Intern Preparation and Arrival

Once you have spoken with the intern and confirmed their selection to the position, please send him or her written confirmation on what you've discussed. Including the following information will help the intern be prepared for working and living at your site.
A specific and complete description of job duties; be sure to note any changes from the original position description.
A description of the housing facilities, including location (proximity to your site), and whether cooking utensils and household items are included. Please see Intern Housing Policy section.
Personal equipment and clothing needed both on- and off-duty.
Information on the proximity of stores and laundry facilities is helpful. Should the intern bring a small supply of food to get started until he or she can get to a store? What items are best brought from home due to high prices in the area? What is the distance to stores and how often will the intern be able to shop?

Suggest recommended means of transportation to the area (closest airport, bus station or train station). What is the most convenient airport? Is a personal vehicle required? Is there public transportation in the area?
Include the name of the person who will meet the intern upon arrival. If no one will be meeting him or her, where and to whom should the intern report? Exchange contact information in case the intern needs to contact you with any changes in plans.
Finalize the exact date the intern is expected at your site and the anticipated departure date. If the dates have changed since the initial offer was made, please contact your Partner Service Coordinator and inform them of the date change.
Include general information about your area, especially the location where the intern will be working. Be sure to include items pertaining to climate and terrain if this will affect clothing or equipment needs. Indicate details of any dress or appearance standards.
Will the participant be able to cash personal checks at your site? If traveler's checks or cash are necessary, let the intern know. SCA gives each intern a Chase JP Morgan e-funds card and "loads" the card biweekly with the intern's living allowance. The cards may be used at ATMs and most stores.
Please maintain regular communication with the intern, and respond to intern inquiries regarding academic needs or interests. Be aware of the intern's concerns and expectations as well as your own.

Chase Debit Cards & Finance
Although this is a volunteer program, SCA does reimburse members for basic expenses through a travel grant and a living allowance. For most areas outside Alaska and Hawaii, the standard living allowance for positions up to 16 weeks is $75 per week and 17 weeks or more, is $160 per week. The living allowance can be up to $280/week at the request of the agency site. Payments are paid on a biweekly basis and if the intern participates in the AmeriCorps Education Award, the living allowance is taxed. If you are providing your SCA intern with a commuting allowance, that amount will also be added to their Chase card. If you are paying a housing allowance to the intern, a check will be mailed monthly.
SCA uses Chase JP Morgan e-funds cards to disburse intern living allowances. The card will be mailed by Chase Bank to your site. The card typically arrives 2 – 3 weeks after the intern starts their position, but traditionally before their first payroll. Please alert your mail department to its impending arrival, and watch for it. Save this mail for the intern upon his or her arrival. The intern will already have been sent detailed instructions about activating and using the card, security, replacing a lost card, etc. On the first payroll, the card will be "loaded" with their travel reimbursement to your site and their first living allowance payments. It will be "re-loaded" with subsequent living allowances bi-weekly. SCA interns receive their final living allowance and their return travel reimbursement prior to their departure from your site.
To activate a new card, an intern should call 1-866-222-5704 or visit the JP Morgan Chase website at www.myaccount.chase.com and follow the directions. Interns can use the card to pay for purchases and to get cash back at most stores. It can be used either as a credit or debit card. Interns can check their card balance any time by phone or on-line.
In unusual cases where required paperwork hasn't been submitted by the SCA intern or other unexpected delays, our payments to participants may be late. We recommend to interns that they bring extra cash in the event that living allowance payments are delayed. If the post office has any problem delivering the e-funds card to your site, it will be returned to SCA and we will contact you about correcting the address or means of delivery.

On-the-job travel expenses or use of an intern's car for job-related travel must be reimbursed by the agency/site. If you have duty travel or training funds budgeted and need to reimburse an intern for expenses, contact your Partner Services Coordinator to process.

Living Allowance Schedule
The intern's living allowance is automatically loaded onto their Chase e-Funds Debit Card on a bi-weekly schedule.
Please note if enrollment forms aren't received on time from the intern, payment will be automatically moved to the next pay date, there are no exceptions. As the partner supervisor, if you have any pay changes that need to be reflected on the intern's Chase Debit Card, contact your Partner Services Coordinator to process.

Intern Service Clothing
All interns receive a service package that includes clothing to identify them as members of SCA. The items in the package are:

• 1 visor cap
• 1 water bottle
• 1 t-shirt
• 2 SCA stickers
• 1 Bandana
• 1 Nametag
• Member Handbook
• A voucher for additional items

We are asking our Interns to order their Service Clothing through a SCA online venue. Interns are asked to provide their shipping address and clothing size. If the intern indicates that the package is to be sent directly to the service site, please alert your mailroom to expect this package from SCA.
For FedEx shipments, a street address is required and for USPS shipments, street or PO Box will suffice. Please advise your intern of any other necessary clothing or gear.

Commuting Allowance
Under your cooperative agreement, provision of housing for the intern is the responsibility of the hosting partner. If housing for the intern is at a distance greater than 10 miles one way from the work site, and the intern is required to drive their own vehicle to work, the intern must be provided a commuting mileage allowance of at least .19 per mile. Mileage rates can be higher at the request of the agency site. This expense will be reflected in your invoice. The commuting allowance can also be entered in the initial position request through MySCA to ensure SCA includes this information in the budget estimate sent to you