We are thrilled to share that CIS’ Project SEARCH programs have once again been recognized for outstanding outcomes, including our Project SEARCH 440 program, which found job placements for 10 out of 10 interns in its very first year of Awards eligibility.
Two Philadelphia-based and three Delaware-based program sites were honored at the annual Project SEARCH Employment Outcome Awards. The annual awards are given to PS programs in which 70% of participants find paid, competitive employment of at least 16 hours per week at the prevailing wage.
Behind the impressive numbers are the real-life people whose perseverance and hard work are what these awards really celebrate. There’s Taliyah—a former SEARCH intern from the Philadelphia Project SEARCH 440 site—who just began what she called her dream job on the Dining Team at St. Ignatius Nursing Home. Then there’s Ivan, a graduate of Sussex County’s Project SEARCH program, who just celebrated his two-year anniversary as a Floor Technician at Nanticoke Memorial Hospital.
“This is a testament to not only our various partners that make these programs possible, but it also says a lot about the interns themselves. It shows that they bought into the Project SEARCH program, and now they are seeing the great results from the hard work they put in.”
Project SEARCH is a groundbreaking and vital program that provides job training and real-life work experience to youth with disabilities. It’s been a crucial hinge between high school and the working world for youth we serve throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware, and we couldn’t be prouder of their success.
Among those honored this year were our Delaware-based Project SEARCH programs at Christiana Care Health System, Delaware Department of Transportation, and Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, and our Philly-based programs, Project SEARCH at Drexel University and Project SEARCH 440. We’d also like to recognize the respective school districts partnering with those PS sites: Red Clay School District, Caesar Rodney School District, Seaford School District, and the Philadelphia School District, and key partners partner POW&R/Autism Delaware, Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Delaware Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, and CR Countywide Programs.
Congratulations to all of our hardworking Project SEARCH participants, to our program partners, and to our passionate Project SEARCH staff helping make students’ job dreams a reality.