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Goal(s)

Project SEARCH is an internship program at NCH Baker Hospital for students with intellectual disabilities between the ages of 18-22. Students participate in three unpaid internships in different departments of the hospital throughout the school year. The goals of the program are for students to explore a variety of career paths, learn marketable job skills, and obtain meaningful employment either at NCH or within the community by the end of the school year. Since Project SEARCH is an unpaid internship program, the goal of this grant is to provide a positive reinforcement reward system in order to increase student engagement and motivation.  

 

Category

School-Wide, Grade-Level, Or Class Events/Programs - Parent Nights, Honor Roll Celebrations, EOY Events, PBIS, LIM, etc. 

 

Project Description

During Project SEARCH, students will have the opportunity to complete internships in various departments of the hospital. The program has grown over the past seven years, and we are now able to offer over a dozen internship departments for students to choose from! These departments include the Cafeteria, Concierge, Central Supply, Emergency Department, Environmental Services, Linens, Patient Transportation, Simulation Center, and Wellness Center. Students will learn a specific set of job skills in each department, in addition to general soft skills such as professional communication, customer service, taking initiative, accepting constructive feedback, etc. The students are evaluated on both employability skills and citizenship skills on a daily basis.

To encourage positive work skills and continually motivate students to meet their employment goals, we have implemented a raffle reward program. Students have the opportunity to earn raffle tickets daily for being in uniform, participating in class, fulfilling the requirements of their internship, and going above and beyond in some way. Students are also given raffle tickets whenever they receive a compliment from an NCH staff member.

Each Friday we raffle off several items, including NCH gear and various types of prizes. The students have given input on prize preferences and are able to select an item if their raffle ticket is drawn.  

 

Expected Outcomes

Project SEARCH is a life changing program that gives students the opportunity to learn employability skills in a real community work setting. They work very hard on a daily basis, but are currently not receiving a paycheck due to Project SEARCH being an unpaid internship program. If my request is funded, then my students will have a consistent reward system to increase engagement and motivation as they work toward their goal of paid employment. We also expect to see improved internship evaluation scores as a result of this grant request and the reward system.  

 

Purpose of Funding

There are currently 10 students in the Project SEARCH program, and we have a raffle every Friday. We are asking for raffle prizes selected by the students to help us motivate and reward them on a consistent basis.  

 

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