Project SEARCH

Vocational education: Our approach

Project SEARCH could be more than yearlong program that runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Interns who have been accepted into the program complete their first of three 12-week internships at the host site for the program, either Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital or Lankenau Medical Center. All internships include classroom education for one hour each day in addition to five hours of internship work.

Interns who are in their second and third internship rotations will continue to patriciate in one hour of classroom education, but their internship site may be off site at another business partner location. Business partners providing internship experience include:

• Acero Precision
• DiOrio Agencies, State Farm
• Dunwoody Village
• Nielsen-Kellerman
• Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA
• White Horse Village
• YMCA of Greater Brandywine

Through a wide variety of classroom and real-life experience, interns gain a range of skills they'll need in the working world from the job search, application, and interview process to acclimating to the professional environment. They practice:

• Work readiness and professionalism
• Appropriate dress for the work environment
• Physical, mental and emotional coping skills
• Effective communication techniques
• Written communication skills
• How to confidently and proactively disclose a disability
• Interview strategies and practices
• Application techniques
• Developing a peer support network

Job coaches also play an important part in the internship process, ensuring that tasks are properly completed, anticipating and solving challenges, facilitating conflict resolution, and conducting evaluations. Ultimately, the job coach fades out of the intern's day-to-day life, as they gain the skills to master their responsibilities independently.

If an intern does not successfully secure competitive employment at the conclusion of their third internship, they enter into the job development phase. Job coaches support interns during each phase, focusing on job searching, application completion, follow up calls, interview preparation and execution, as well as tracking all progress. 

Real work experience: Our approach

Classroom instruction is a valuable introduction to a real-world job, but nothing prepares Project SEARCH interns better than hands-on experience. By practicing the tasks they will need upon finding a job, interns of Project SEARCH prepare to meet and exceed on-the-job goals.

Project SEARCH interns can choose from a variety of industries and roles to fit their interests and abilities. The Project SEARCH team works with interns to determine the best fit, but if a participant begins an internship and all parties determine that it's not a good fit, the intern will be reassigned to a role that is a better match.

Internship opportunities are individualized based on the intern's strengths, interests and abilities. Some examples of internship job titles and types of work include:

• Assembly
• Child care aide
• Clerical in a variety of settings
• Customer service
• Data entry
• Distribution: stocking supplies
• Environmental services teams
• Facilities maintenance assistance
• Food & Nutrition (prep work, catering and hosting)
• Human resources assistant
• Information clerk
• Laboratory technician
• Laundry technician
• Manufacturing
• Mail room associate
• Member services associate
• Office support representative
• Patient activity assistance or rehabilitation clinical support
• Patient transporter
• Receptionist
• Rehabilitation technician
• Retail stocking and register
• Sterile processing
• Store associate

Many Project SEARCH interns have already gone onto stable and productive full and part-time jobs with companies and organizations like Acero Precision CHOP, Main Line Health, Maris Grove, Paoli Pharmacy, Safe Circuit, Wegmans, YMCA, various community doctor offices and many more.

Entrance criteria

While Project SEARCH can benefit a number of people, there are certain practical, medical and legal guidelines that must be met before someone enrolls in the program. Project SEARCH interns must meet the following criteria:

• Be at least 18 years of age and have completed high school
• Meet eligibility requirements for Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR),have an open OVR case and the OVR counselor must be in support of the application.
• Maintain appropriate behavior and social skills in the workplace
• Take direction and feedback
• Communicate effectively
• Independent transportation and/or utilize public transportation when available for travel to and from the internship site.
• Desire to work competitively in the community

Please note: Acceptance into the Project SEARCH program is contingent upon a satisfactory health screening to include substance abuse testing and flu shot, if required based upon the time of year. If the applicant fails the substance testing portion of the health screening, they must wait 12 months to reapply to Project SEARCH. Acceptance into Project SEARCH is also contingent upon background checks to include child abuse clearance and other clearances as required by Main Line Health.

Community impact

The positive effect of more people achieving gainful employment is obvious, but the community benefits of Project SEARCH are not only for the interns. A combination of funding from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital and many generous donors covers the costs of training the businesses that hire Project SEARCH graduates. The businesses gain proficient employees who work hard, like learning and take pride in their jobs. Businesses who hire Project SEARCH graduates also enjoy excellent employee retention in jobs that typically suffer from high turnover, offering job-training savings that boost the company's bottom line.

Ways to get involved

Main Line Health System was Project SEARCH's first business partner. Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital is always expanding the number of companies and local businesses involved in Project SEARCH, enriching the number of opportunities within interns' reach and facilitating the hiring of excellent employees.

Our job coaches aren't the only ones helping the program intern achieve their goals. Peer mentors are employees of the Project SEARCH business partners who all step up as a natural point of support for the intern as they transition into their internship. They complete the participant's initial training and become a natural point person for any questions, as well as meeting with the intern and Project SEARCH staff on a routine basis to ensure everything goes smoothly.

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