VCU RRTC

Through a grant from the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, Project SEARCH researched over 40 of their program sites that reached 90%–100% employment outcomes.  Internship Development is Part 3 in a three part series covering critical information from the researched areas.  In this webcast, learn what best practices Project Search programs do in their Internship Development process. The following practices will be covered:

• Have an average of at least 18 internships available to program participants
• Some have many more – one has over 45 internship sites
• Layer on new skills during the internship as previous skills are mastered
• Design internships that provide experience in competitive skills that will lead to employment 
• Have Project SEARCH staff that build relationships with internship department managers

Susie Rutkowski is the Co-Director and Educational Specialist for Project SEARCH. Susie is a nationally recognized transition expert with specific experience in program development in career technical education and job development for young adults with disabilities. She served as the Manager for Disability Education at Great Oaks Career Campuses for over twelve years. During that tenure she, with Erin Riehle, co-founded Project SEARCH, a program for young adults transitioning from school to work. Susie has been instrumental in designing the Project SEARCH Training Institute modules and leading replication efforts for new Project SEARCH sites. She speaks and writes on transition-related topics.