A Scoping Review on Internship Programs and Employment Outcomes for Youth and Young Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Transition policy in the United States has endorsed work-based learning experiences, including internships, for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in order to combat poor rates of post-school employment. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state plans have reported use of internships as a way to provide Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS). Internships are complex programs that vary in terms of length, payment, funding, and collaborative partnerships, and are intended to provide an educational experience for students to develop vocational skills. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine the impact of internship participation on employment for youth and young adults (aged 16 to late 20s) with IDD. Systematic searches of electronic databases containing peer-reviewed sources were conducted. Nineteen articles were included in the final sample. Findings identified specific internship programs that have been examined within the peer-reviewed literature base, the level of evidence each provides concerning the impact on employment outcomes, and pertinent internship characteristics observed across studies. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.