internship?
A: An internship is a short-term, experiential work experience that is a supervised, in-depth learning opportunity where the interns can more fully explore career interests. It is not meant to simply advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.

Q: Can Non-Profits Apply for the Grant?
A: Yes! Non-profits can apply if they are not government entities or political groups.

Q: Who Can Be an Intern?
A: Interns can be anyone who is looking to gain knowledge and skills in a new industry or occupation through a short term learning opportunity. These individuals must be hired specifically for the purpose of the internship grant and need to be hired as regular employees of the company, not contract workers. The intern can not be a current employee or have been an identified intern of a previous WDTF funded internship.

Q: I’m a new business. Can I apply?
A: Yes! You’ll need a Letter of Support from your local Economic Development Entity. Once verified, you can register and start your application. Q: I’m the only employee and don’t have unemployment insurance or workers’ compensation. Can I apply?
A: Yes! You will still need to register with Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Workers’ Compensation (WC).

Applying for the Grant

Q: Can I Apply for More Than One Internship?
A: Yes! Please keep in mind that our new application process is one intern per application. If you plan to apply for more than one internship during an open application window, each internship will need to be submitted in separate applications.

Q: When Should I Apply for My Internship?
A: We would recommend applying a month or two months ahead of the planned start date of your internship.

Q: Who Should Fill Out the Application?
A: The primary contact or someone with legal signing authority should complete and sign it. Bookkeeping services can assist with payroll but shouldn’t complete or sign the application. Please note, only the person who submitted the application will receive task, notifications, and communication form the grant management system regarding the application/award.

After Applying

Q: How Will I Know If My Application Is Approved?
A: We’ll email you with next steps once we’ve reviewed and approved your application.

Q: My application was returned for revisions. What do I need to do?
A: Please review the revision notes in the email from the WDTF team and provide the appropriate updates via the Grant Management Portal to resubmit. Please note that revisions need to be received within 2 business days in order to be considered for approval.

Q: What if my application gets denied?
A: Depending on the reason for the denial, you may submit a new application with the necessary changes.

Internship Management

Q: What If My Intern Isn’t a Good Fit?
A: The intern can be replaced if there are enough hours left in the internship to benefit another intern, the new intern will not received additional hours to the internship opportunity. The grantee must submit an intern substitution request through the grant portal for review and approval. A new Attestation form and Initial Meeting & Training Plan form will need to be submitted with the replacement intern’s information before requesting for reimbursements.

Q: Can the Grant Cover Hours Worked Before Approval?
A: No. The grant only covers wages after the contract is officially signed by the Director of DWS.

Q: Can I Pay My Intern More Than $18 Per Hour?
A: Absolutely! You’ll just need to cover the extra amount. We’ll reimburse up to the hourly rate approved in the grant.

Q: My intern needs more time to complete their internship, can I extend the end date?
A: Yes. The grant is eligible for a one time amendment. This extension can be requested through your Grant Portal under the Tasks tab as an Amendment Request. Changes are considered on a case-by-case basis. An amendment request must be submitted at least 20 days before the end date of the internship.

Final Steps

Q: When is the Final Report issued and due?
A: A Final Report task will be issued on the end date of the awarded internship. This task includes uploading the Exit Interview form filled out by the intern and completing the required questions from the business. The Final Report task must be completed and submitted within 45 days after the internship ends. The system will send due date reminders as the deadline approaches. If the Final Report is not submitted within 45 days, the report will be automatically closed for submission and the grant will be denied for payment. 

Q: My final report was sent back for revisions, what does that mean?
A: Please review the revisions requested in the email sent. These revisions must be corrected and resubmitted within five (5) business days in order to be reviewed and processed. If the revisions are not submitted within that timeframe, the task will be closed for submission and the grant will be denied for payment. 

Q: When will I get reimbursed?
A: Grantees must submit one reimbursement request each month with the total reimbursable amount equal to one month’s worth of pay stubs. The supporting pay stubs must be uploaded in this request.  These reimbursement requests must be submitted through the portal under the “Reimbursement Request” task. The initial reimbursement request will not be processed without completing the Attestation and Initial Meeting & Training Plan forms. The final reimbursement will be processed after the Final Report task has been completed. 

Q: How will I get reimbursed?
A: You will get reimbursed by whichever preferred method is outlined in your W9. 

Support 

Q: Who do I reach out to for help?
A: Please reach out to our WDTF team at dws-wdtf-internship@wyo.gov for any assistance you need!