--- title: Developing Community Partnerships Into Paid Employment for Students with Autism and LD description: Developing Community Partnerships Into Paid Employment for Students with Autism and LD image: https://info.cipworldwide.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/20160930_132808-1024x576.jpg --- [![CIP Worldwide](https://info.cipworldwide.org/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/CIP_January2021/images/CIP-logo.png?width=300&height=729&name=CIP-logo.png "CIP Worldwide")](https://cipworldwide.org) - [About](https://www.cipworldwide.org/about-cip/cip-at-a-glance/) - [CIP at a Glance](https://www.cipworldwide.org/about-cip/cip-at-a-glance/) - [Our Students](https://www.cipworldwide.org/about-cip/our-students/) - [Our Staff](https://www.cipworldwide.org/about-cip/our-staff/) - [Advisory Board](https://www.cipworldwide.org/about-cip/professional-advisory-board/) - [Outcomes & Statistics](https://www.cipworldwide.org/about-cip/outcomes-statistics/) - [FAQs](https://www.cipworldwide.org/about-cip/faqs/) - 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Career Development, CIP Long Beach, Internships # Developing Community Partnerships Into Paid Employment for Students with Autism and LD *CVS Pharmacy is known by its slogan, “Helping people on their path to better health”. This Fall, CVS Pharmacy located on Pacific Coast Highway, right across from Long Beach City College, partnered with CIP Long Beach and is now “helping our students on their path to better careers.”*   #### Creating the Partnership As we at CIP, a comprehensive transition program for young adults with Autism and other Learning Differences, worked on career assessments with our newly enrolled students, one student demonstrated an interest in becoming a Pharmacy Technician or Pharmacist. We contacted the CVS Pharmacy she frequents to inquire about building a partnership - to assist the popular local retail pharmacy store with much-needed help and to assist students in developing much needed transferable skills.   We came up with an idea to develop an internship program that would allow 4-5 students to participate in an internship with a for-profit business, for a set period of time (1-2 hours a day, 1-3 days a week, for approximately 3-6 months). The purpose of this design is to give our students enough time to explore relevant career paths, build customer service/transferable skills, demonstrate their professional growth, and to build a community partnership. Unlike an internship at a non-profit organization, the design is developed to strategically place students in a company that would have the ability to offer employment opportunities. In the future, we hope to apply the same internship structure to other businesses and organizations.   #### A New Kind of Internship CVS, the retail pharmacy store has a history of working with local high school students to assist with community service hours, but our partnership with them focusing on individuals with Autism, ADHD and other learning differences is the first of its kind. They provide our students with important areas for professional development while the students intern within the store.   According to the CVS store manager, “this is an exciting opportunity for your students and our company; if the students do well on the internship we are interested in offering employment opportunities based on their work performance”. If a student is hired in the retail store, they will also be given the choice to explore working within the pharmacy. CVS will provide the students with an opportunity to take part in a certification program to begin a career path in becoming a pharmacist. We currently have 3 students interning at CVS and things are looking bright.   #### The Internship Process At-a-Glance   #### Helpful Tips & Tools for Students and Families Network to identify an internship opportunity by:   #### Popular career assessments being used:   --- **About the Author** [Jocelyn Howard](http://cipworldwide.org/portfolio/jocelyn-howard/) is the Career Coordinator at CIP Long Beach. She has experience as an Employment Services Coordinator, where she coordinated Individual Supported Employment and led a strong team, providing all aspects of assessment, employment preparation, job development, job coaching and placement services. She understands and believes in the critical role that employment services play in an individual’s sense of worth. ### About College Internship Program The College Internship Program is a comprehensive transition program for young adults on the Autism Spectrum and with Learning Differences. Our Mission is to inspire independence and expand the foundation on which young adults with Autism, ADHD, and other Learning Differences can build happy and productive lives. ## Related Articles - [Developing Independence in the Workplace: A Student Success Story](https://info.cipworldwide.org/blog/developing-independence-in-the-workplace-a-student-success-story) - [CIP 2025 Fall Term Outcomes: Celebrating our Recent Achievements](https://info.cipworldwide.org/blog/cip-2025-fall-term-outcomes-celebrating-our-recent-achievements) - [CIP Spring 2025 Term Outcomes: Celebrating our Recent Achievements](https://info.cipworldwide.org/blog/cip-spring-2025-term-outcomes-celebrating-our-recent-achievements) - [CIP Long Beach Students Give Back with Sowing Seeds of Change](https://info.cipworldwide.org/blog/cip-long-beach-students-give-back-with-sowing-seeds-of-change) - [7 Executive Functioning (EF) Tips from CIP, the Autism Professionals](https://info.cipworldwide.org/blog/7-executive-functioning-ef-tips-from-cip-the-autism-professionals) ### Share this Article Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn Share on email Email #### Locations - [Lee, Massachusetts](https://cipworldwide.org/cip-berkshire/) - [Melbourne, Florida](https://cipworldwide.org/cip-brevard/) - [Bloomington, Indiana](https://cipworldwide.org/cip-bloomington/) - [Berkeley, California](https://cipworldwide.org/cip-berkeley/) - [Long Beach, California](https://cipworldwide.org/cip-long-beach/) #### Programs - [Independent Living Support](https://cipworldwide.org/curriculum/life-skills-instruction/) - [Social Skills Supports](https://cipworldwide.org/curriculum/social-competencies/) - [Autism & LD College Programs](https://cipworldwide.org/curriculum/academic-support/) - [Autism & LD Summer Programs](https://cipworldwide.org/summer/) - [Frequently Asked Questions](https://cipworldwide.org/about-cip/faqs/) #### About CIP We’ve been helping young adults on the autism spectrum and with learning differences find success in college, employment, and independent living since 1984. 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